Well I am finally on a CT. YAY! It's funny that once I decided this was something I wanted to do it seemed so difficult. I'd applied to 3 independent designer's CTs and the CT at the Digi shoppe, and was still not accepted anywhere. Then Miriam Lima says she has an opening and would like for me to join her team. WHOOOHOOO! I had wanted to apply for Miriam's team but missed her latest CT call deadline. But now I'm a LIMABEAN! And I couldn't be happier. Miriam is a designer at TDS and she has such incredible stuff. Check her out HERE . And this is what I created with her Finding Amy kit:

I created my very first element in PSE last night. So I thought I'd share it here. It is a purple vellum tag. There is a pretty purple flower stamped on the tag and it is edged with silver. Here is a preview:

If you download it leave me some love, please. *Thanks for your interest in downloading. Link has been removed.*

Ok so I'm not just starting my post off friendly, but Hello is this great chat and photo sharing program that I recently found. So if you want to check it out go to Hello . If you want to add me to your list, my username is anutternc (can you believe anutter was already taken! The nerve of someone! LOL). And considering I only have 1 person that I know on Hello, I'd love to add you to my list. Ok this was just a short post. But I promise to post again this weekend with a fun item I made in Photoshop. :)

I have been trying so hard not to be upset, not to be disappointed, not to be let down, but darn it, I really am! I didn't make it onto the Creative Team for The Digi Shoppe. Even though they haven't posted the list of the new CT they did post that all emails have been sent out to those they want on the team, and you guessed it, I didn't get said email. This is the 4th CT call that I've applied to, but really the one I wanted most and this is the 4th time I've been a reject. I know I scrapbook for myself and my family mostly, but it is so nice when someone unrelated to me thinks they are good also. I love seeing the comments that random people leave for me when I post a layout in a gallery, and I am completely ecstatic when one of those is by a designer or CT member that I adore! And everyone always posts nice things, so why is it that no one thinks I'm CT material! I just want to cry!

Well yesterday I voted! I feel great about the candidates I voted for and even though some of them didn't win their election I know they are still the better candidate. :) The rain yesterday was torrential. And thus, voter turn out was low yet again. At my polling station, only about 23% of registered voters showed up. UGH! Perhaps one day, politicians will stop the negative ads and just say what their agendas and priorities are and give people a clear picture of themselves so that voting will not seem like such a chore. I know I don't vote with any one party because I like to know each candidate individually. But there were a couple that I chose only because they didn't bombard me with all the things their opponent had done wrong, instead they stated their goals for the office. Wow, simplicity really is best!

But enough about that. On to other topics. Ruthie went to get her flu shot this morning. YAY! Finally, we have been on a waiting list for over a month and finally the shots are available. Hopefully Ella will be able to get one soon also. But the nurse who gave the shot this morning is the sweetest nurse. We just love her and she even gave Ruthie a mini chocolate bar after her shot so that Ruthie would still like her. It was so funny, because when she first held it out to Ruthie, who was still screaming from the shot, Ruthie tried to hide under my chair because she thought the nurse was coming at her with another shot. When she finally realized it was chocolate she stopped crying, took a bite and gave the nurse a big smile. Oh how I love my little fireball!

Also a friend of mine, Cheryl, recently gave me a copy of her reading list she has been keeping for the past couple of years. WOW is all I can say. I love to read, but I have rarely had the time to do it recently. So needless to say, Cheryl has given me the motivation to try to remember what I have read so far this year. So here it is:

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling (I think I read it this past January, but it may have actually been last year. hmmm)
• Naked - David Sedaris
• The Eyre Affair - Jasper FForde
• The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
• The Reptile Room - Lemony Snicket
• The Wide Window - Lemony Snicket
• The Miserable Mill - Lemony Snicket
• The Austere Academy - Lemony Snicket
• The Ersatz Elevator - Lemony Snicket

And I feel like there has been more, but for the life of me I can not remember what they were. Of course I read lots of Curious George, Winnie The Pooh and Sandra Boynton books repeatedly every day with the girls, but I want to include only books for me on this list. I just started The Red Tent by Anita Diamant today. And I'm reading through several "creative" books as well:

• Photoshop Elements 4.0 A-Z - Philip Andrews
  
• The Hidden Power of Photoshop Elements - Richard Lynch
  
• A Designer's Eye for Scrapbooking with Patterned Paper - Ali Edwards

I'm also trying to scrap at least 1 page per day while Ruthie naps or in the evening after the girls go to bed. It feels so good to be creative again! I feel like my mind is actually starting to work on its own again after taking a 5 year hiatus. And to push myself towards this I actually applied for a Creative Team position at The Digi Shoppe! I can't believe I did this, but oh do I so hope I get it. They are supposed to review all apps Friday and release their decision on their blog here sometime after that. We shall see.

Well I better go do a bit of cleaning while Ruthie is still asleep.

Well tomorrow is election day and I feel it is my duty to go and vote! I actually love voting. And I wish everyone did or at the very least I wish everyone would take it seriously. I mean this year's election isn't a big national election but there are lots of local elections that are super important. And foremost in my mind is the school board election. Being a former teacher and now a mother to 2 children who will be entering the public school system before I know it, I find these elections just as crucial, if not more so, than the election of a U.S. President. I want a school board that is truly knowledgable of education, one who is open to exploring innovative teaching (and year-round schools!), and who desires to get parents more involved in the schools! So with that being said here are my picks for the Johnston County, NC school board: Larry Strickland (He has experience on the school board and he has demonstrated his commitment to our schools and our children through this experince, he is also open to starting a pilot year-round school); Carol Brannock and Brian Hale (for the reasons I've already listed above).

In other races here are my picks:
NC State Senate District 12: Sherry Altman
Clerk Of Court: James Gerrell
Sherriff: Steve Bizzell
Superior Court Judge: Jackie Lee
State Supreme Court Chief Justice: Sarah Parker
State Supreme Court Associate Justices: Patricia Timmons-Goodson, Rachel Lea Hunter, Ann Marie Calabria
State Court of Appeals Associate Justices: Kris Bailey and Linda Stephens

I still haven't decided about the 2nd Congressional District candidates or the District Attorney candidates. I will be finishing my research on them this evening and decide before I go vote.

I really research the candidates I endorse. I used to go vote and go on whatever small amounts of info I may have gathered. But now I realize this is more dangerous than not voting at all. I feel each person has to decide what is important to them and base his or her vote on those decisions. And for this reason, I'd encourage everyone reading this to look up each of these candidates and decide for yourself who better suits your desires. If you disagree with me, so be it, as long as you vote informed & intelligently.