Delinquent

I've been delinquent!

again!

and its only February.

Chaos has hit again at work.

Not project work this time - that would at least be interesting

We are in the midst of yet another hospital survey

this one longer than the last.

draining, long hours

walking the units,

being ON all the time.

hoping that will be done come the end of the week but that's not likely.

at least i had a reprieve this weekend.

a girlfriend's getaway at a lovely place in hummelstown, pa

it was a superbowl themed crop- we were the Saints (see silliness on display below) versus the Colts. {WE WON!!!!}

more later but I wanted to give a sneak preview.

so that's the scoop for now.

more soon i promise

Excitement for the Day

My favorite scrapbooking line is made by a company called Scenic Route. I absolutely love their stuff. I'd bet 95% of my pages or projects feature at least 1 thing they make. I can't live without it... just ask my scrapbooking friends. It borders on obsession (well, maybe "borders on" is being conservative)...

Anyways, I submitted some pages and projects for a call for Holiday themed projects and one of my Advent Calendars was chosen!

You can find it on their website by clicking here.

This totally made my day!

I will definitely be submitting some more projects to them! I love their stuff, and if winning their contests means I get some of their products for free (which in this case it does), that is a win-win situation if I ever heard of one!

Ok I'm done. Just had to share my excitement!!!

LM Crop 2008

yet again, i had an amazing time in michian with my favorite scrapbooking friends! here are some of the silly highlights!

enjoy

croppy ending

the crop is just about over

i'm all packed and ready to go

around me all is chaos

packing

lifting suitcases

{do you think this bag wil be too heavy?!!}

"what time do we have to be at the airport"

saturday was another excellent day.

i did a bunch more layouts

{think i did a total of 23 for the weekend!!!}

there was a ridiculous amount of silliness

including this ----->

(scarves were $1 at Old Navy- the girls stocked up, and then showed them off)

and some nice shots too

me and tini

aka 'phily'

aka the bus driver

aka tomato

aka hoover

aka the official boob grabber

i'll more post details and photos from home.

home sweet home

with my own comfy bed

and the warm body that will be there beside me ;)

good morning from michigan

day 2 of the LM crop
checking in from the hotel
while christine is in the shower

needless to say i'm having an absolute blast here
travel on thursday went well.
christine and laurie picked me up at the airport

we dropped our bags in our hotel room

and headed to the mall to meet up with our fellow bus riders

there was a crowd at Max & Ermas eating dinner

but we had been sitting all day

so Jenni B, Just Jen, Christine and I shopped for a bit

then grabbed a quick bite to eat

from there we headed to the LM Warehouse

it was far less overwhelming there than last year

just being aquainted with the vast space that is the store

there were LMers everywhere

chatting

eating sweets

making name tags

shopping

shopping

shopping

the night went quickly

we came back to the hotel

unpacked a little

contemplated going to bed

then jen started knocking on the wall

which apparently was the signal

that the crop room was OPEN

unable to resist the temptation, tini and i climbed out of bed and got our stuff out of the car,

set up our stuff, played around for a bit

looking at all the goodies jackie left on the table for us

then finally got to bed around 1am.

friday i woke up at 6:45a

to go to the gym!

yes. i did it.

kinda surprised myself

but it felt great.

then it was on to panera for breakfast

ran some errands

then got back to CROP!!!

i think i got 9 or 10 layouts done yesterday!

there was massive amounts of silliness

Jenni B gave us Jen Rocks M&Ms

I got a GORGEOUS altered house from my Secret Sister (who, it turns out, is Michele!)

we ate sweets, though I ate far less than usual, and am finding that I just can't handle them as much as before {which is probably a good thing}

we broke out our "Its All About Jen" t-shirts and gave Tini her Jen-a-holic tee which she absolutely loved!

all in all it was a GREAT day!

tini and i went to bed at midnight

i got up at 7a to go to the gym again (alone this time)

and now its off to breakfast!!

more hijinx and photos later.

CT Behind---- Michigan Ahead!

I'm back from my Sunday through Tuesday jaunt to
the beautiful city of Hartford, Connecticut.

The Premise Conference was actually really great.
Some Highlights:

• Organic English breakfast tea available at each meal! mmmm....
• I managed to find within the fixed meals being served, enough vegetarian items to keep me happy and full, all the while still being fairly healthy (except for the few desserts I indulged in)
• I worked out at the hotel on Sunday afternoon... not again after that, but it was better than nothing. The gym was in the corner of the 22nd floor with sunlight beaming in. I ran for almost 10 minutes straight looking out at the autumnal wonder of downtown Hartford.
• The give-aways from the Conference were actually useful, nice things! A great tote bag with black straps and funky grommets! And a water bottle holder with a carribeaner on it so you can clip it to your bag. Thanks Premise!
• Hearing what some other hospitals are doing, validates that the time and effort we spend on this project here really pays off. I'm really happy with a lot of the decisions we've made about how to use this product.

And now I'm home... the house was relatively clean when I arrived. Dan had the wood stove seasoned so the house is relatively warm ;) I still haven't unpacked much yet so I've got some work ahead this weekend... but this is also my last weekend home before I fly out this time next Thursday for Novi, Michigan and the LM Crop of a Lifetime 2008! I can't wait. I swear I'm like a kid at Christmas, thinking about it every free second! :)

Other things on my mind:

• Already getting excited about Christmas... decorating, making some handmade things, music, parties etc.
• Really psyched about scrapbooking! Its been TOO LONG!
• Decided at the last minute to dress up for Halloween, so look for a cute brunette fairy at The Charlie Horse tomorrow night

some random things for this morning.

1. i am loving this book. i will probably do a mini review/ informational highlight when i'm done. learning lots of interesting things about how our every day habits and purchases impact the world. its really frightening that all of this is just coming to the forefront in a major way now... so late in the game...

2. i am getting so excited for the Lifetime Moments Crop of a Lifetime in November! it is going to be here so soon and i am very much looking forward to seeing someone of my favorite ladies :) {but that is a good reminder that i need to continue packing!}

3. this is super random--- on monday i went to Whole Foods twice (once during work and once after) to take advantage of two $5 off $25 purchase coupons. I bought completely different items each time, both in price and quantity and yet both trips totalled $31.07 after the coupon! I couldn't have done that if I tried. I should have played the lottery!

4. Hottie Potter Weekend (as Sheri so aptly titled it):

i had a BLAST in NYC with Dana and Sheri. we saw the play Equus starring Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffith. it was far more intense and deep than we expected and i think we're still trying to connect the dots on some of the themes that were deeply intertwined in the plot! definitely a thinker. we enjoyed it thoroughly! and seeing Harry Potter's wee wee wasn't so bad either ;)

5. headed to the Premise User Group Conference on Sunday (through Tuesday). My third time going to this conference... think that means i've been working for a very long time. didn't i just graduate college?! should be a good trip. we always learn a little something and usually have a lot to share. good opportunity to network and get the old brain thinking about new things.

cool site

As much as I love scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking totally eludes me. I have no idea how to do it... I can barely open Photoshop. Its ridiculous. But I saw a link for this site in a magazine and again today on Ali Edwards' blog so I figured I'd check it out. Seriously, its SO EASY!

Mom, thanks for the new cutie picture of Riley!! :)
Love you!

Edited to Add-- this is soo addictive!! I love it!!!!!

truths

things i know to be true... on this day at this very hour... its not much, maybe not all that meaningful or memorable but its the stuff of real life, everyday, ordinary, perhaps boring, little things that all add up to the world we live in...

• its raining outside today. wet and yuck but a welcome change for some reason. i walked from the train into the hospital sans umbrella letting the little wet prickly drops tap me on the forehead. good morning.


• the kitties are getting restless. i need to spend more time with them... but there aren't enough hours in the day.


• after having my head examined, they tell me i'm fine! hard to believe right?! ;) [just kidding] such a relief. a weight off. the MRI says there's nothing funky going on in my brain... so why i'm so darn dizzy i still don't know, but at least we've got something ruled out. a big nasty something.


• riley rolled over for the first time last night! such a big girl!! So Big!-->


• work is great. busy and hectic and frustrating and silly which = great. i've been more challenged lately and i need that to stay sane [yes, this is sanity, it may not look like it, but its there].



• will's got conjunctivitis and somehow after seeing him for 4 days in a row I don't seem to have caught it! that's sooo freakin' huge for me. me and eye gunk would be serious enemies. it would be beyond bad. [not that its so great for him either. the poor little dude was having such issues last night. tired, cranky, itchy. not cool. but he did ok]



• my kitchen's a mess


• need to start cooking more


• remembering to a) go to the right train station on each day (subway versus commuter rail) and b) having the right kind of money ($5 for subway parking, $2 for commuter rail) is just something i'm NOT used to having to think about. on tuesday i drove to Cohasset and then had to trek it to Braintree. today i didn't have 2 singles for the commuter rail parking. this will start to feel normal and routine at some point, but i'm not there yet!


• i miss scrapbooking. need to make a point to fit that in and soon. seeing all sorts of cool idea online. have a bunch of cool photos to work with. putting this back on the to-do list.


• our house feels like home now. it took a couple weeks to get used to the fact that yes, indeed, we could stay there as long as we like. that this beautiful, comfortable place that feels so perfect is not someone else's home that we're borrowing, but OUR home.

suddenly sunny saturday

it was a lousy morning.
i slept for 9+ hours and was still exhausted
but i dragged myself out of bed at 8:30
i ate my cereal and got in the car

i've hit 6000 miles in my ford escape
so with a hybrid that means time to get
and oil change and tire rotation
only no one else thought that should really be
a priority this morning


the 15 minute drive took what felt like forever
i was stopped for a very long time
waiting for some bicycle race to pass
then a funeral procession
seriously
can't make this stuff up


got there around 9:20
they had me sign something at 10 and told me i still had awhile to wait
so i took a walk

caught up with kris
got back around 10:30
and wasn't out of there til about 11:10


for an oil change
and tire rotation!!!!!!

ridiculous!
(though the rep did apologize and admitted the wait was excessive {ya think?})
that's good customer service
as upset as i was
that helped

still tired, i stopped into dunkies
must have waited 15 minutes for coffee
what??!


oh well... as i drove closer to home
the sun started coming out
i pulled out my sunglasses
opened the sun roof
blasted the radio


the frustration started to lift


i came home to clean
did 6 loads of laundry
showered
and now i'm catching up on this week's
Grey's Anatomy

its like i got a second start on the day

the girls in PA

these beautiful women kept me company all day last saturday

Back Row: ShannonM, Keri/Scrappin4fun (crop hostess), Amy/Daisies&Doves, Christine/TiniKilleeney, Beverly/Apple
Front Row: Amiee/Luv2Scrap, Me/LazyFrogGirl, Jenni/JenniB






Tini and Me

Thanks for a great weekend girls.
After the crop on Saturday, Christine and I spent Sunday literally shopping until we dropped at the Philly outlet mall! So. Much. Fun!!

a walk in the park

instead of our normal tuesday adventures at home, yesterday we took the stroller and went to the park down the street

i got in some cardio
walking and even a little jogging
while will took in the sights

kids playing on the jungle gym
baseball practice
a baseball game
a pick-up basketball game

didn't take too long and he was out like a light

when we got home, we had some play time while matt got some yard work done

one step closer to crawling this week

on the belly

but more of a scootch than a crawl

and a little rolling to get where he needs to be

and he makes it to the bag

{such an alluring target}

so i moved the bag to the other side of the room to see if he'd crawl to get it

really, you'd think it was filled with candy or cell phones

or something breakable and really fun

but no, its my work bag and gym bag

still, it did the trick....

he wanted it!
starting with a roll


a break to put his tired little feet up

starting to scootch the other way

gotta get that bag!

almost there!

victory!!!

time to play for a few minutes

man this little guy can laugh!!

a few kisses on the cheek

and a rub with the nose

and he's belly laughing with the best of them!

i don't know who he thinks

he's kidding

he loves it!

too funny!

pointing at the camera

or me

not sure which

i think he thinks the camera is a person of some sort

wave to the camera willy!

{don't know what's up

with the hair!!}

love the smile

standing up

love the profile of the cheeks!

though i swear this week he's grown a foot

and his face doesn't look so chubby

hope the baby fat isn't going away so soon

he's a litle out of focus on this one,

but i love it anyways!

another fun night together

inspiration

on an-almost daily basis i check various scrap/creativity blogs

i love it

its the best part of my day somedays

so here's a little shout out to the things i peek at

for inspiration

for a smile

a pick-me-up

these beautiful bits of creativity belong to:

• ali edwards
• jamie waters
• elizabeth kartchener
• tracy austin
• kal barteski
• donna downey
• layle koncar
• kelli crowe
• keisha campbell
• elsie flanagan

not that i've scrapped lately, but i enjoy keeping my brain active! i love finding new ideas, new color combos, new topics and storylines.

thanks for the inspiration ladies.

i've been inspired

by ali edwards

again - she rocks

she posted on her blog this mini album and 'supply kit' that she's bringing with her on her family vacation.

talk about perfect timing.

i have some acrylic at home waiting to be cut up. i'm packing myself a little kit and bringing it to FL. very excited for this!!

thanks ali!

a burst of creativity

saturday night.

dan was at eric's bachelor party

had the whole place to myself

some scrapbooking

and a mint skinny cow ice cream sandwich

perfect evening!

new layouts to share

Spend Sunday scrapbooking and here are the results:

these bath pictures are from september. look how little will is! :) he sure does love the bath, though- splashing= fun

Christmas 2007

Of course I didn't take as many pictures as I should have, and Mom may have some more I

should print up and include, but this gives a peek into the holiday season Lassonde-style... and since Christmas scrapping usually is really hard for me, I'm glad to have gotten even this much done.

New Year's Eve- 12*31*07

Canoe Club

I still need to print some more pictures but these are two sets of my favorites. Dan's Mom. How beautiful is she?!

And then there's Jamie. My favorite bartender at the Canoe Club. And judging by the closeness of he and Danny in these pictures, I'm going out on a limb to assume the same is true for him ;)

I love how this LO turned out. I partially scraplifted from a LO in Creating Keepsakes. I need to go back and see what issue so I can give credit. Like how the blue mixes with the orange. Thought I'd never find something to match (if only Dan's blue shirt hadn't ripped!!!! doesn't he know he needs to coordinate his outfits with my scrapbook paper?!)

back to scrap

When I was in PA I finally got back to scrapping some layouts for myself, which I haven't done since I was at the LM Crop in Michigan in November! It was great to pull out these pictures from the summer and relive the memories.



I love these pictures of Dan and Curly from the Soule's annual cookout- August 2007.



Dan was tickling Timmy and he was laughing up a storm. It was contagious. Then of course, being boys, they turned it into wrestling and I thought Timmy was going to explode with laughter! Nothing like an afternoon of entertainment with Auntie Feefee!





















Then, once I had the camera out all the kids wanted a piece of the action. They were posing and smiling. Cute as pie!

















This pair of pictures is probably my favorite set of action shots ever! Jordan was climbing up Steve's legs and then flipping over. Its something that brings back so many memories of being small enough to do that... and then not 30 seconds later, Dan scoops up Erika and is juggling her all around as if she was 5 years old too!! Some things just never get old! I love that! :)








Halloween 2007

Is Will not the cutest pumpkin you've ever seen!?!?! I went over on Halloween to see him all dressed up. Unfortunately I missed that part. He slept all through dinner (in his cute little pumpkin bottomed pj's) but he woke up after I left and Kris got him into this adorable costume!!














Apparently it was only fun for a little while though. He was still too young at this point to stay sitting up/leaning for too long on his own. And tipsy + bulky costume doesn't work so well I guess. His face is just priceless in this one though!!!












Will at Christmas- 2007
So I haven't scrapped anyone else yet, but let's face it, a baby's first Christmas is far more fun than the yearly tradition for us adults.





Krissy asked me to come over and take pictures of Will so he could star in his first Christmas card.

Always the ham, he was ready to smile as soon as he saw my camera.





















Will was playing with, and trying to eat his stocking. It was his first time really getting a hold of it. His great grandmother knitted it for him. Beautiful isn't it?



I love how in the far right picture he looks like he just got caught doing something he wasn't supposed to. Its especially funny because in that one you can't tell if he's wearing a diaper or not!! LOL!
















These were the two pictures Kris chose for the Christmas card (which will go in the top left spot here, but the picture was in MA and I was in PA scrapping).

And Will's first Christmas tree. Terrible pictures. I don't care. Love the sentiment. The fact that Dan was even within 3 feet of a Christmas tree is worth catching on film! :)

So that's what I've done lately. There were a few more, but the pictures are fuzzy and I need to do some reshoots. Feels good to have gotten this much done, and getting my creative juices flowing was just what I needed!