It's time to let the cat out....

I've kept this secret as long as I possibly can and now it's time to let y'all in on the excitement!

I am opening my own personal store site!! The Grand Opening will be this Friday, Feb. 1st. All personal use items will be 25% off and I'll have a big fat Birthday Box full of goodies for you too!

Birthday? Did she say Birthday? That's right.. Saturday is my 32nd birthday and what better way to celebrate than with presents! So mark your calander and bookmark the site.. doors are opening this Friday!!

www.blytheevans.com

Touch Me...

I was at the mall tonight buying clothes for my 12 yr old's upcoming camping trip and we decided to venture outside of Target and into the actual mall. Have you ever seen those Massage Chairs they have sitting in the middle of the mall aisles? Well, have you ever sat in one? Oh. My. Gosh!

You have no idea what you are missing. Maybe I'm just overworked and completely stressed out but this was like heaven! Especially on my poor aching legs and back. I think this will be at the top of my wish list for next year's Christmas gift. I might even be willing to trade in my husband for one of these chairs. Just kidding love.. I know you're reading this.

Brrr Baby It's Cold Outside

And it's just as cold in my house! I have got to get the apartment people out here to take a look at my water heater. Our heat hasn't been working properly and the hot water in the shower upstairs is lukewarm at best! Downstairs in the kitchen, laundry, etc it's fine.. just upstairs that it doesn't reach.

I was reading about these tankless water heaters and I think they sound really cool! Why doesn't our complex get these installed? From the sounds of it, it would save everyone some money in the long run. Save money? What?? No way!

I'd also like some hot chocolate to soothe my poor swollen tongue.. and warm my body. I could get up and make some coffee, but I really don't want any coffee nor do I really want to get up. Oh well, I am going shopping with my 12 yr old tonight, I'll get some hot chocolate at Starbucks later on.

Have a great weekend all!

Update on Me

Some of you may or may not have noticed, that I have been a little missing in action the last few days. On Wednesday, I had a seizure. I'd like to thank everyone who was concerned about me and sent their well wishes.

I am ok.. my tongue hurts from me chomping down on it and it's been a little hard to talk, eat, drink, swallow etc. My legs are incredibly sore, kind of like how you feel after you've just worked out for the first time in a long time....only without the exercise equipment.

My mom came home from work to take care of the boys while I slept until Dan could get home from work. Yesterday was my first day back online, my brain is not 100% quite yet. I am feeling a little disoriented when I try to type. You might catch me making some typo's.. no more than usual I suppose.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised... I have been working awfully hard the last few weeks. Long hours in front of the computer and getting to bed too late. I was pretty much a ticking time bomb. So, I am making myself a new promise and making it public. I WILL be offline by 10 pm and I WILL be in bed no later than 11 pm. And last night.. I was!

Only 4 more days peeps, Stay Tuned!!

Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew

Has anyone seen this show? I had heard about it but never seen it... until the other night. I was flipping channels trying to find something to watch and I saw this was on. Now, I didn't even know that Dr. Drew was on this so I flipped it on. I've loved Dr. Drew ever since MTV aired Loveline, and I still listen to it onthe radio.

Oh. My. Gosh, it was incredibly sad. I could barely watch 5 minutes before I shut it off.

A brief synopsis from the VH1 website:

"Celebrity Rehab is the first television series to chronicle the dramatic, unscripted real life experiences of a group of actual celebrities as they make the life-changing decision to enter themselves into a drug, alcohol and addiction treatment program with the sincere desire to achieve true rehabilitation and recovery."

Cast included celebs like Jeff Conaway (Taxi), Daniel Baldwin, and Brigette Nielsen.

Another Creative Team Layout!

Today's Layout was created by Diana. You can see Diana's entire gallery by clicking over there ----->

In this Layout, Diana used my Forces of Nature Papers- set "Fire" , Craft Foam Alpha (coming soon!) Picture Perfect Gallery Frames, Sew It Seams Stitches.

Other credits:

• bow set No. 5 by O.N. Design
• Ribbons No. 2 by O.N. Design
• Ephemerals II by Jofia Devoe Design
  

End of another day....

Today actually went by rather quickly.. Dan had to work today and the kids were off from school so I expected it to be a very long and very loud day. However, that was not entirely the case!

The morning was a little rough, it was raining and the kids had to all stay in the house. The big ones were fighting, the little ones were fighting, then the big ones started fighting with the little ones.. oh it was the picture of a perfect day! My mom came over and we took the little ones to the grocery store while the big ones stayed home and did their chores without little ones around to undo their work.

We stopped at my brother's to drop something off and visit with the girls for a little bit. Then we hit the store. We came back home unloaded everything and I started dinner and cleaned up a bit before Dan got home. My sister in law and I decided to (actually, it was my idea and I wasn't letting her say no) go out for a little one on one girls night. We went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. We had a nice time, talked, ate, had dessert and I think we are both a little bit happier.

I got home around 8 and I started making a little something new for my PPF store next week. I haven't had much computer time today at all.. I was on for a brief bit earlier this afternoon and just as I was getting off my popup blocker went a little wonky so I shut down and now that I'm back home and rebooted it seems to be working fine!

Oh and that little secret, I told y'all about a few weeks ago? Well.. start counting down the days, all will be revealed on Monday, Jan. 28th!!

CT Layout Time!

This week's LO is by eri

Everything seen here can be found in my PPF Store!

Shop til you drop!

I love that saying, but maybe that's becuase I love to shop. It doesn't matter who I'm shopping for either. This time it's my 12 yr old son. Like I mentioned previously, he is getting ready to go to Science Camp. Well, the trip has been bumped up to the end of January, which is next week!

So, I've got this list about a mile long of things he needs to take with him. He's ony going for 4 days! Yet, I've got this list of stuff that I now have to buy. Although, he does need new clothes anyway so it's not that big of a deal but I'm worried that it's not all going to fit in his duffel bag (kinda but not really)!!

What's even funnier to me is that they can't take anything like curling irons or hairdriers and there are 12-13 yr old girls going on this trip. I am envisioning them all toting huge luggage sets off the bus, like they are staying for a couple of weeks rather than a couple of days. Cracking me up!

Good thing we are getting our tax refund soon, a shopping I will go!

What a Mess!

Oh my goodness! I swear my child has a built in stealth feature. He is so quiet sometimes, it is just plain scary! I guess it doesn't help that I have been working like a mad woman the last few weeks. Pretty soon it will all settle down.

Anyway, back to the story. It got very quiet this afternoon, I got up to grab a soda and I found my 4 year old child eating peanut butter straight out of the jar with a spoon! I ran all over the house looking for something to clean him up with. Today was one day I wished I still bought baby wipes! I found something to clean him up with but I wasn't quick enough in catching him. By the time I got to him, he had eaten nearly half the jar!

Guess he got his fill of protein today huh?

Living Vicariously Through Others

That is the theme of the day for me! I do this every so often.. rather than sit here dreaming about how I wish things were different with my current living situation, I'm going to help redecorate my mom's house.

Sounds crazy but at least I'm not loathing in self-pity, right? Ok, here's the background story on my mom's house. She bought it from my brother and sister-in-law, who did alot of upgrades, including most of the kitchen. One thing in the kitchen they did not upgrade were the cabinet fronts. In the dining room, they changing the flooring to this really pretty dark cherry finish, so now her oak cabinets look out of place.

I am checking out DirectBuy website and it looks pretty nice from what I can see. They charge a membership, that enables you to get manufacturer prices on their products. You can fill out a short form and get a free pass to their showroom. I love looking at this kind of stuff.. I've got some great ideas, now the key is to talk my mom into listening to me. So, any bets on how long that will take?

Yummy Potato Salad Recipe

I've been asked to try a few varieties of Grey Poupon mustard and I decided this was the perfect excuse to make my potato salad. I absolutely adore this recipe and my family does too. I'm not sure where it came from, but it's so yummy. I usually make it to take to family picnics or barbecues but it's been awhile and so I was totally having a craving!

• 1 lb cooked & cubed russet potatoes


• 1 cup chopped bell pepper


• 1 cup chopped celery


• 1/2 cup red onion


• 2 TBSP sweet relish


• 3-4 TBSP mustard


• 1/2 cup mayonnaise


• 1-2 TBSP Red Wine Vinegar


• Season with Salt and pepper to taste.

I like to try using different types of potatoes for a fun variation. I've used russets, yukon gold, and red potatoes but I really think I would like to try it with Purple Peruvian potatoes. I think the color would give it a fun twist.

I served this to my two younger boys for lunch with their hotdogs and it was perfect! The Grey Poupon mustard gave the salad a much different texture than regular mustard and a much better taste I might add. I used the Harvest Course Ground mustard. The mustard seeds are left mostly whole in this type and I think it had the most impact on the salad. The kids loved it!

My husband used the spicy mustard on the cheeseburger he brought home, he said it made it even better!

Honey-Do...

Things I need to do this weekend and yes, I do realize that it is only Tuesday but if I don't write them down or say them outloud, I will forget.

• Play catch up on laundry
• Straighten up and vaccuum my bedroom- I'd love to be able to see the floor again.
• Replace the bulbs in some of the light fixtures around the house- you know because I'd like to be able to see...period.
• Go grocery shopping-you'd think I was feeding teenagers or something. Oh, wait.. I am. And a 33 year old man.
• Work
• Work
• Did I mention work?

I think that about covers it but I am sure I forgot something, I usually do. Have a great day!

Y-A-W-N

I am so tired right now. Why don't I go to bed? No idea, I planned on going to bed at least an hour and a half ago but something about the peacefulness of my house right now is rather addicting. If I go to sleep, it'll just start all over again.

This weekend was harsh too. I was up late Friday night, thankfully Dan let me sleep in. On Saturday, I had a really hard time getting to sleep, because my lovely husband snores like a buzzsaw and refused to roll over. I ended up sleeping on the couch and picking myself up off the floor to drag myself back upstairs around 8 am. I was so tired, I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I felt like I might need one of those stair lifts just to get up there. I somehow managed and slept til 2 pm.

I lounged around and then when I was about to go to bed I realized that I needed to do laundry so the kids would have something to wear to school. Speaking of school, I need to set out clothes for my 6 yr old. Anyway, I was up til about 1:30 doing that.

Tonight, I'm not really doing much of anything. I was working a little bit and I realized I hadn't blogged today. Ah, well.. so here you have it. Now, I'm off to dreamland and hopefully, it'll be quick and painless.

See you in the morning. Nighty-night.

Pretty Cool Product

This week, I received this water bottle to test out. It is called the Pure Water 2go. I have the 16 oz bottle with a Level 2 filter. The directions tell you you rinse both the bottle and the water bottle filter by filling the bottle up with the filter attached to the cap and squeeze the water through the top.

I put the bottle in the fridge for a few hours to chill and when I went to try it out, I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleased. There was no aftertaste, no weird tapwater smell, and it tasted clean. Also, you get about 3 months worth of use out of one filter so it will really cut down on the need too buy bottled water. Very afforable prices!

My 12 year old son also tried the bottle and he liked it as well. We have also have an above counter water filter attached to our kitchen faucet but that we can't use when we are out of the house! Usually I prefer my water double filtered anyway but for the sake of getting a true taste of what this product does, I tested it with unfiltered tapwater.

I am very pleased with this product and it will get alot of use!

Aaaaa-CHOO!

My 12 yr old son, Alex, is going off to Science Camp next month. Anyone who has to take medication on a regular basis has to have each and every med approved by their doctor, even over the counter stuff. It's got to be written exactly how it should be taken, when and how much.

Alex suffers from seasonal allergies, thankfully for him (and me!) he really only has problems in the spring time. Hopefully, he won't have a problem while he's gone.

Which leads me to my next (very random) thought, maybe I should invest in a dehumidifier? I've been reading up on them because I didn't even know what they did. I know about humidifiers, just not dehumidifiers.

This site I am reading though says that if your room is air conditioned then you probably don't need a dehumidifier, or at least you shouldn't need one. So there you have it.

Anyway, back to Science Camp. This program is so much fun. The camp they are going is to has been used with the Bay Area schools for something like 65 years. I'm pretty sure I went when I was in school. We took a trip in the 6th grade, all the 6th grade classes went. This was our big end of the year class trip.

927 acres of Redwood forests and just a few short miles from the ocean, what more could a kid ask for? My son, Kyle, went last year and had a ball. I know Alex will too.

It's sounding better by the minute...

I am seriously thinking about taking my laptop and going to sit in Barnes & Noble just so I can get some work done. Kids are fighting, tearing the house apart, and not listening. Ugh, it's 4 pm.. off to straighten up....the story of my life.

Catch ya later.

Been Sick..

I just noticed after posting earlier today that it's been a whole 4 days since my last blog, so I thought I owed you a little explanation. I got sick over the weekend, I started feeling yucky on Sunday and by Monday I was officially feeling run over.

DH stayed home Tuesday to let me rest and I slept til 11 am. He's so sweet.. I felt tons better the next day.

Not to mention, I've been busy helping Amanda get things ready for the Grand Opening at PPF.

Tomorrow is the last day that my products will be available in my OAKS store. Some things will be getting retired but most will be in my NEW store at PPF. There will be very little downtime between moves.

And of course my new little secret project has been keeping me busy as well. I can't wait to let y'all in on the little secret! Stay tuned!

That Wacky Mailman!

I find this utterly hilarious but I get a ton of mail order catalogs that I didn't ask for. More often than not they are for a past tenant, I'm not on too many mailing lists and the ones I am on, I put myself on. But I do enjoy flipping through catalogs looking at things I think are pretty but will probably never buy. It's kinda fun.

Anyway, today I got one that was totally out of the blue. It was for equestrian riding apparel. Now, I live in a mostly suburban area.. I don't have any horses, but I am a country girl at heart!

In fact, I used to ride in my "younger days". My grandmother has had horses since my mom was a teenager. It was one thing that I really enjoyed sharing with my Gramma. You know how most little girls fantasize about having a pony? Yeah well, I had a pony. My Gramma had bought him for me when I was about 4 or 5. She actually put me on a horse for the first time when I was 2. She had me taking lessons up until I was a teenager. I had stopped riding for awhile and really haven't been since I started having kids. I do miss it.

I remember, when I was about 9 or 10, I had started taking lessons with a new trainer. He put me on this HUGE horse. I am not a tall person as an adult, I'm only 4'11". So you can imagine how tiny I was at 10 years old!

He was teaching me to jump on this huge horse. Once I got used to being up that high, I didn't give it a second thought. But for balance and trust he had me jumping short hurdles with my eyes shut and no hands. My arms were spread out at my sides horizontally. it sounds alot scarier than it really was though. I totally loved this horse.

So I guess this catalog wasn't completely out of nowhere but still it was kinda odd since I haven't ridden in 12 years LOL! Not to mention.. it wasn't even for me!

Puuppy Power!!

My brother called me last night to ask me if the kids and I would like to come over to his house today. I asked why and he said to see my new puppy.... so you can photograph him. LOL!

Ok sounds like fun to me. My brother and his cousin, who is also his housemate, recently got purebred boxer pups. They are brother and sister and oh so sweet! The little white one in the sweater (*IBERH), is the cousin's little girl puppy.. she doesn't have a name quite yet.

The little brown one is my brother's and his name is Bailey. No doubt named for Bailey's Irish Cream. My brother has been woring in the Wine & Spirits business for the last few years so that was a given lol.

Watchin the Boob Tube!

**IBERH= Insert Big Eye Roll Here

American Gladiator-WOOHOO!

I am sitting on the couch with my husband, who is watching American Gladiators. I used to totally love this show whenI was a kid, that's really not saying too much since I also used to watch WWF on USA, haha!

Anyway, the first two contenders went up against each other and they had to do this obstacle course. At one point they had to go up this pyramid that had these big treadmills on them going up the pyramid. They had to run up the moving treadmill and near the top there was a rope they could grab for leverage.

Well, the one girl was way ahead of the other one but she got stuck on this treadmill portion and she kept getting to the top then her legs would give out and she fell, this happened a few times. Enough so that the other girl caught up and WON! She was so cute.. I was hurting just watching her!!

Kind of fun to watch!

Fooooooooore!!

So, those who read daily or know me offline, know that my dad is back in town. My kids are very excited about this. My 12 year old is especially excited because one thing he and my dad did together was golf. Even my husband went out golfing with him. It's nice because they really have alot of fun golfing. Now, even my 6 year old wants to go golfing.

Alex, the 12 yr old, gave his little brother his old golf clubs because my dad got him a new set of Nike golf clubs last year. Braeden, of course, is going to be crushed because he is still too little to go. My dad said something about the place they used to go doesn't let small kids on the green anymore. I think Alex started going when he was about 8.

I guess we'll see what happens, I'm sure they'll find somewhere they can all go and have fun.

I have some news!

But I can only tell you half of it! Sorry to keep you in suspense but believe you me.. it will be well worth the wait.

You may have heard or read recently that One of a Kind Scrapz is closing. This is due to personal issues on the owners behalf. Victoria was a wonderful owner and I thank her for the oppertunity to work with her. I wish you all the best!! Never fear, I will not be left in the dust. I already had taken on some new responsibilities.

What I can tell you, is that Purple Paper Flowers is just about ready to re-launch!! I am extremely excited about this site opening up. I will be one of the more diverse digital stores out there. We will have TONS to offer and not just by way of digital items. Amanda Dykan, owner and designer, has recently put out a designer call and the new PPF Design Team has been announced!!

Please welcome:

• Amanda Dykan, Owner/Designer
• Blythe Evans, Design Team Leader/Designer
• Kate Ross-McClellan, Designer
• Paula Phillips, Designer
• Crystal Wilkerson, Designer
• Cindy Freeman, Designer
• Gina Arzaga, Designer
• Julie Staley, Designer
• Neverland Scraps, Designer
• KJ Conners Designs, Designer
• Melissa Daniel, Designer
• Vickie Hennessy, Designer
• Rachel Martin, Designer
• Kaye Winiecki, Designer
• Danielle Engebretson, Designer
• Cherie Shields, Designer

Welcome and Congrats!!

Oh How Cute!!

Oh how I wish I could be pregnant again.... just so I could wear things like this:

Isn't that just about the funniest thing you've ever seen? They have come so far in the world of maternity clothing.. I remember when my mom was pregnant with my brothers and the clothes she had to wear. I love my mom but let's just say they weren't terribly fashionable, hehe. Now by the time I had my kids, maternity clothes got alot more stylish and cute, thank goodness!

With my first baby, I was so tiny I never even wore maternity clothes. I was 19 and gained a whole whopping 15 lbs and my son was 8 lbs of that, not to mention what all that water and placenta weighs.. I technically didn't gain anything.

With the others, I had gestational diabetes and a condition called Polyhydramnios, which is when you have too much amniotic fluid. Needless to say, I got really big! But at least I had these cute little tops and jeans to parade around in.

Why didn't I think of that?

I was talking with one of my girlfriends the other day about different ways to help teach our preschoolers to read, and she suggested using the closed captioning service on the tv. Now, why didn't I think of that??

It makes perfect sense, the words on the screen can help children with word recognition or to better comprehend what has been said and, as a result, improve their reading skills. Great for children as well.

Great idea!!

Customer Service Rant

The way customer service has deteriorated really saddens me. It's everywhere. For the record this has nothing to do with digi-land. I have had nothing but wonderful customer service from my fellow designers.

Tonight, after I left Michael's, I stopped at Burger King (on Grant Line Rd in Tracy, CA) to get my husband a Whopper. I went through the drive thru as usual. Now please keep in mind that this particular location has a history of getting orders wrong, why do I keep going there? Simply because it's convienent. Normally, it's a minor error but nothing I can't or won't live with. Now had that been the issue tonight, I would have just gone home but I was only ordering one major item and they couldn't even get that right.

So back to my story... I ordered the New Cajun Bacon and Cheese Whopper with extra cheese.. I get up to the window and pay. The guy asks me to park because the sandwich wasn't ready yet (because I ordered extra cheese they have to make it fresh) so I said ok and parked. About 5-7 min later a girl appears with a bag and says to me " Angus??" I said "No, I ordered the Cajun Whopper". She starts to walk away,, I see her in my mirror and she looks at the receipt and comes back to ask me if I had 2 desserts as well. I said yes, then she says "then this is yours."

I told her no, that I didn't order an Angus burger I ordered a Whopper. So she goes back inside, out comes the manager, Mark. He has the bag and he says basically that I needed to pay the balance on the sandwich because I was charged for the Angus and the Whopper is more. Ok, fine I was prepared to get it taken care of.

So I thought I would mention to him that this was not the first time they've gotten my order wrong at this location. And yes I was annoyed but I was NOT yelling and I was NOT rude. Mark, the manager starts to walk away as I am speaking to him and then he turns around and has the audacity to cop an attitude... he says to me "Well, you can't expect me to give away free food!" My jaw dropped and I couldn't believe it. So, I said,"You know, I don't expect you to give away free food, but I do expect you to get the order right!"

I went inside and by the time I got to the counter he just told me that he would bring me the whopper to my car and to keep the Angus. Fine ok... so I return to my car, he comes out with the correct burger and he does apologize for getting the order wrong. I would have rathered he apologize for being rude but whatever.. not going back to that BK again, that's for sure.

Crafty Mama

Wow, I am worn out tonight! I needed a break from the kids tonight so I ran out to Target and Michaels in search of soome craft supplies, namely paper punches. I cannot tell you why because it is a secret but I promise it will be well worth the wait.

I was able to find a couple at Target, believe it or not they had some in the dollar bins! I know, I was floored too. So I got a few there and then I got a more expensive one. Then it was off to Michael's because I needed a larger size punch for my little project. I got a few more there and some other fun crafty items on sale.

I have been sitting on the living room floor for the last 2 hours, punching shapes and putting together my little paper craft items. Another reminder of why I love digital so much. I have so patience for this stuff. I only made like 6 little items in those 2 hours, but they are so cute.

Before digital, I used to make cards and invitations so this is really be being nostalgic and reminiscing. Weddings, Baby Showers, Birth Announcements, you name it I've done it. Then I started doing my invitations online which inevitably lead to digital scrapping, and here I am now.

I still do cards on occasion, I recently got to do my new niece's birth announcement and Christmas and Thank You cards for a friend of mine. It was nice to get back in the game.

New Year's Eve

So what did YOU do on NYE? Did you go out and party, did you sit at home with your loved one, or did you kick it by yourself and get toasty?

Dan and I were supposed to go to a Customer Appricitation thing at a bar and grill where he has lunch everyday. That was on NYE-Eve but instead we went to hang out with his mom and sister since we weren't able to go down and visit with them on Christmas.

My sister-in-law took me and the kids to see The Golden Compass, which I thoroughly enjoyed. funny, because I wasn't sure I would even like it but decided it was better than not going and I am glad we did. It will be a fun series for me and the older boys. Dan would have liked it too but he as home with the little boys but I am pretty sure this is a series of movies I will be purchasing so he'll get to see it before the next one comes out.

Another movie I really want to see is the new National Treasure. I rally liked the first one so I am excited to see this one.

Back to NYE- My mom invited us over for dinner so we ate over there and ended up leaving the kids for a sleep over. We made mudslides, yummmmy! Dan and I took the bottle home and sipped on it all night while we did our own thing.. then we went to bed. We were actually in bed before midnight but listened to the fireworks and people screaming, most likely kids and then went to sleep. How exciting are we? LOL.

I picked up the kids this morning. And that's about it.

So Much To Do, So Little Time

My Dad is moving back to California.

He's been living in New Jersey for the last couple of years, but now after a major surgery he's decided he is officially old. Just kidding, sort of. He can't take the cold and the physical stuff that comes with the cold, like shoveling. I can't really blame him because I have snow and even more I hate shoveling snow.

So, here I go into Super Mom mode, MISSION: to keep my sanity. Codename: Licorice Gazelle.

• Phase I environmental clean-up: this is code for clean the house.

So far this is as far as I have gotten.. and the target is 4 hours away and quickly closing in. Ok, I'm done being silly.. in all seriousness, my dad is stopping by to visit with the kids before he heads down to where he is staying with some friends. I don't think he'll stay too long seeing as how he isn't supposed to show up til about dinner time and then the kids will be going to bed shortly there after. It should be an interesting visit, I can't help but think someone is testing me.

ABORT MISSION, ABORT ABORT ABORT! Ok.. one last bit of silliness, I swear I'm done now.

Have a great new years day!