The last few months have really flown by in hurry and I am finding it hard to believe it is already the middle of November. Never less, the holidays are just around the corner.

Since I last posted a few things have changed in my life. I left Dish Network with a great sense of relief. Although I was doing very well in the position, the promotion prospects and money were not what I was hoping. Additionally, the company lacked any sense of professionalism that I have come to expect and it just frustrated me. I took a temporary job in an accounting firm for a brief time. At the end of September after six months of not much interest, I had four different employment opportunities. One was a second interview in Sioux Falls, SD for Alltel, one was an good paying temp job in Phoenix. Then I was offered two permanent jobs locally. One for a company that fixed circuit boards for servers and telecommunications equipment and another at the local casino that is just opening. All four happened in the same week and I had to make a decision. My husband and I talked a lot weighing the pro and cons and I decided to take the job at the casino.
I started my new job at Red Hawk Casino as a Slot Shift Supervisor. The pay is good, the benefits are AWESOME, I really truly like and respect my management and the work environment actually really fun. Being able to be at the ground floor of this new company is comparable to when I first started at Nextel. We are all a team with the same purpose and have a passion to create something good. I was selected out of 20 supervisors to be the first three to start early. Our manager is training the three of us to be a part of the “train the trainer” program. We will be training the other supervisors. Although I don’t have any gaming experience, my skills seemed to have transitioned well into the new career. So far I am very excited!!
School is going good too. I have completed my first two classes at the University of Phoenix and received an A in both classes. Right now I am in my third class with an intense teacher. Working 12 hours a day at the casino and trying to fit in school with a teacher that demands a very high quality of work, I am much challenged. I hope to pass this class with an A, but will be satisfied with a B. Right now I am avoiding writing a 1500 word essay due on Monday. Well I better sign off and start back on my paper.. wish me luck!

Long hard last few months

I have not posted in a while.. I was laid off from Sprint back in March and have had a very difficult time with the transition. The jobs in the telecom market are not plentiful and ones local to the Sacramento market are far and few between. On Monday, I am starting at Dish Networks, at a fraction of my previous salary. The good news is the company is growing and there is a going to be a lot of room for promotion. I have also decided to go back to school start in August. I am about a year a way from my bachelors and hope this year goes quick!! I am rather nervous to go back to school, but am taking all online classes so at least I can do the school work anywhere I can connect to the internet.

On an exciting note, I am signed up to be an demonstrator for The Angel Company. I just love their products and hope to make a little extra side cash to support my scrapbooking habit!! LOL. Yes, I am tired of sitting home and need to work, keep busy and happy! I do not have any pictures to post right now.. but will later..

Lucky Bug Sketch Challenge

On the group Luckybug group I belong, there is a sketch challenge. Although it is a ROUND LO with out background paper, I could not just leave it a circle. Both LO's are the same with just different background paper.

Challenge LO's

Shannon posted a Words Of Character Challenge on DSD. Here are 3 LO's I did:

More swap items

Here are few more items I have created for swaps. The first 2 are cards and the second is a 2 page complete pages with the "LOVE" theme.

Grandma Delores Turns 80

Delores did not want a party, even though I offered to plan it. She wanted dinner at the Olive Garden with her family. She sure does look great!

ZIP LINE!

The boys were both given a ride on the zip line at the Moaning Caverns from Grandma and Grandpa McMullen. We planned it over the 3 day weekend in Jan and stayed out at our time share at Angels Camp. My parents, Matthew and Tyler came up to spend the weekend with us. Of course, Scott and I could not just WATCH the boys, but went along too. The company offered a deal for three rides and we paid the extra so we all could take 3 rides apeice. I was very surprised on how well both boys handled the first ride. Even Brandon, scared of roller Coaster rides, just stepped right off. It was amazing!

Brandon turns 12!!

We had a small family party at Straw Hat for Brandon's Birthday. He, of course, was spoiled with hunting stuff!

Quading In Jan!

The weather has been odd this winter. Either it is pouring, or it is beautiful. In the middle of Jan there was a break in the weather and we went down to Prairie City OHV Park. It was a fantastic day and quaded ALL DAY!!

Matthews New Truck

On New Years Eve, Matthew came up to show off his new toy!! Yes, he really is that tall.. 6 foot 8 inches! I, of course, had to play with my new camera with some "artistic" shots.

Jan Swaps

Here are are three of the LO's I did for the Jan Completed Page swaps:

Christmas!!

The boys were spoiled like crazy this Christmas! The little extra $ we have with Scott's new job as an installer for Sprint was used this Christmas. One of the traditions after we open all the presents on Christmas Eve is to have a gift paper tornado in the kitchen. It is a great way to burn off all the extra energy. The kids LOVE it.

100 items on a scrapbook page??

I know.. I thought it was IMPOSSIBLE!! For the Luckybug survivor challange, we have been given the following requirements:

1. Patterns of Paper (you have to use 10 different patterns)

2. Cardstock (can be the same color, but there should be 10 pieces, any size)

3. Ribbon or Fiber

4. Gemstones or Buttons

5. Punches or Diecuts

6. Flowers

7. Stamped or Embossed Images

8. Letters or Numbers (monograms, stickers, journaling, etc.)

9. Brads or Eyelets

10. Your Choice, just make sure you use it 10 times

Make sure that I know you used each of these ten things, ten times. So yes, that is 100 items per project.

So here are the two LO's I created..

Six Flags Discovery Cove

Or for those whom have been in the area a while MARINE WORLD.. Part of Scott's Date/Event birthday was to go to Marine World. Saturday was the day. We were orginally just planning on going as the immediate family, not thinking that my parents would be interested. Ryan asked if Grandma and Grandpa were going to, so I asked them along. Matthew and his old friend Brian(and my adopted brother) also joined us. What a fantastic day. The weather report said it was to rain, but we took a gamble and it paid off!! The guests were far and few between. We were able to get off a ride and run around to get right back on. NO LINES!! We were able to see all the animals and even take in the Dolphin show. We rode every ride we wanted least 2 times. One of the highlights was Matthew, Brian and I went on the Sky Coaster. Ryan (my coaster buddy) really wanted to go also, but we decided he needed to be a little older, even though the sign said he was tall enough.

What a day to remember!

Song Title Challenge

The current scrap challenge is to incorporate Song Titles into layouts. Here are two I created last night..

Margie and Phil's Wedding

Congrats to Phill and Margie! I was lucky enough to be able to attend their wedding this last weekend. What a wonderful couple and great friend.

Margie, Phill, thier friends and family just accepted us and made us feel SOO welcome. What a wonderful group of loving people. My mother and I feel like we have a whole new family. I cannot explain it well, but I just love them.

Wedding Sign in pages

My good friend Margie is getting married this weekend in Cape May, NJ! I was invited and decided to fly back to meet her and help her celebrate her wedding!! My mom is coming out too, as she is my travel buddy. I am soo excited. Above are the sign in sheets I created for her. I still have to put in the "guest" and "message" at the top, but I like how they turned out. I hope she does too!

I am suppose to fly out tomorrow. Hubby came home sick today with the flu. He never misses work, so you know it is BAD.. I just *crosses fingers* hope that he does not share EVERYTHING with me.

Fashion Challenge!

The challenge continues! In the Luckybug Survivor Challenge, we are to use clothes as the inspiration for the LO. The Pink one, I found the back ground paper that exactly matches the pants that three of the ladies are wearing. The beach towels are Hawaiian Print, so that was a fun LO to create. The Black and White one is from scrapbook camp. Quite a few of the ladies are wearing black T-shirts that have "Eat, Sleep, Scrap" in white writing.

Hubby's Birthday Present!!

SHHH!! I made a PBA (paper bag album) as a present for my DH B-day coming up very soon. We always talk about the places we want to go see or things we want to do. But unless we make plans, buy tickets etc, we never seem to do them. SO, for his birthday, I made a Date Book. Each month I have something planned through Dec. The kids will be going with us for the Aug- Oct, but Nov and Dec are ours alone.

AUG: We are going on the Sacramento River train. The trip includes a train ride to a picnic bar-b-que lunch by the river. Along the way, (I have been told) numerous western characters will entertain us and have an old-fashioned gunfight (staged). What?? They are not going to ACTUALLY shoot each other.. come on.. (rolls eyes).