I just wanted to wish you all a very happy Digital Scrapbook Day! Yes, it is a REAL holiday! I'm celebrating by filling up my hard drive with some of the various freebies offered. Woo hoo! And I'm wishing I could shop all the sales and buy all the items on my wishlists at a discount. That would REALLY fill up my hard drive! LOL Well, this is just a quick post. Talk to you later!

Ok, so today I took a little trip to Walgreens and snagged me some bargains! Woo hoo!
I tried to estimate the retail value. It would vary depending on what part of the country you're in and what store you're shopping at but I tried to estimate on the low side. I figure the retail value is at least $62.40. But I paid less than $27. The makeup alone would normally cost just about $26. So, I basically got all the rest FREE! I LOVE free stuff! Just look in my closet at all the free razor, toothpaste, and shampoo/conditioner, etc samples I've got! LOL Plus, last Friday I got a great deal on shoes for the kids. Payless Shoes (apparently in conjunction with Oprah) had everything 50% off but just for 2 days. It just so happened that both my kids needed new shoes so we headed on down to our local Payless and got 4 pairs of shoes plus a snazzy scarf for myself for $40. Big R got 2 pair of skate shoes, one black and one white. Momo got some pink sneakers and a pair of black dress shoes with rhinestone accents on the buckle. We were all pretty happy when we left the store with our goodies. And so was my wallet!
Well, I just had to share my shopping with all of you. I'm heading back to Walgreens a couple more times this week to pick up a few more bargains and spend some of my Register Rewards. Can't let them expire! Talk to you all soon!

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween! My little MoMo pronounced it the "Best Halloween EVER!" She's partial to that saying. Almost everything when it is happening is the "best EVER!" LOL So, I got the ninja costume done in time. After I finished sewing it, I had hoped I could use an iron on transfer to add the dragon. Alas, when I tested it on a scrap, it did not work out. So, I set to work hand painting the dragon on the fabric. MoMo was pretty excited about her costume so it was worth it. Big R was a Clone Trooper. He had a cool Clone Trooper helmet and blaster that I thought he'd wear with the jumper I bought but he opted to head out with just the cheap mask that came with the jumper and no blaster. We began the day yesterday carving our pumpkins. Here they are lit up.
The top is mine, the middle is MoMo's and the bottom one is Big R's. After the pumpkin carving we made our creepy creature cookies.
After dinner we got ready to trick or treat.
I took the kids around the neighborhood while Daddy manned the door here. Here are the kids with their candy haul.
Look at all that candy! Big R's candy bag (remember the old jack o' lantern bags that we had as kids?) was full right up to the top! So, today we have been taking it easy and trying to come down from the sugar high. LOL It seems as though I've crashed and I'm pretty worn out at the moment, So, I guess I'll finish this here. Bye!

Ok, so as I mentioned before, I was trying to scrap my summer photos by yesterday so I could get my free photo book from Kodak. It was a bit of a challenge for me to perform under pressure. By last night I was running out of creativity and ideas (and time). But I did it! I ordered my book and it only cost me $1.99 for shipping! I haven't ordered from Kodak before so I don't know how their photo books compare to Shutterfly's but for less than $2, does it matter so much? Speaking of Shutterfly, I think I actually have a code for a free book from there as well. But I'm definitely going to use layouts I've already completed for that. I don't want to scrap under pressure again! At least for awhile. So, here are a couple more layouts.
Also, things are coming along on the costume front. I have almost finished. I had to go back to Wally to get some more black fabric to finish the neckline. The pattern had yardages using just one fabric but I am doing a two tone with the main part being pink and the belt and neckline black. I guessed on how much black I'd need but didn't get quite enough. So now everything is done except for finishing up the neckline and adding the dragon. I guess I better get it finished up. I'm kind of running out of time!

Hello. As you can see, I did a couple of new layouts. I'm trying to get all my summer photos scrapped. I got a coupon for a free photo book and it expires on Thursday. I want to make myself a book with all our fun summer activities. Finally, I'm getting some of my layouts printed for myself! I keep meaning to do it but just never have. It will only be a small fraction of all the layouts I've done and have saved on disks and such but it's a start!
I've been doing some baking the last few days. I made pumpkin scones and made my hubby happy. He LOVES them (and what's not to love?) and has been asking me when I'm going to make them. So, I finally made a batch and they are all gone already so I guess I'll be making another batch with the can of pumpkin I have left. My friend also gave me a big bag of apples so I make a pan of apple squares, applesauce and apple oven pancakes. Yum! I still have quite a few apples left so I probably will make a pie and more applesauce.
Other than that, I'm trying to sew MoMo's Halloween costume. She saw some older girls at the store trying on costumes and one of them was wearing a satin kimono. She also saw a similar costume in a catalog we got in the mail so she decided that's what costume she wants, except in pink. I guess it's sort of like a girl ninja type of thing but it doesn't have a sword or anything like that. It's like this. So, I got a pattern and some pink and black satin to sew it. I figured it would be pretty easy to make but, man oh man, am I having a difficult time! I cut out the pieces the other day and started sewing today. The first step is to make small loops for the belt to go through. I stitched and then I was supposed to turn this skinny thing right side out. I spent almost an hour trying to get the darn thing turned and finally decided to just improvise. I found some ribbon, which was unfortunately white. But one black permanent marker later and I had black ribbon which I cut to length and stitched in place. Then I stitched the side pieces to the back piece at the shoulders and started sewing the first sleeve. I was at the end of the first sleeve and started wondering why the fabric didn't match up properly. That was when I figured out that I had sewn everything wrong! All the way back to the loops. I sewed them on the wrong side to begin with, then sewed the side pieces on the wrong sides and then sewed the sleeve on the wrong side as well. So, I had to basically take all the stitching out and start back at square one. Well, I didn't have to make the loops again but everything after that! I wasn't too happy. And the satin isn't the easiest fabric to sew since it's so slippery. Ack! But I managed to get everything stitched back the correct way. I'm glad I don't have to sew Big R a costume this year. He's going to be a Star Wars Clone Trooper. He already has a helmet and a blaster but good old Wally World had a costume for $12. I don't even know if I could have sewed one for that price. And he's happy with it so it works for me. I tried to talk MoMo into being a skunk this year with no success. I made Big R an adorable skunk costume a few years ago and the little STINKER wouldn't wear it. I think maybe he wore it for 5 minutes, all the while writhing on the floor while we tried to get a photo.
Well, I've rambled on long enough. Until next time...

Happy Tuesday everybody! Today I was able to go with MoMo's class on their field trip to the pumpkin patch. It was so fun! MoMo was pretty excited that we got to ride on a real school bus. Here's MoMo on the bus with a big grin. When we got there we had a presentation on the life cycle of corn. It was pretty interesting. She showed us corn kernels and a corn stalk and had some equipment to take the kernels off the cob and crack the corn and grind it into corn meal. She had some mini corn muffins for us to taste and popcorn, too! Yum! I learned something interesting that I didn't know about corn. Each kernel is its own fruit and each is pollinated separately. Each ear has about 800 kernels that need to be pollinated and there is a piece of silk for each kernel. The silk is what catches the pollen and directs it to the kernel.
After that, we got to take a hay ride out to where the pumpkins are and all the kids got to pick a pumpkin.
Most of the kids raced to the far end of the field in search of the perfect pumpkin. Not MoMo. Nope, she took about 2 steps and picked up a pumpkin and that was it. She had her perfect pumpkin. (Must take after her Grandpa R)
Then we rode back and the kids got a ride on the cow train. I don't know who had more fun-the kids on it or the guy driving!
They also have a cool tower of jack o' lanterns. I bet it's very cool at night all aglow.
Finally, we got to see their animals and even feed the chickens and goats. I found it amusing that this goat was just standing on top of the little house. I guess I never really looked at goat eyes before. I know some of you think they are very creepy and I never understood it. But now I know what you mean. Those weird pupils! They are kind of creepy.
After that it was time to head back to school. On the bus on the way back, MoMo (and several other kids) exclaimed, "That was the best field trip EVER!" So, yeah, I'd say the field trip was a success.
Well, I better go. Bye!