Scrapdango Blog Hop Crop

It's time for the Scrapdango Blog Hop Crop to begin. You should've started at the Scrapdango Blog and from there gone to Audra, Celeste and then here. We have a wonderful new Design Team at Scrapdango, and we want to help you get to know them and to get some great challenges along the way and have a chance to win a wonderful prize of one of Scrapdango's awesome kits.

Now how this is going to work is that you need to follow the order of the blogs of each DT member given below. At each blog you will find a list of that designers favorite scrappy things and a few fun facts about them as well. Your challenge is to use 5 of those scrappy things in your layout and incorporate 2 of the fun facts as well. You get 1 draw for using the 5 favorites and 1 draw for using the fun facts. If you do this for everyone's blog...that is a total of 12 draws!

Once you have completed the challenges, you can provide a link to your project by posting a comment here and/or posting it in the Scrapdango forum in the Blog Hop Crop thread. All projects are due by midnight EST on Friday, November 19th.

You can earn extra draws by:
1. Posting comments on all 6 DT blogs.
2. Inviting a friend that actively participates in the hop (they should leave a comment saying who invited them)
3. Posting on the Scrapdango forum (provide link to blog hop thread here) something you learned about each DT member from their blog.

International members welcome to play, however...a $7.50 shipping credit will be given. Any shipping above the $7.50 will be the member's responsibility.

So your challenge is to use at least 5 of my favorite scrappy things on your layout for 1 draw and to incorporate 2 of the fun facts about me somehow for an extra draw.

My five favorite scrappy things are:

1. Journaling spots
2. The color combo brown and blue - check
3. Brown ink
4. Stickles - check
5. Little letter stickers - check
6. Thickers
7. Stars - check
8. Buttons
9. Chipboard - check
10. Sketches - check (I used a sketch from the Capture These Sketches blog)

As far as the fun facts about me:

1. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. (I did a Christmas layout)
2. 4 is my favorite number. (I have four quadrants on my layout)
3. I was a dancer and cheerleader growing up.
4. I love to travel and have to been to 13 countries.
5. I am often cold and live in fleece and sweaters during the fall and winter.

Here is the layout I made that utilizes 6 of my favorite scrappy things and 2 of my fun facts.

Now, you need to head to Laura's blog to see her challenge. Happy hopping!

Scrapdango Blog - You Started Here
Audra
Celeste
Heather <<<----You Are Here
Laura <<<----You Go Here Next
Lynn
Sandi

Celebrating the BIG 4-0 80's Style

This past weekend, I turned the dreaded

BIG 4-0!!!

To celebrate, we had an 80's prom. I came up with this idea quite a few months back but then I kinda decided against it. But then I did tell Dale and my sisters that I would like to do it, but I didn't want to have to plan it (I know, I'm such a diva), so Dale, my sisters, mom and friend, Heather went about planning it. I have to say that they did a fabulous job. I knew a little bit about what to expect but they did so much more. It really was a fun night with family and friends and a fabulous way to celebrate 40. I even got to be Prom Queen and have my own court. And we danced the night away to tons of 80's classics along with a few current songs. The kids really got into all the dancing and discovered how much they like Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice.

I feel like I should be posting some very philosophical or very meaningful message on turning 40, but I'm just really not that kind of a person. I have had lots of people ask me if I feel 40. Obviously, I don't feel a whole lot different than 4 days ago when I was still 39, but there definitely is something that comes with the age. There is a feeling of peace and security that I did not have at 30. Turning 40 is not as dreaded as it is always made out to be. I had a much harder time turning 30. When I turned 30, I was 2 months away from having our first child, I had been in a steady job for almost 5 years but was getting ready to quit to be a stay at home mom, and we were getting ready to move to Vancouver. The future was bright but very uncertain. In the 10 years since then, so much has happened. We did have that first child, Hannah and then two more. We moved to Vancouver and then moved again to the home we plan to stay in. Over those 10 years, Dale and I also have met many of our closest and dearest friends who have helped make the past 10 years a blessing. I think the main thing to reflect on as I turn 40 is how truly blessed I am by God and all the people he has brought into my life. It has been quite a ride, and I look forward to what is to come. So that is about as philosophical and reflective as I get.

Here is a slideshow of many of the other great pictures that were taken at the party.