Thank you Meredith.....

for the awesome new blog header! You are so awesome to have made it for me, then made another one that fit better and the "Lisa" showed up bigger. I love having this personalized header on my blog! WOO HOO!! :)

Blog Challenge - Gone Too Soon

Our challenge was inspired by Heath Ledger's death. The question is who do I miss. I'm going to have a little different take on this. The person I'm going to say I "miss" is my grandfather on my mother's side.

Missing him isn't necessarily the right wording, though. I hardly ever knew him. He died when I was only 5 years old. My mom talks about him in such a warm, melancholy way that I've always wished he lived longer so I could have really known him. My mom tells me how special he was and the stories she tells from when she was younger always include her dad.

I know my life would have been different, in a very good way, if this man was alive longer to touch it. I've always wondered what he'd say - probably that I look just like my mom and act a lot like her, too. I can almost picture how his eyes would light up and twinkle. I truly just wish that I had had the opportunity to know this man more than I did.

I got a 200!

Today, at bowling, I had a 200 game. A 214, to be exact. Not only that, but my other two games were very good - a 176 , then a 192, so my series (all 3 games) was a 582. My highest series ever! I think that might be my highest game, too, but I can't even remember!

It was such a fun time. I felt bad for the girl on the other team who was all by herself, though. I haven't bowled this well in a long time. I was relaxed, which I think led to bowling so well . We won all 4 games, which hasn't happened all year, too. WOO HOO!!!!!!

I'm just so proud of myself and had to share! :)

Our Honeymoon album is Done!!!

Well I did it. I finished the honeymoon album. It was only almost 12 years ago that we went on our honeymoon. lol. These are my last 3 layouts for the album. The "Brick" page is the very last one. The journal page is the very first page and then there's a "pocket page" which houses a bunch of Polynesian memorabilia that I found while searching for our wedding/honeymoon log last week. I used the log to write up the journaling on the first page. There were so many fun details that I had forgotten about and I'm glad I have them in the album now.

I used to Golf!

I used to golf. "Used to" being the operative words in that sentence. DH & I used to golf a lot together, even taking golfing vacations. Then we had kids. lol. I love the boys, but I don't get to do everything I used to do and I want some of the "used to" things to become "I still do" things. We have a golf themed bedroom in Myrtle Beach and I'm going to frame this picture to add to DH's pictures. He's got plenty of himself in that room!

Layout about Me!

Well I did one layout today and it was about me. I've got a few pages for a Book of Me and this is going in that album. I hate scrapping about me, but this was a challenge on a scrapping board. Getting older is really getting to me these days. ;-)

Blog Challenge - Our Song

I've been challenged to post "Our Song" and a picture. I have quite a few songs that tie me to my DH, but I have to post our wedding songs. The lyrics were so appropriate when we got married and they even stand up today. I love this song. It's "Keeper of the Stars" by Tracy Byrd.

It was no accident

me finding you

Someone had a hand in it

Long before we ever knew

Now I just can't believe you're in my life

Heaven's smilin' down on me

As I look at you tonight





I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars

He sure knew what he was doin'

When he joined these two hearts

I hold everything

When I hold you in my arms

I've got all I'll ever need

Thanks to the keeper of the stars





Soft moonlight on your face oh how you shine

It takes my breath away

Just to look into your eyes

I know I don't deserve a treasure like you

There really are no words

To show my gratitude





So I tip my hat to the keeper of the stars

He sure knew what he was doin'

When he joined these two hearts

I hold everything

When I hold you in my arms

I've got all I'll ever need

Thanks to the keeper of the stars





It was no accident me finding you

Someone had a hand in it

Long before we ever knew

Even more HoneyMoon Layouts

I'm hoping to finish these pictures & this album by the end of today!

Learning to Ski!

The boys are learning to ski. Tonight was only their 2nd time and I was able to snap a few pictures. They hated it last week, but this week they learned more, which led to them liking it a bit more.

More Disney Honeymoon Pages

I'm getting there - slowly, but surely! Here are 4 more layouts (both are 2-pages each). I'll be done soon!

More Resolutions

#1 - I'm hopping on Linda's "no buying" bandwagon. I cannot buy any new scrapbook supplies until I've completed 50 layouts. I have 5 done so far in 2008, so 45 more to go. I own way too much stuff and need to use what I own before I buy more. Even when I hit 50 layouts, I might not just rush out and get more. Yah right! ;)

#2 - I'm going to put more effort into doing the weekly challenges on ScrapHappy and I'm going to try to do Challenges on the Scrapfreak site. We have a lot of great layout challenges on ScrapHappy every week and I just don't put enough effort into planning to do them. As for Scrapfreak, I joined in November and haven't done any actual scrapping challenges yet (I've done picture and blog challenges, though). So hopefully, I'll start doing more challenges!

A Boy & His Balloon

Andrew got this balloon at a birthday party yesterday and has been playing with it for two days . I loved how silly he looked when blowing it up and I love how blue his eyes look in this picture.

Disney Honeymoon Pages

I've scrapped a little the past two days. I worked on more of our Disney Honeymoon pages and I'm pretty happy with these pages. It's getting tough to stick with the red, yellow, black and white theme, but I'm more than halfway thru and can't stop now!

Firsts

What was your first...

1. concert? Rick Springfield when I was 14. I wanted to be Jessie's Girl so bad!

2. car? A 1978 Red Honda Civic nicknamed the Tuna Can

3. job? After babysitting, I was a dish washer in a seafood place. I smelled *so* bad when I left that place each night!

4. scrapbook layout about? I did a baby page for my oldest son, Matthew. It's so funny to look at because I hand cut everything.

5. grade teacher's name? My Kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs. Ginolfi. She had huge, blonde, beehive hair!

6. pet? We had a dog named Scamper when I was born. He was a cocker spaniel, but he bit my friends and chewed rocks. He ended up being nicknamed "Senile". Poor thing.

7. vacation as an adult? When I was 19, I went to Disney World with a friend of mine. Stop acting so shocked! My Disney addiction goes way back. This trip when I was 19 was my 4th time at Disney.

8. boyfriend's name? Rudy and he really was gross. rofl We saw Jaws 3D at the movie theater together. Ah the romance.

9. living arrangement after moving out of your parents' home? I lived in a 3-bedroom apartment with two other girls. It was okay, but I really didn't like the one girl very much.

10. scrapbook message board to be a member on? It was a board on ivillage that is now defunct. I still keep in touch with some of the members via a yahoo board from time to time, but not nearly enough! I used to do swaps with them a lot.

Dent Be Gone!

My Car had a little mishap and had a dent in the back. I was able to take it to the car dealership today and have the dent "pulled out". The paint is a little funky, but only I would be able to tell that since I am looking for it.

2007 Ornament

We buy new, dated ornaments every Christmas for ourselves. The boys also get their own ornament. This was mine and Jim's ornament this year. The place we buy them from has a new crafter making these ornaments and they're just so pretty.

New Year's Questions/Answers.........

1. Will you be looking for a new job? Not planning on it. I enjoy being a SAHM

2. What will you do different in '08? Try to lose weight. Try to be more patient and not so forgetful.

3. New Year's Resolution(s)? Lose weight, create a blog, keep in touch with old friends, learn how to use my new camera better, walk on the treadmill a few times each week.

4. Any trips planned? Myrtle Beach at Easter, Bermuda in May, Myrtle Beach for 6-7 weeks in the summer and then possibly going to Disney World in December unless we change the date to Jan '09.

5. Wedding plans? Not necessary. :)

6. Baby plans? That would be impossible. lol

7. Major thing on your calendar? My oldest son turning ten! Ack.

8. What can't you wait for? Bermuda in May will be heavenly. Can't wait to go back - we went in July 2002. Oh and two Bruce Springsteen concerts in July '08.

9. What would you like to see happen different? I'd like for us to move to NC. It would be a great move for our family and it would mean DH isn't commuting an hour each way to get to work every day (an hour w/o traffic).

10. What about yourself will you be changing? My waistline!

11. What happened in '07 that you didn’t think would ever happen? Ever? Only thing I can think of is going back to Disney World in April 07 when we'd just been there in March '06.

12. Will you be nicer to the people you care about? Yes, but I also will not let people walk on me either. I hope to smile more in 2008. Don't worry, be happy. lol

13. Will you dress differently in '08 than you did in '07? Hmm - I guess I could be a little more hip. I will try not to wear sneakers with jeans *all* the time.

14. Will you better your relationship with your family? Yes. My family means everything to me!

15. Will you do volunteer work? We're volunteering to be the boys' soccer coaches again in the spring and I'll probably volunteer for more PTO stuff this year.

16. Do you expect '08 to be a good year for you? Absolutely. :)

17. How much did you change from this time last year til now? A little. I've tried to do some self evaluating. I need to stop being so forgetful!

18. Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now? Yes, I think so.

19. Major lifestyle changes? Well, if we move to NC, that would be a major change! Being only 3-4 hours from our Myrtle Beach house will be so nice and definitely different for us.

20. Will you be moving? See above - I'd *like* to move!

21. What will you make sure doesn't happen in '08 that happened in '07? Getting taken advantage of.

My New Camera!!!!!!!!!

Jim surprised me *big* time this Christmas and bought a new camera. Not just any camera, but a fancy one with all the bells and whistles. LOL. It's an Olympus E510. I'm still learning how to use all of it's functions and it's one of my New Year's Resolutions to learn more about picture taking. I have the tool now, I just need to know how to use it. I'm already amazed at how awesome the pictures are. I haven't taken a blurry picture in two weeks! Woo Hoo.

Palm Tree Lights!

Everyone thought I was a little loony, but the first thing I did when we got to Myrtle Beach (the day after Christmas) was to put Christmas lights up on the palm tree. It was very easy to just wrap them around the pole and I thought they looked very festive in the front yard!

Myrtle Beach Pictures

I took these pictures on Thursday 1/3. It was pretty cold, but we wanted to visit Huntington State Park and Atalaya (a castle on the property). I took *tons* of pictures with my new camera and these are some of my favorites.

My Car!

My car isn't quite so new anymore, but I love it and wanted to add it to my blog. It's a 2007 Mazda CX9. I got it back in June 2007 and my 9-year old van retired to Myrtle Beach (it's the beach mobile). The Mazda has the 3rd row seats, which are so easy to put up and down. It has a Bose Radio system, which is wonderful for a music lover like myself! I had just gotten it cleaned the day I took this picture, so it's nice and shiny!

Pictures! This is Cleo

and she's our kitty. She's about 16-17 years old - her age is unknown since she lived with DH before we were together and he's not 100% sure.

I just love this smooshy face pic of her!

Disney Blog

I cannot say this is my very first blog. In the spring of 2007, I created a blog to document our April 2007 Disney trip. This is the link.... http://wdwapril07.blogspot.com/

The Top Picture on the Blog

is of the Delaware Water Gap. I took this picture from my car while sitting in a traffic jam on the Delaware Bridge. lol. It's a view I see everytime I cross the bridge from NJ back into PA and I thought it would be nice to have an actual picture of it.

Time for me to Blog!

After much consideration, I decided to start a blog. In the past, I wasnt' sure if I'd keep up with one enough to make it beneficial, but I think I'm ready to do this. It took me a *long* time to figure out what to name this blog, too. I chose Days Go By because it was the title that stuck with me the most and because it's one of my favorite Keith Urban songs. As a mom, I've learned that the days *do* go by and they go by wayyyyy too fast. I was just looking at pictures of the boys from 2004 and it made me so melancholy to see how much younger they looked. They certainly are growing up way too fast.

So I'm going to grab a big cup of coffee, settle in and try to enter the world of blogging!