The Boo Crew!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Yeah, so we are a little early but who cares?! My sister, Rachelle, threw a little Halloween party this weekend and so we actually ALL got dressed up.

Alyson was our little Incantasia...she is a friend of Merlin'sand also known as The Glamour Witch...couldn't have been a more fitting costume for our little Diva. She loves to "turn it on" when I have the camera out...don't ya just love her little sassy pose? ;)

This witch is ready to fly!

Stevie opted for something a little bit more on the scary side... a phantom with glowing eyes...

It's hard to be too scared of him though when you know he looks like this underneath...

Obviously Alyson was not scared!

The kids were pretty excited to have mommy and daddy dress up this year as well...or should I say "mummy" and daddy (yep, that was cheesy!)

Have a a safe and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Me...in 10 sentences?!

Okay so the latest blog challenge is to let you know who I am...in 10 sentences. Hmmmm...I am really awful with these kinds of things. I don't think I am all that interesting...I mean, I certainly don't have any paparazzi following around and no one gets too excited when I walk into a room (well, hopefully my husband on occasion!) but you get my drift! Anyone, this is what I got for right now.

1. I am passionate about the people I love...my husband, my 2 babies and my friends.
2. I tend to be a little passionate about the things I love as well...like my Starbucks and Disney.
3. I am a Life Artist.
4. I have a temper. Just ask my little brother...his advice to Steve on our wedding day "Don't make Heather mad!" (seriously, it's on the wedding video, I kid you not!) and to be fair, Steve has referred to me as "Hurricane Heather" on a number of occasions...although not recently! ;)
5. I love to escape into the pages of a good book -- sometimes I think I lose a little grip on reality...like today, at lunch, I told Steve, if a vampire walks through that door, I am gone! ;)
6. I am actually a hot, sexy, singing sensation...at least in the confines of my Sequoia! ;)
7. I hate dishonesty...don't have much tolerance for lying.
8. I love to dance...I especially love belly dance.
9. I am actually rather shy...until you get to know me.
10. I am perfectly unperfect.

So...tell me about you....(and link it back so I can read it!)

Simple Pleasures

I had a rough end to my week last week and so I have been putting off Beryl's Blog Challenge from House of Paper but quite honestly it has truly been the simplest of pleasures that have helped me get through my heartache. Turns out my girlfriend was right...once I thought more about what she said...it hurt - a lot...and yep, now I am pretty ticked. She hurt me more than I would have thought a friend like her could. *sigh* Oh well, right? I guess we just see our friendship differently now...who would have thought. I always considered her "my person" (if you are a Gray's fan then I know you totally got that.)

So, on to my simple pleasures right now. Of course it goes without saying that a hug and a kiss from either of my kids of my hubby is always a pleasure...or when I get to snuggle with any of them at the end of the day.

Reading has become a wonderful escape as of late. Can I just tell you that I am totally in love with a vampire right now?! Who would have thought I could become so engrossed in what is really more of a saga meant for those a few years younger than me?! I totally blame Amanda! I am half way done with the 3rd book and will be anxiously awaiting the arrival of the 4th (Susanne totally rocks, BTW!) I am even planning to go see the Twilight movie when it comes out on November 21st...thanks again Amanda! ;)

Another simple pleasure for me is being able to keep up with my House Homies while I am at work...and on this particular morning I came in to find the gift of this bumper sticker on my desk from a co-worker and having my morning coffee out of this flamingo cup was enough to bring a huge grin on my face! Now before you Obama fans start getting all fired up...don't. I don't care who you are voting for and I am not posting this to cause an uproar...I was so happy to have this at my desk because it meant my manager would stay away for most of the day (yep, he is voting Obama) which made it much easier for me to squeeze in a few more pages in the Twilight Saga while sipping my coffe and posting to The House of Paper. One of the other Obama supporters in my office was contemplating getting one for his office door to ward off management as well! LOL!

The House of Paper is not the only website I visit on a daily basis...I love reading The Pioneer Woman's blog as well. She makes me want to put us all in wrangler jeans, boots and cowboy hats and become ranchers! She has such a way with words and the way she writes...man she can crack you up and then turn around and make you cry! Gotta love it! LOL!

My brother works at the same company I do know...yep, he owes me so big! One of the nice things about that though is that I actually see him on occasion...and just the other day we even had a chance to go out to lunch together since he was in the office for a change rather than having to be in the field. We enjoyed a couple of beers and a great lunch at Tanks. I tell you what...a nice Stella Blonde at 1pm on a Friday was just what the dr ordered...and in a beautiful Buccaneers glass....perfecto!

It's a new week and a new attitude!

It is a new week and I am determined to make sure it is a GOOD week! I made myself a list of things to get done over the weekend and I was able to get at least half of them accomplished which felt great! I even got 2 LOs done which was even better.

I just love these pics of Alyson - they were taken in December 2004...I can't get over how little she looks!

And I did a quick one of Stevie as well...when he was Anakin Skywalker for Halloween in 2005...you can tell he was pretty serious about his role!

I only have a couple more LOs to finish to get our Halloween album up to date. I love doing a LO each year of the kids in their costumes...an idea I got from one of my favorite scrapbookers, Stacy Julian. Stacy and Becky Higgins are definitely my 2 all time favorites and I tend to look their way whenever I am in need of inspiration!

One of my favorites is this one that I finished last week of Alyson's costume from last year... my mother made her a gorgeous Sleeping Beauty gown...she spent quite a bit of time twirling around in it! The pictures just do not do it justice. The material I picked out has glittery sparkles all through out I know I am a little biased being her mommy and all but I just thought she was absolutely gorgeous in her dress!

Speaking of Stacy Julian, I came across a challenge she had posted on her blog called Give Yourself a Present! I swear, the timing on finding this is perfect for me and where I am right here and right now. I am planning on working this week to put together my 10-12 pics and making my little mini album to keep in my purse. The next time I am feeling my funk and feeling like the wind has been knocked out of me yet again, I will thumb through my album and remember to breathe and see what is really important in my life. :)

Yep, this week is starting off good! If you are lucky enough to have the day off for Columbus Day - well, color me jealous! ;) Happy Monday and have a great week!

I am just rambling.

I am in such a funk these days. I just can not seem to get out of it. I was thinking that maybe I just need to talk about it...but talk about WHAT exactly?! Let's see...

I am constantly tired these days.
I feel utterly overwhelmed and stressed.
I feel like I have no control over anything right now.
I am feeling insecure.
I am working really hard to be happy when I just don't feel happy right now.
I am really struggling as a mother right now with my daughter.
I still can't seem to find that sense of balance I have been searching for over the last 6 months.
I have been slacking in the exercise/healthy me department.
I don't seem to have enough time or energy to get the things done that I need to or want to.
I want to keep the peace -- but at the same time I just want to explode!
I used to love this time of the year...and now I dread it...trying to change that...that's a struggle.
Things are bothering me that probably shouldn't. How do you just make that stop?
How exactly does someone NOT worry?
Everything just feels so "off" right now.
I am definitely in need of "something" right now...just can't quite figure out what exactly that is.

Can I just go back to bed...for a week, maybe?