Back in touch with dear old friends!!!

Just the other day I was telling Juan that 2007 marks the 10 year anniversary of my university graduation. I can hardly believe it's been that long.

So, Friday night I'm watching season 4 of 24 and the phone rings. It was one of my university friends, who also lives here in Miami but whom I don't get to see that often cause he travels a lot. We had a nice chat and made plans to meet soon. I was so happy to hear from him.

Ten minutes later, he calls again and tells me he's with someone, and he's going to put that someone on the phone to see if I recognize him. I was sooooo happy to hear his voice!!! It was another one of my dear, dear friends from school whom I haven't seen in 9 years!!!!!! Now I was exhilarated. We got to talk on the phone for quite a while. Turns out he's here in Miami on vacation and I get to see him next Friday!!

But that's not all... We hang up and 15 minutes later, I get another phone call, this one from one of my best girlfriends!!!!!!!!!!!! Her, I have not seen for the whole 10 years. They called her in Mexico and we all got on a conference call. It felt as if we had never been apart. We laughed and joked and caught up with each other as much as we could. I was beyond happy. I just could not stop smiling :)

I am so incredibly happy to have finally gotten back in touch with these people with whom I shared some of the best years of my life. We fell out of touch as it often happens, and now I have this incredible chance to reconnect with them.

I am really thankful for so many things in my life. After a pretty rough period, I feel like the pieces of the puzzle are all falling in place for me and for my family. I haven't been this happy in a long time. I have it all. All that matters to me anyway, and I thank God everyday for it.

I am a lucky girl. No doubt about it!

I have a loving, healthy family, lots of friends, old and new that I LOVE with all my heart, I live in a place that makes me feel happy and safe. I just feel great.

Before I leave I want to thank Barb from the bottom of my heart for being such an incredible friend to me. Even more than a friend, she's my family here in Miami and she did something for me that had my Mom in tears when I told her about it.
THANK YOU!!!

I also want to thank Vane P. for the great time and the fabu lunch we had on Sunday. She is very near and dear to my heart and I just want her to know it.

I love you guys!

I have lots more to tell about the weekend but this post is already too loooooong.

Stay tuned...

Just for fun

My visual DNA...

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Check it out here.

For Joey Gallacher...

My thoughts and prayers are with the Gallacher family. I hope with all my heart that Joey, Jen and the rest of the family finds peace.

Read about Joey here.

I {HEART} SCRAP BOOKING!!

I have been playing a lot with my glorious stash lately. Here are some of the LOs I've done... Hope you like 'em!
Some of the scans are pretty bad... Sorry :)


Scrapologie April kit.

Just a pic of my girl. I tore it cause my printer ran out of ink, but I kinda liked the effect.

Scrapologie Jan kit. I just love how her tiny hand looks on the Mac's mouse.

A beauty shot on a day at the park. I really really love BG's Gypsy paper and those hydrangea Primas are my new obsession.

I love how I got Juan's shadow on the sand on this pic.

More park shots. I got to use my new alpha stamps from Village Impressions. I had a second set of stamps done in a smaller size. I just can't get enough of them!

How cute is she?? She fell asleep with her book in her little hands. I was dying to use more of my BG LilyKate paper. Letter stamps also from Village Impressions. The font is called Little Days and you can find it here for free!

That's it for now.

I know I've been lazy...

lately about my blog posts, but for once I have been scrapping A LOT! I have so many wonderful goodies that I barely use, that I just sat down and created. I have been having so much fun. I really do love and enjoy this wonderful hobby of ours!!
I will scan and post the LOs soon, I promise. I'm very happy with them.

I went to Michael's today to get a look at the new Martha Stewart stuff and I was blown away by it all. It's perfectly Martha. Great designs, the best packaging I've ever seen, lots of different things to get for all sorts of crafts... I'm in love with it.
Even the display furniture is perfect. I know I'll be getting LOTS of it in the near future. I'm soooo happy my b-day is coming up...



Before I go, let me just say how very pissed off I am that Rosie's leaving The View. She's the one that made it worth watching. I loved, LOVED all those times she told that idiotic Elizabeth to shut up. I am going to miss her a lot. I guess it's back to watching Martha at 11 am...

I'm off to watch Nati. She's playing with her scissors and I can't take my eyes off her now that she's decided to cut her own hair and "restyle" her new clothes...

I leave you with a funny Nati pic...

You gotta see this!!!!!

The funniest video to ever come out of Youtube.
Enjoy!!

Have a great weekend!!!

In scrap related news...

This one's for my stamp crazed friends. I found the greatest website that will turn anything into a high quality clear stamp!!!! They're Village Impressions and I love them. A lot. I recently ordered one of my all time favorite fonts made into a set of clear stamps and I couldn't be happier with the results. The acrylic is super high quality and the images stamp beautifully. The font is called creampuff and it's free!! You might recognize it from American Crafts' Kennedy stickers.



You'll find all the info and pricing on their website. I totally recommend them. Anna-Mae will send you a picture of the stamp sheet for you to proof before making them and they really work to fit as much images as possible in the sheet to give you the most for your money.
If you ever wished this or that font were a set of stamps or if you have a drawing or a copyright free image you love, they'll make a stamp out of it.
I am so happy I found them!!




I have also been having GREAT mail days. I went a little crazy at Impress... Again. I just couldn't resist these beauties. I love their stamps. I wish they'd start offering them unmounted too. Maybe I'll write to them and ask.



I finally got to scrap with Barb and Esther last Saturday and we went all day long. We broke out Barb's QK Silhouette and it rocks! I really, really like it. Turns out to be muuuuch easier than I thought.
Just might ask for one for my upcoming birthday... May 27th. Yes, I have no problem letting the world know my b-day's coming. I'm one of those people that truly enjoys it still.
I'll post the LOs I made that day as soon as I'm finished with them.

Before I go, here's a pic of the add on kit for May's Work in Progress kit.



It's full of those beautiful Jenni Bowlin Studio papers, a pack of 7 Gypsies sealing wax (yummy!), some great vintage bits and pieces and the cutest Catslife Press stamp.
Get it while it's still available.

Oh!! Guess who has new stamps??? Purple Onion!!!! Go check them out. Michelle did a great job with the spring release, as always.




Peace out...

I am heartbroken...

Plain and simple, heartbroken. What happened at VA Tech is just incomprehensible to me.
I pray to God that He gives the families of those who died the strength needed to go on and accept His will.
Let us all pray for them so they may someday heal.

It's up!!!!

My work is up at Work in Progress!!!!!



This is so exciting for me. I had such a fun time working with the kit. I cannot thank my dear Trish enough for this opportunity. She really ROCKS!



Please check it out and tell me what you guys think, OK? Pretty please??

I had a WONDERFUL mail day, but I have a splitting headache and I need to lay down for a while, so I'll post about my goodies tomorrow. I will also share an amazing source for my stamp crazy friends... Stay tuned, you do not want to miss this one :P

I'm gonna go now, I feel sick to my stomach from watching about that horrendous shooting in VA Tech. My heart is broken for all those parents who got the worse news they could ever get today.
Let's all keep those families in our prayers.

A little sneak peek...

at the work I created for Work in Progress.
Check back during the week to see the rest in WIP's gallery.
I had so much fun working with this kit. I started playing with it, and I just couldn't stop. I literally spent the whole day Friday making the samples for Trish. I stopped until around 7 pm, and just 'cause I was about to pass out from hunger...

I spent all day Saturday cropping at Barb's house. Esther, my wonder Stampin' Up rep was there too and we had so much fun together!! We hadn't gotten together in such a long time, that we were really missing each other. I only wish Vanessa could have been there. Hi, Vane!!!
I had my gorgeous Jenni Bowlin and Scrapologie kits (see links to the right), and made four LOs I'm pretty happy with. They're not yet finished so I'll post them later.

When our creative juices finally stopped flowing, Barb ordered some delish Chinese food and we had dinner together. Afterward, we sat and chatted for a while on the patio, with the husbands and our kids. Such a good, nice, plain relaxing time. I wish we could do it every weekend.

I am so grateful to have finally found good friends here in Miami. I spent such a long miserable time just felling lonely, that now that I have them in my life, I thank my lucky stars. I know we'll be friends for life.

So, please don't forget to check Work in Progress' gallery, I need your constructive criticism, OK?

Have a good Sunday!!

My mojo...

is flowing like crazy today!!! Which is just great cause I got the May kit from Work in Progress yesterday. My sweet friend Trish, who puts together those wonderful monthly kits, asked me to make a few projects for her May gallery.
I am having a blast with the kit, it's chock full of scrappy goodness, you have to check them out. They sell out fast, so hurry!



I have been neglecting the blog a little lately because Nati spent the whole week at home from day care thanks to that mysterious fever that just wouldn't go away. Thankfully she's a lot better, but being the child spoiler that I am, I didn't want to send her to school today. Right now she's transformed into Snow White and she's happily playing in her room... Close to Mama :)

Well, I just wanted to check in with my bloggin' peeps. I'm off to play with the kit some more.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

My Easter Sunday...

We spent the day at home. Not only do we have no family here in Miami, but Nati has been having a fever for no apparent reason. I feel so helpless when she's feeling bad and I don't know what's wrong. She's still not really able to tell me exactly how she feels, so it's pretty difficult.
Right now she's here in bed right beside me, watching her Night Show on Sprout with a cold wet towel on her head to lower the fever.
She is such a wonderful girl. And funny... A little while ago, when Juan was calling the Dr. he said on the phone that the call was from Natalia Sempere, and she said, with her little faint feverish voice, "Magloire". Since she goes by both our last names, she felt the need the correct daddy... :)

She slept a little during the afternoon and I ran to my scrap desk to play with my gorgeous new Impress rubber stamps. They have an incredible card idea gallery on their website and I just had to make some of them. I made lots, using mostly card stock scraps, which made so happy I saved them. It was lots of fun and you will start to get cards from me in the mail just because...















We had delicious enfrijoladas for lunch. They are corn tortillas filled with cheese and covered with a creamy black bean and chipotle sauce then baked in the oven for 5 or 6 minutes just to melt the cheese. They're one of my specialties. Delish!

Today's a great TV day for me. The Sopranos and Entourage have their season premieres today. We also get new episodes of Desperate House wifes and Brothers & Sisters. Woohoo!!! I am so addicted to TV, it's not even funny.

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday with your families, with lots of egg hunting and delicious food.

Have an eggcellent day!!!!

Just to wish y'all a very Happy Easter!!

Ahhh, Spring...

It's such an amazing season here in Miami. The days have been just gorgeous all week. You really want to be outside to enjoy them.

Right now the hubby's grilling some delish steak on the balcony, I'm looking at an incredibly blue sky and new leaves of the prettiest shade of green.

I haven't posted much lately, cause I'm trying to stay away from the Mac. It's just too much temptation and the amount of enabling out there is just crazy. I need to put a stop to the shopping. I already have so many scrap supplies, that I need to start using them before I buy anything else. Let's see how long this lasts... :)

I have been so disappointed with American Idol. It really rubs me the wrong way that Sanjaya and Hailey are still there. I am a big fan of Howard Stern's but, if he succeeds in getting those two to the finals, I am gonna be pissed.

OK, my steak is ready. Off to dinner. Have a great weekend and a Happy Easter!

24...

I have been watching the first seasons of 24, which I missed, and I am totally obsessed with Jack Bauer. It's such a great show, I really love it. That's why I haven't been posting. I have been glued to the TV all weekend.

I got so inspired by Nik's idea, that I"m gonna use the mini book I made for Nati, to do the same. Check it out here.

Saturday I stayed up until 1:00am to wait for Jenni Bowlin's kit, and it was so worth it. She has a great eye for putting things together. Of course by morning the kits were sold out, so I'm very happy I did it. Look at this beauty...



I also found this incredible website, Impress Stamps. They have the most gorgeous images, and many that I had been looking to find in stamps for a while. If you're into stamping, you have got to check it out. They have a gallery full of incredibly beautiful ideas for cards, using their stamps in ways that are really very original. I am going to start making cards now.





Aren't they just delish??? I found this little bird for my bird stamp collection and the chandelier is gonna go great with those new CHA papers from Hambly.

I'm excitedly waiting to get the May kit from Trish at Work in Progress. Don't forget to check her site on the 15th for a preview. She is such a sweet and generous person. She was kind enough to donate some kits for Ali Edwards' efforts to raise funds for autism. Way to go, Trish!

I spent most of the morning cleaning the apartment and I always find that instead of feeling tired afterwards, I feel a rush of energy. Exercise really is a great thing. I have got to start doing it more often...

Enough chitchat, have a great week!