The Loss of a Legend

When I woke up yesterday I had no idea what was in store, it appeared to be your average day, I was excited to start my online scrapbooking class, I did laundry and emptied the dishwasher and ran to the grocery store. I had no idea that Thursday June 25, 2009 would turn into a sad and shocking day in history. I had no idea that the world would lose a great talent and I would lose a significant figure from my childhood. Michael Jackson may have been a lot of things but he was indisputably a true and great talent. I am sure that just about everyone you or I know has heard Thriller and most can sing the lyrics and many know some of the moves from the uber-famous video. I know as kids my sister and I would often pop the VHS tape into the VCR and watch the Thriller Video and the Making of Thriller over and over again. We had Michael Jackson dolls and Michael Jackson Posters and for many years Michael Jackson's face was the first and last I saw each day as I stared at the poster hanging above my bed. As a little girl my sister claimed that she would one day marry Michael Jackson, of course she also planned to marry Boy George but that's another story. I remember singing along to Michael Jackson's 45 records and then later singing "You Are Not Alone" with my friend Shawnah while we made pizzas at Papa John's (my first job)



Yesterday I was appropriately on the phone with my mom when official word came that Michael Jackson was in fact dead and shortly after my sister called from an airport asking what the latest was. I hated to break it to her. I also received text messages from my cousin Kevin remembering all the times we listened to Thriller together. It was actually only a couple of years ago that I re-purchased the Thriller album on CD while with my cousin Kevin. Mike along with his mom and grandmother actually got to meet Michael Jackson back in the days when he visited Orlando and Disney World often. And wow speaking of Michael Jackson and Disney I remember sitting and watching Captain EO at Epcot many many times - what a thrill that attraction was and how ground breaking like so many of the things Michael Jackson did.

I can't mention the sadness of yesterday without also remembering Farrah Fawcett. She fought a long and brave battle with cancer, she was open and honest about this battle and sadly it was a battle she ultimately lost. She will always be remembered. What little girl didn't want to be a Charlie's Angel? Who didn't want Farrah hair? She was another incredible icon in her own right and though her passing was not shocking it is no less sad.



Today is a sad day and the world mourns the loss of a great talent the likes of which the world will probably never see again, and it's sad to think of a life that was filled with so many trials and obviously so much pain. May the King Of Pop finally find peace. Thank you for the ride Michael it was a Thriller!

Lightening Strikes!

Lightening has been striking like crazy in these parts, not only have we been getting crazy storms here in Orlando - like the storm that woke me up at 5AM! The lightening and thunder was crazy and poor Hooper was scared to death so like any good mommy I stayed up and made sure he was ok. Sure it's Summer and steamy, stormy weather is to be expected but I really really think that it's been steamier and stormier so far this Summer. If it's hitting triple digits in June I might melt by August!

On a very positive note I've been struck by creative lightening! I decided to register for my first ever online scrapbooking class. I signed up for the Challenge of Me class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. The class will be taught by Lisa Day, I've been following her blog for several months now and she is just so inspiring so I jumped at the chance to take this class. You can sign up for the class here, and you can visit Lisa Day's Blog here. So the class officially starts on Thursday but I started with my pre-class assignment today and did the title page. The great thing about this class is Lisa chose what size album we'll be working on and I was assigned a 12 x 6 album, a size I've never worked with before but I'm super excited about it. Aside from the album all of the pages we'll be doing we'll be able to use items from our scrapbooking stash which is a relief because my stash has gotten quite large, especially after the box of goodies my good friend Zanne gave me! So here is my title page - can't wait to hear what you think! I used a lot of Heidi Swapp elements here which I've had in my stash but was saving for some "special" project and I thought what can be more special then my first online class and a book about me rolled into one?!



Now I couldn't begin this class with my craft room looking the way it did so yesterday I got to work on making the space at the very least workable. So after 4+ hours I managed to find the table and get organized - at least enough that I'm no longer afraid to go in that room. I still need to organize my paper in a more manageable way but it will work for now. Here are before and after shots of the room!



Notice how the after picture is just of one side of the room haha! Here are a couple of pictures of Alyssa and Hooper helping me with my craft room.



Unfortunately with the storms we haven't been able to do much swimming and tonight's water aerobics class didn't happen but I did get Mike to workout with me we did a 2 mile walk both yesterday and today and we've been eating much healthier and instead of fattening desserts we've been having fruit which is just so summery to me! So far I think we are doing pretty good, now let's hope we can keep it up! Will definitely keep you posted!!

More Soon...

Hooper & his daddy

Hooper at the vet

Hooper being a good boy as usual

Happy Father's Day!

I have a lot to catch up on in today's blog but first and foremost I want to wish all the dad's out there a very Happy Father's Day especially my own dad! It is tough for me not to be with my dad to celebrate with him today but I know he'll have a good day and I sent presents home for him with my grandmother! My dad is absolutely one of a kind, I talk to him every day which is comforting to know that no matter how old I am or where I live my dad still wants to check in on me. I love how varied our conversations are some days we will talk about books, some days soap operas and some days intense topics like politics or the economy. I find I still have so much to learn from my dad who is always sharing "Life Lessons" and he ay not think so but I always take them to heart! Hope you have a great day Dad!



Another Dad I'd like to pay tribute today is my husband Mike. True we don't have any human children as yet but we have 4 furry babies who count on us for everything and Mike always rises to their needs. I also can see by how involved Mike is in the whole fertility process, and how he was so willing to let me leave my job to make the fertility process easier on me that he is already dedicated to our future child and I have seen how he interacts with other children in our lives that he will make one terrific dad! So happy Father's Day my love!!



Now to recap! My grandmother arrived last Saturday and what a good time we had. Her flight landed early but we made it to the airport for a smooth pick up and whisked her away to the T-Rex Cafe where we ate yummy and far too much food! That was pretty much the weekend, we hung out on the porch, we chatted, we took pictures and we ate fantastic meals (my favorite and I think Grandma's too was Fulton's Crab House) Me and grandma also did some shopping which was fun and we tried to beat the heat which was impossible but we had a great time! I love that grandma just showed up for a little surprise visit - I hope she does it gain soon!!





Craft-wise this week was a slow one. My craft room now has a light in it but it's a complete and total disaster I am afraid to step foot in there so a massive clean up is in order - wish me luck!!! Today we are taking Hooper to get his teeth cleaned and a little check up and then I have no idea what we are doing hopefully just some relaxing, maybe a workout and some swimming we shall see.

This week was a great week for my Tupperware business! I held a party on Thursday which was a big success and I got my first two online orders! I feel that things are starting to pick up so thank you everyone for your continued support! It means a lot that I can just talk about this new venture and have friends and family take an interest - the orders are a big help but the support is priceless!!

I promise to post more soon!!

The Heat Is On!

Wow it has been blazing hot here in Orlando, I know you're thinking "when isn't it blazing hot" trust me it's not always quite this hot where there is a haze over the whole town and the heat index hitting 100! The only part of it that bothers me is the fact that we don't have air condition in the car so it makes for a hot ride to and from places! I'll suck it up though because we're supposed to be getting the new car this Summer WOOHOO!!

So I mentioned last week I tried a new recipe: Rachael Ray's Buffalo Chicken Chili Mac - you can find the recipe here. This was so delicious and easy to make and for the most part healthy. It isn't as over the top cheesy as it looks (though naturally I did add more cheese then the recipe called for) I once again left out the celery but everything else I kept the same! It's a good recipe to try using whole wheat pasta because the sauce is so flavorful!




Good thing I am introducing whole wheat pasta and healthier options for dinner because the news at the doctor wasn't great. Turns out both Mike and I have high cholesterol and Mike is pre-diabetic - SO our diets have to change, Mike will have to start exercising whether he likes it or not and in three months we go back to the doc and we had better have lost weight and brought our numbers down by then or else she's going to get tough! Or tougher! Wish us luck!

On Tuesday I got a great surprise, a surprise which I am waiting for to arrive right now! My grandmother called and just decided she's coming to Florida! She's coming today!!! I'm so excited to see her but of course after I found out she was coming I was thrown into a cleaning frenzy and I'm trying to think of fun things to do! As always I will share a full photo update of our visit!

So this week I won't have a challenge update. Mom and I have decided to take another week for our mini book challenge. We want to make sure we put something together we are really happy with and not just something thrown together. I'm excited about this mini book because it's quotes and sayings that mean a lot to you and we sure have a lot of things we say around here that I'll want to remember in the future.

Now just because I didn't complete the challenge doesn't mean I didn't complete anything. I made 2 birthday cards for 2 very special people. I won't be posting pictures of them until the girl's receive their cards but I wanted to take a moment to wish my cousin Denise and the very awesome Lisa a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love that these girl's share a birthday, they don't know one another but they are both truly special to me! And not only is June 14 their birthday, and flag day but on the day Denise was born my mom found out she was pregnant with me!!

Ok and before I close I have to share this super cute picture of Banky - I love how it looks like he's daydreaming out the window and I wonder what he's dreaming about!




More Soon...

Making a Splash!

Though not officially Summer yet I'm so in the spirit of the season. I've been spending a lot of time in the pool not only during the day but twice a week the complex is holding free water aerobic classes and I actually have Mike going with me! We've only gone to one class so far but we've tried to go in the pool most evenings and tonight will be class number 2! I also feel that after living here for four years we are finally meeting some of our neighbors. So Summer is already off to a great start.

It seems that the added exercise has been helping my weight loss which is a very good thing especially since I have a follow-up visit with the doctor tomorrow. Interested to hear what the results of my blood tests is and to find out what the deal is with Mike's Glucose Tolerance Test, will definitely keep you posted.

This last weekend was super lazy for us Taylors, Mike bought us the new Sims 3 game and we spent much of the weekend just hanging out and playing. I did whip up a new recipe but you'll have to wait for the next post for photos! But cooking one meal was the extent of it the rest of the weekend we just played and watched TV not a bad weekend though I've gotta say. And the Sims 3 is pretty darn awesome! I was/am a big fan of Sims 2 and I think I may find myself playing that from time to time but Sims 3 has just such an incredible level of detail, I'm for sure hooked.

Today I find I am fighting my urge to have coffee and I'm losing the battle. I was doing fairly well but Mike won a contest that resulted in him receiving four bags of specialty coffee in the mail and now it's sitting in the freezer taunting me! We had some this weekend but I'm trying to avoid drinking a whole pot by myself so then I'm thinking maybe I can just run to Dunkin Donuts for a an iced coffee *sigh* I'm trying to fight it we'll see how it goes.

Well before I close I'll leave you with a layout I did last week using Glimmer Mists and a Tattered Angels Mask. I was just fooling around with my new toys but loved how the colors turned out and I felt they matched some pictures we had taken while in Cocoa Beach so there you have it a layout was born!



More real soon!!

Challenge Update!

Sorry for the delay in our challenge update. We got our TV and internet back first thing Monday morning but this week has been a busy one and I let too many days go by without updating my little blog here.

So for last week's challenge we had to use shape in a fun and creative way on a layout. I scraplifted this idea right from Elsie's book and I am really excited about how it turned out. I love picking out each button and I love that our cruise album will include this silly story of my coffee addiction going international!!



No real surprise my mom also used circles on her layout! She used more photos of my cousin Kevin's recent visit and she mapped out this layout to match last week's layout so now she can put these side by side in her album and they look perfect together!



Not sure when we'll have the next Challenge update, this week my mom's on vacation and we've now skipped 2 mini book challenges so we might do one of those next. Stay tuned!!