{Life as we live it}

making the switch...

i've been contemplating about making the switch from Typepad to Blogger for the past few months. it's a hard decision, especially after being with Typepad since 2005. it's definitely a huge difference between the two, but i am looking forward to a fresh start. my goals is to be more consistent with weekly updates than i have been in the past six months and also thinking about bringing back wordless Wednesday's or maybe even doing a throwback Thursday ;). i really loved sharing that one single random photo every week.

be sure to add this new link http://cindyliebel.blogspot.com for your RSS feeds and blog readers, etc.

i look forward to sharing my random thoughts, scrappy news and images with all of you at my new home.

day in the life | 4.30.13

so, i finally sat down uploaded images from all the cameras that i used to document our day in the life monthly project. you can read more about it here on Ali's blog...

515 ~ up getting ready to hit the gym...

545-715 ~ full body strengthening mixed with cardio... a good day

8 ~ Tim keeping an eye out on Nala, kids eating breakfast (yes, that is Ty's blankie wrapped around his neck, always is)...

815 ~ packing kids lunches. Ty ate all his food & Corinne probably ate 80% of all her lunch...

845 ~ once kids left for school, i spent a few hours breaking down my shelf, now living with a new owner. the day before, i bought a new couch from Ikea, super cheap... unpacked & put it together in no time...

11 ~ lunch, a movie w/ my friend Katherine & selfies. we watched Pain & Gain, crazy movie...

215 ~ met up with Tim at Target for some quick shopping & hit up the grocery store before kids arrived home from school...

430 ~ Tyler playing his dsi while Corinne practices her dance routine, she was super excited to receive her sticker after dance class...

Ty usually has scouts, but they didn't meet on this particular day. so, it was nice to come home after dance class and not have to rush eating dinner before cub scouts.

that was our Tuesday, April 30th. i didn't snap very many photos at all. it was a very productive day even though i spent two hours watching a movie :) xo!

Gossamer Blue | Project 12...

good rainy afternoon...

i am happily writing from my newly upgraded computer, which was out of use during National Scrapbook Day this past weekend. this is probably the first time i've not created a project in honor of NSD. but at the same time, i was thrilled to have a faster working computer more than anything. lots more memory & storage space to boot...YAY! now i need to think about investing in a 27" or higher monitor, LOL!

anyway, this month i am hosting Project 12 over at the Gossamer Blue blog. this works out perfectly for me since my project life is documented on a monthly basis. the best thing about the Project 12 challenge is that you get to participate for your chance to win a $20 gift certificate :)

to play along, be sure to follow the instructions below AND see more of my Project 12 images here...

1. Follow Gossamer Blue on Pinterest HERE
2. Leave a comment on this post HERE with your Pinterest name letting us know you are following us.
3. Gossamer Blue will follow you back and invite you to contribute to our Project 12 Pinterest Board
4. Accept the invitation from Gossamer Blue.
5. You are now ready to post your Project 12 spread to our Project 12 Pinterest board.

Each month Gossamer Blue will pick a winner at random to win a prize. 

Create a Project 12 spread recapping one month and post it to the Project 12 Pinterest board by May 10th and Gossamer Blue will pick a random winner to receive $20 Gift Certificate.

xo!

Gossamer Blue | May projects...

i don't know about you, but i'm super excited that May has arrived. the last three days of April brought us lots of rain and clouds. so, thankful to finally have sunshine and i'm thrilled to share my layouts i made with this months Gossamer Blue kits... um, i LOVE LOVE LOVE these kits!!! i know, i sound like a broken record each month, but it's true! my heart was full of smiles when i opened all the kit contents last month. lots of my favorite colors rolled into one.

my "Times Square" layout was created using the main kit along w/ the digital files.

the design of my layout was completely inspired by this ad i found on pinterest a while back...

i had planned on using four images, but i only had three images that would work for the story behind the photos. using the geotags to frame the photos was fun! i love how it all turned out. especially loved using the above ad for inspiration.

i also added lots of big, bold arrows to the design to compliment the slender die-cut arrows by Jillibean Soup. i used two of the digital file 3x4 cards and layered them together along w/ Fancy Pants decorative baggie, which holds my hidden journaling.

for my next layout, i used contents from both the main add-on kit and add-on kit #2...again, LOVE!

there are so many bits & pieces in both kits, i couldn't help but to use as much of it as i could on one layout, ha!

this layout turned out totally different than what i had first imagined. first of all, i had an issue w/ my trimmer and lining up the polaroids straight...i need to remember to trim paper down first before adhering stuff down before hand. it all was all crooked, so i just went w/ it. i was determined to use that paper no matter what, hahaha.

i hand cut a variety of arrows from the pattern paper & layered them for dimension along w/ embellishing a few with brads. i love the color and how it adds to my page.

photos added to each polaroid randomly to go w/ the flow of the slanted layout design.

if you've not already bought a kit, do so now right here! there are kits sold-out already on the site. you will not want to miss these luscious kits!!

happy hump day, xo!!!

LBD | surfboards & waves...

i have a bad habit of forgetting to update my blog. i've become blog-lazy around here. i guess it's not really a top priority like it used to be. will have to change that...

anyway, hope those of you that do stop by are doing well. today i wanted to share a layout that went up on Lily Bee's blog yesterday. this week focus on project is the great outdoors and another fellow team member and i went w/ a beach theme.

ever since i have been w/ the Gossamer Blue kit club design team, i am embracing pattern paper more and more. using it as my main background rather than just cardstock. however, i couldn't resist a little white space on my page. plus, i wanted these colors to pop off the page.

i can't get enough of the surfboard elements though. i had so much fun piecing them together. love how they look on the page and how they turned out.

thanks for taking the time to stop by. i promise i will try to be better about updating my blog more often than i have in these past few months or more.

xoxo!

garden project...

since the beginning of April, we finally took the plunge and began building three more garden beds. this has been something we've been wanting to expand on for quite a while. last year Tim built two his & hers raised garden beds. they both sit up close to the house for quick & easy access. his holds onions, a variety of bell peppers and potatoes and hers holds herbs.

last year i tried my hand at growing roma  and egg plant along w/ the herbs and to my surprise, they did very well. but we knew we were going to need more space for more of our favorite vegges/fruits.

the past three weekends, we have spent a lot of it in the backyard. one weekend was spent building raised garden beds, the next tilling the gardens, planting a few apple trees and berry bushes and just yesterday we visited the farmers market purchase a few veggies to plant. we have three garden beds that i am looking forward to fill!

currently, we are growing cilantro, basil (my FAVE), parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage (these last three herbs have lasted all winter long, loved that), cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, beets, lettuces, red cabbage, green cabbage, potatoes, onions, bell peppers, asparagus, fuji apple tree & a granny smith apple tree.

on our list is blueberry & blackberry bushes, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, butternut or acorn squash, spinach, collard greends, kale, arugula, oregano... can't wait to get these items planted!

we have also started composting. so glad we are finally doing this. i've always hated tossing food scraps in the trash or down the garbage disposal.

and yes, we have gardening hats, LOL! i couldn't resist. while we were shopping for our building supplies, the rack of hats were calling our names. we were trying to imitate the classic american painting of the farmers with the pitchfork in front of their house, LOL. there are boards up on our garden beds to keep Nala out. during the building process, she would get into them and lay herself down. completely in her comfort zone. we had to put a stop to that, ha!

our goal, is to be able to grow at least 50% of our favorite veggies & fruits. let's see how our semi-virgin green thumbs do :)

xo!

crafty tutorial share...

happy Friday!

i have a tutorial over on the Lily Bee blog today. it's a picture frame i converted into a dry erase/message board. you can read more about it here.

xo!

GB | May LookBook peek...

LOTS of wonderful goodies in next months kits. take a peek into the May lookbook

happy Wednesday, Smooches!

Gossamer Blue | April project life...

guten morgan!

this week i am enjoying the company of two wonderful friends i only get to see once (maybe twice) a year. we are spending four creative days together cropping at the local scrapbook store. it's really fun. we don't just scrapbook, we plan on racing in go-carts at Funland, possibly rock climbing, shopping & of course, lots of (semi-healthy) eating! it's a lot of fun & a nice mini vacation away from the daily routine!

earlier this week, my project life went live on the Gossamer Blue blog, you can see and read more about this months pages here.

hope you are having a great week and enjoying all this summer like weather Spring has sprung on us. enjoy your day!!!

xo!

Creative Memories | Baby Blog Hop

Hoppity hop! If you arrived here from Ginger Williams (Traditional) blog, then you are in the right place.

The new It's A Boy collection by Creative Memories is absolutely adorable! I love that the pattern papers arrive in a paper pack along with pre-made die-cuts. The title and decorative stickers are also just fabulous! I instantly gravitated to some of my favorite baby pictures of my oldest child, Tyler, who is now 10 going on 18, ha!

I'm always reminiscing old photos of my kids. It's amazing how fast they grow. It seems like yesterday. Sometimes I wish I could turn back time, but what is the fun of that? The geometric shapes cut out into the embossed cardstock background adds a bit of fun and movement. Plus, I love how the images pop off the blue/grey backgournd, surrounded by pops of color.

Tyler and I played a lot together before bedtime. We would hang out in bed with my point and shoot abd music playing, dancing our hearts away. He loved the camera and always managed to pose for me. His wide toothless smile brought glistened. When he tired, he had no problems letting me know and we would cuddle together until he was sound asleep. I loved every minute of it! These two images of him are just a handful of my most favorite memories during his childhood. I'm so grateful to have wonderful memories of my little guy and even more grateful to be making memories with him now.

Though snappnig photos of him now, trying to get him to pose or even just give me a smile it's hard to come by. I seem to have to constantly bribe him just to even look at my camera! So, looking back at moments like this I am forever grateful.

Thanks for letting me share my story with you today and hope you continue to be inspired.

My code is the letter F. Now be sure to write down the letter. At the end of the hop, you'll be asked to enter all the codes collected for your chance to win some fabulous prizes!

Now, off to your next stop, Jennie McGarvery (Traditional). Good luck & Happy Hoppin!