Friday Flower Fix & New Layouts

"Never let a cloudy day ruin your sunshine, for even if you can't see it, the sunshine is still there, inside of you ready to shine when you will let it."

Happy Friday everyone!


I hope this post finds you all well. So, did everyone have a good week? I did. However, it sure seemed to go by quickly. I did some shopping, met up with a dear friend for lunch, did some more shopping :-), ate at Chick Fil A (YUMMY!! I could eat there everyday), hung out with my daughters & ate ice cream, did a little more shopping and ended the week by getting the oil changed in my van (and eating Chick Fil A) :-). Don't tell me I don't know how to have a good time...lol.


We don't have too much going on this weekend...which is a good thing. Because in a couple of weeks, soccer begins and that means that the weekends will be spent on the fields. Can't WAIT!!! So tomorrow, we're going to buy new soccer cleats for Jayla and Coach Daddy, so they'll be ready for practice to start next week. Other than that, nothing else will be going on.


Well, my friend, Veroncia, finally received the layouts I did for her and her daughter, Ava. So now I have "permission" to post them. And without further ado, here they are:

These first 2 are from Ava's ballet/tap dance recital. She's such a cutie. That made these LO's very easy and very fun to do.

The next 2 are from a mini vacation to San Diego. That little girl sure makes playing in the sand look fun :-).

Well, that's all I've got for today. Hope you enjoyed the FFF and the new layouts. Until next time, have a fabulous Friday and a wonderful weekend. See ya soon....

He's a TODDLER!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

...to our sweet "little" boy, Tramore. Also, affectionately known as Trae.

That's right, our beautiful buddy is 2 years old today! I would say that he's 14...but dog years seems so OLD. So I'm gonna stick with what I know (human years) and say he's a TERRIFIC TWO year old :-).

What a sweet boy he is. People always think he might be mean or ferocious. But he's just not. He is a gentle giant. I mean, look at that little face.

How can HE be mean? Trae is the sweetest thing and has been an amazing addition to our family.

Some of you may remember, last year we "celebrated" Trae's birthday with his very own cake and party hat. But this year, Daddy veto'd the celebration, lol. So instead, I gave him a "cookie" and a bunch of lovin :-).

Here are some pictures of how our big boy spent his special day...

This is one of his favorite places to lounge. Right at the top of the stairs...right in the way :-). He is one big boy! And you know, if you have to go down the stairs or come up them and he's laying there, he will NOT move! We should've named him RoadBlock! Cuz that's what he is...a big 71 pound BARRIER!







And when it's 1 million degrees here like it is close to today, you will find Trae snoozing here. On the slab of marble in the sitting room of our bedroom. He loves the cool feeling on his belly.





And a day of birthday lounging wouldn't be complete without a big ole hug from his favorite girl.

Happy Birthday buddy. We LOVE you!!!

Inspired to INSPIRE & New Layouts

Hello everyone.

How was your weekend? Mine was great! Let's see, on Friday evening, I listened to High School Musical 2 in the background as Jayla TRIED to sing the songs :-). But I have to admit though, the few parts I did see, were pretty cute. It's just hard to get past the "cornyness" of it. Don't get me wrong, I wish teenagers DID act that way and work things out the way the kids on HSM do. Those kids really are good actors...pretty impressive actually. But now that it's premiered...it'll be on EVERY day for the next 6 weeks!!! LOL. So now Jayla has time to learn all the words and dance moves :-).

On Saturday, I got up early and made Fried Biscuits for my scrapping friends (a Paula Deen recipe). Then I loaded up the old van with just about every scrapbooking supply I could get in there, picked up my friend Stacey and all HERstuff and we headed on over to the crop. We were in our friends basement, so we had room to spread out and get some scrappin done. We also had some really yummy food. I even got 10 pages done. Check them out:

This first one has GOT to be my favorite. I absolutely love it. I think the pictures just speak volumes. That's why I decided that no journaling was necessary. BEAUTIFUL...says it all.

This next layout was just down right fun! And I thought the quote fit perfectly: "JOY is not in things; it's in us...so JUMP for it."

As I mentioned, I did several LO's. But this is all I can share right now. The others, I did for a friend and I can't post them until she see's them. So check back for those at another time.

NOTE: All of the photos of Jayla were taken by my good friend and her sister. They run a photography studio and do AWESOME work...especially with kids. Thank you Cynthia and Lisa...ya'll ROCK!!

ANYWAY...I think it's time for your little inspirational nugget :-).

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

Well, that's all I've got for today. I hope you have a wonderful week. Oh, and thanks for looking at my LO's.

Upcoming weekend, new friends, Update on Markell & Friday Flower Fix (not necessarily in this order)

Happy Friday!!!

I know, I know, it's already mid afternoon and I haven't posted the Friday Flower Fix yet. I should be ashamed of myself. I'm NOT...but I know I should be :-). I have a really good reason for not having done this yet. But I'll get to that in a bit. In the meantime...here you go. (Special thanks to Jayla for choosing this weeks fix).

Ya know, it is always nice to make and meet new friends. And THIS is my reason for being late with the FFF :-). Today, I had the priviledge of meeting someone new. Colleen is a fellow blogger and scrapbooker. We have exchanged comments on our blogs as well as Instant Messages. We finally met today at a place that is obviously, near and dear to both of us...Archivers. It was very interesting how we immediately clicked. I mean, she came in the store (I was already in there waiting for her) and we started talking to eachother like we've known one another for years. Later, as we browsed the store, Colleen even mentioned that we didn't have that "awkward" first meeting feeling. So cool when 2 people are getting the same vibe. Once we gave Archivers some of our money, we went for lunch. Then on to another scrapbook store then to JoAnn's. Needless to say, I thourougly enjoyed meeting her (she's such a pretty lady too). We have agreed that we'll meet up again in the near future and possibly go here for a yummy treat. One can never have too many friends and hopefully this is a new friendship in the making.

So, do you all have a big weekend planned? I know one thing, I'm gonna be somewhere that it's nice and cool. It's too freakin hot to be outside. Which brings me to MY plans for the weekend. I'm sure I've mentioned one time or two, that every Wednesday night, me and several friends get together and scrapbook from 7pm - midnight. Well, tomorrow, all of us are getting together to scrapbook ALL DAY! We're gonna get started around 9am and go until late in the evening. We did this at my house last year and it was so much fun! So, we're gonna try it again at an unspecified location :-). Hopefully, we've started something we can do annually. Can't wait!!!

And last...but definitely not least, we FINALLY heard from Markell. I know several of you have asked how he's been doing since he left. (Thank you all for your concern). Sorry that I haven't had anything to share, because we hadn't heard from him. The last time we saw or talked to him was when he and my sister came over for the 4th of July. Then this past Sunday, the day before school started, he gave us a call. We were all so excited to hear from him. He spoke with Marque first and as most 12 year old boys, didn't have much to say. Other than he wasn't really looking forward to starting back to school and a new one at that :-). When I finally got to speak with him, he sounded so sad...then he started to cry. I asked him what was wrong and he said that he still really misses us. I did good not to burst into tears myself. But I reassured him that we ALL still miss eachother and for him to be prepared for that feeling to hang around for a while. Like the scrapbook LO that I did says, "Me missing you is my hearts way of reminding me that I love you!" After speaking with me, he talked to Jayla for a few minutes then told us that he'd call us after his first day of school, to let us know how it went. We didn't hear from him. However, a few days later, my sister sent us these pictures she took of him on his first day of school.

What a handsome guy he is, don't you think? He obviously still hates having his picture taken :-). Well, he shouldn't be so stinkin cute.

Jayla successfully made it through her first week of kindergarten (and so did her teachers...lol). She got 5 green stars (green stars mean you had a great day and she got one everyday this week). The teacher lets the children pick a prize from the treasure box if they have a good week. So wouldn't you know it, Jayla chose Playdoh! ARGH!!! I hate that stuff.

Well, I guess that's it for today. I'd better go and get (mentally) ready for High School Musical 2...only 4 1/2 hours until show time!!

Have a great weekend!!!

Now THIS is what I'm talking about....

Check this out ladies:
(NOTE: Sorry if you can't read some of these. Not sure why, but for SOME strange reason, my pictures won't enlarge to show detail when you click on them. If anyone can assist me with that, I'd be most appreciative. And if enough of you want to know what the captions on the pictures say, I'll go back and edit this post.)

Now this picture struck me as humorous. Is it just me, or does the "blending" of the 2 sides of this picture look like there's a "pole" in the middle of the bed? HAHAHA Ok, maybe it's just me. Moving on...

Uh, excuse me Mister...I like TULIPS! DUH! Oh yeah, it's the thought that counts...GOT IT! lol

Yeah, that'll happen!

I mean, a man HAS to know that the way to a womans heart is through her feet. lol.

What's THAT??? I don't normally eat things I can't pronounce. But thanks for cooking honey.

This one has GOT to be my favorite! I think the ONLY way I'd get Marque to go to a craft show with me...especially during football season, is if I ask the hearse driver to take us by there. LOL

Ya'll have a great day!!!

She did it to me again!!!

That Susie Q is always tagging me with these challenging "tests". But I'm no sissy...I'm gonna do it doggonit!!! lol

Here are the rules: 1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts. 2. Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of their middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. 3. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts. 4. At the end of your blog-post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. 5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Note: I'm not following the rules exactly. See, I don't know too many people, especially bloggers, that have names beginning with the letters of my middle name. So I'm just gonna tag some random people, ok?

Now back to our regularly scheduled post. My middle name is Monique. (I would be the one with a long, awkward name to use...sheesh!!) But, here goes:

M - Mom, Mommy, Momma - call me what you will. But this is my title and I love it. And I'll admit this is the hardest job I've ever hard and the one I've loved the most.

O - Open book. Yep, that's me! I wear my life and my feelings right out there on my sleeve. I wish I could've used "Optimistic" as my "O" word. But you may remember me saying something about being a worrier...but I digress.

N - Nice. I am too!!! Really, I am. Most of my friends and some of my family think I'm a nice person. I'm going with it....

I - Inspired. Now ya'll knew I would go with this one. I mean, it is my blog title. And these days, I am pretty inspired by so many things. Especially my amazing friends, family and my life. Doesn't get any more inspiring than that!

Q - Are you kidding? What starts with the letter "Q"? Oh, I know...Quick! I would consider myself to be pretty quick on my feet. 9 out of 10 times I have a quick come back for people. I think in some cultures it's called sarcasm. :-)

U - Another tough one. But you can't stump me! Utterly creative (tee hee...that was a sneaky one, wasn't it?) I can pretty much create something out of nothing. And don't even THINK about giving me a glue gun or a can of spray paint.....

E - Easygoing. Enough said!!!

Oh boy, that was kinda fun. So what it took me all afternoon to come up with all this stuff. And now, it's time...time to tag some folks.

How bout, instead of using the letters of my middle name for the people I chose, I think I'll just pick 7 people to tag (7 letters in Monique). Alright, Adrienne, Gretchen, Cheryl, Tanisha, B.E.M., Veroncia & Leah, you're up!!! And if there's anyone else out there who would like to play along...feel free!!!

1st Day Update

Hello again.

Well, the first day of kindergarten for Jayla went off without a hitch. She gets out of school at 2:10 and I was in the carpool line at 1:35pm, lol. I couldn't help it. I just couldn't wait to hear how her 1st day went.

Now, we live about 1.3 miles (give or take), from the school. This girl talked from the time she stepped up in the van until we got home. And to her, the most exciting part of her day was playing some game called Doggie Dog. I have NO clue what that is. And the fact that she has tried to explain it to me for the past 5 hours isn't shedding any light. Oh well, as long as she had a good time. And the other highlight of her day was having salad for lunch. She LOVES salad but the exciting part was having "Blue Trees" dressing on it :-).

Another exciting part of the day was the fact that Jayla got to be the very first line leader. That obviously puts one in the best of circles in the world of kindergartners :-).

I was pleased to hear that kindergartners still take naps. But I'm thinking that wasn't quite enough rest time for our little princess. She crashed and burned about 2 hours after getting home, lol. They must've worn my baby out today. I think she went into this day so excited that she finally came down from that high. Hopefully she won't be as worn out in the days to come.

Thanks to all of you for your sweet words of encouragement, as we go into this new chapter of childhood. It's gonna be a fun ride!

Look out KINDERGARTEN...here she comes!

Hello everyone in blogland.

I am proud to announce that I did NOT cry this morning when we dropped Jayla off for her first day of Kindergarten :-). Oh my goodness you guys, she was bouncing off the walls this morning. She was a little unhappy about having to be awakened at 6:30am...but as soon as I reminded her that it was FINALLY Monday AND her first day of big school, she jumped out of bed. And quickly informed me that she'd be having her usual for breakfast (Kraft Macaroni & Cheese and milk...with a straw).

Jayla didn't even finish her breakfast of champions this morning, because she was so ready to "hit the road". After getting dressed in the outfit she's had picked out for 3 weeks :-), we got the hair done and she was ready for pictures. Isn't she cute?

We can't head off to school without giving grandma a big ole hug first :-). Today is also grandma's 84th birthday. So this is a special day for everyone.

Gotta have that "at the front door" picture every year :-). She sure makes Bermuda shorts look good, doesn't she? lol

"Mom, take one where you can see my Princess back pack!"

Let's not forget the one by THE tree. This one was kinda awkward to take. The grass was a little damp and little missy wasn't real happy about getting her new sneakers all "dewey" :-).

There is no way I can explain to you how crowded the school parking lot was this morning. There were people parked all along the street, in the parking lot and in the grass. We were able to get the ole van up over the curb and on the grass. Jayla asked daddy to carry her out of the van so her new sneakers wouldn't get dewey again :-).

Look how little she is. She's too small to be going to big school. But look at that big, proud grin...I know she'll be fine.

Jayla was glad to hear that her new teacher, Ms. Freeman LOVES morning hugs. Well, she got the right student in her class for that this year :-).

I can't wait to hear about Jayla's first day of school when I pick her up this afternoon. I hope the excitement she's feeling today stays with her throughout the school year.

I think I'm gonna forego the "Inspired to INSPIRE" today. I mean, I'm pretty inspired already by the fact that this morning wasn't as sad as I thought it would be.

Have a great day. And Be inspired...I am!!!

Friday Flower Fix & Weekend

Hello everyone in Blog land. So, did you all have a good week? For a lot of us, this is the last week of summer vacation with our kids.

I'm actually experiencing mixed emotions about this being that last week. I am, however, VERY excited that Jayla is excited about starting kindergarten (more on that Monday). But I'm a little nervous for her going into big school. She and I have such a good time together. She never complains about having to run errands with mommy...even when I "NEED" to stop by every scrapbook store within a 10 mile radius of our house...lol. She's my fun little hanging buddy. But again, I'm so excited that she's looking forward to this new chapter in her life.

Well, as far as the weekend goes, I think we're gonna keep it low key. The only thing I think we've got going on is, daddy promised Jayla that we'd go out to dinner on Sunday after church, to celebrate her going to big school. And whenever I don't have to cook is a happy day :-).

It's time for the Friday Flower Fix. Enjoy!

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring; all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

Have a beautiful weekend everyone.

Weekend recap

Happy Monday all!!

Guess what? We FINALLY made it to the aquarium on Saturday. We had a great time. And just a little helpful hint for those of you who may visit Georgia and are thinking of going to the aquarium - BUY YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE!!! We ordered ours on line and were actually able to print them at home. We had to wait...MAYBE 5 minutes to get in. It was GREAT! The line for people buying tickets the same day was KA-razy long!! And being that is was a mere 96 degrees on Saturday, waiting outside was not something we wanted to be doing.

Oh and another little tidbit of info for you...Don't even THINK about taking a fishing pole...lol. Seriously, is this something they really have to be concerned about? Not taking guns, knives, lighters, etc. in there makes sense. But do they have to tell people not to take fishing equipment? Well, I guess some idiot tried it once, so they had to make it a rule, huh?

Can you imagine? You see some guy sitting in a lawn chair, by the salt water tanks, with a cooler next to him. He's talking to his buddy saying, "Hey Earl, lookie here, I got me a big 'un!!! Uh oh, pass me that knife here...I'm gonna have to cut him loose, the law is comin!" LOL

Ok, sorry...couldn't help that one.

Alrighty, I'm sure you're wondering if we took some pictures. Well DUH! Only 60 something :-). Oh, one more thing before I share the pix. When we first got there, we were a little hungry...NO, not for seafood! :-) Marque and I just had a yummy hamburger, some fries and expensive fountain drinks. Jayla, on the other hand, was beyond excited and was NOT happy that we wanted to sit down and eat before we started our tour. So she ate a small salad and a chocolate cupcake that was the size of her head! (You'll see the picture of that)

And now, for your "semi tour" of the Georgia Aquarium. Enjoy!

Sorry for so many slideshows. I think I had too many photos and I couldn't put them all on one show. Let's consider all of these photos to be our "Inspiration" for the week, shall we?

Thanks for your time and have a groovy week. And remember, Be Inspired...I am!