New sketch

I almost forgot! I have a new sketch challenge up at RAKScraps. Hope you'll join in. There are free templates too. Check it out here.

I have been MIA from the computer for the last few days. I hope you haven't missed me too much LOL! I would rather be laying in bed right now, too, but I do have some work that needs to get done.
Saturday, I went to a balloon festival with Betty, Fernando and Lucia. The booths were pretty weird - a mix of kitschy crafts stuff, free samples of candy and energy drinks (diet coke with extra vitamins!), and all the usual artery-hardening deep fried fair food. After making a few rounds at the booths, we camped out on the field and waited for the balloons. And it was pretty cool to see, even with all the corporate sponsorship. Guess someone has to pay for them. They all pretty much had ads. I did like this goldfish one though ...
I took so many photos ... I wasn't sure if any would come out since the sun was setting and there was all this back light.

The real adventure started when we left. Took almost an hour to get out of the parking lot. It was so unorganized and people are just nasty! We were also low on gas so we were nervous. We were in the middle of nowhere, not like up here where there are gas stations everywhere. But luckily, Fernando had GPS on his phone and we made it to the gas station. The attendant probably thought we were nuts since we were cheering when we got there.

After I got home, I went back out with some friends and got home pretty late. Sunday was cloudy and rainy, so it was a good excuse to stay in, catch up on Netflix (watched theAnniversary Party and Babel) and magazines. Gotta love a lazy day. Wish I could be lazy today too, but have to catch up on stuff and get to work too.

Spider pig, spider pig

Spider Pig is my new favorite song! Can't stop singing it and I'm not sick of it either! I thought the Simpsons Movie was just brilliant! It was so funny and had a few bits that they wouldn't be able to show on TV - like Homer giving the finger! So if you love the show, or obsess over it like I do, I think you'll like it! I can't wait to get it on DVD because there have got to be lots of jokes and sight gags I didn't even see.

Up too early!

I have a feeling it's going to be a long day! I have been up since 9 and am not happy about that. First my sister called to let me know a package would be coming for her. Then a telemarketer called. Then the delivery guy came, but before I could answer the door he was leaving the package in our alleyway. I had to tell him off because this is a city and that is a dumb thing to do!!!! I had completely forgotten that the oil company called the other days (also while I was sleeping) to schedule a tank cleaning. So this guy rings the bell and tells me he can't find parking. Half hour later he still can't find parking so we'll need to reschedule. I know 9 am is not early for most people, but I will most likely be at work until 1 am tonight and I'm doing two section fronts, which is never fun.

Since I was up,I finished up this page I started in Chicago. It's the only scrapping I did all weekend.

Credits

And here's another one from last week. Jess team got together to scraplift one of her customers, Natesabel. Here's the page I lifted and here's my version ...

Credits

Now I need to get ready for work, since I'm going to meet Randi for lunch and then we're going to see the Simpsons Movies!!!! I'm hoping that will put me in a better mood! Woohoo!

It's almost Friday!

This week is going by pretty fast! Tomorrow is Friday already, and that means I'm going to see the Simpsons Movie! I have been obsessing over it especially since I finished reading HP! I also saw Hairspray this week and it was so super cute. The songs are funny and John Travolta is great dancing in a fat suit and heels. Loved Christopher Walken in it too!

I'm still feeling pretty exhausted, and I would think I'd be over the CHA trip/Harry fatigue by now. I'm still trying to get back on track with the diet. I gained back 4 pounds since last week! Yikes!

Well, gotta get to work now. Fun!

What my friends have been up too....

I still don't have much energy today. I went grocery shopping last night so hopefully getting back to my diet will help. I haven't done any scrapping and I'm feeling exhausted at the computer too. So since I have nothing to show off, I'll show you what some of my friends have been up to!
I saw these cards by Correen over at Scrapdish - they are so cool and I've never seen anything like these!
And Jess has another awesome collection out - Road Trip Mix! It's got sooooooo much stuff in it - including a few things I know people hav been asking for! You need to get this one!
Mish is going to be at My Digtal Muse now! And she and Audra have collabed on these cool template/quick page albums! There's also a girly one that's on sale today!
And Kim's mega Shameless kit is just gorgeous! There is so much stuff in here. You can also find this at Scrapdish.

So beat!

I am just to tired! I got in way earlier than I thought I would. Audra suggested that I should try to get a standby flight - since my flight was at 10 pm - and I did get a 6:45 plane home. I also picked up Harry Potter in the airport and pretty much read it until I was finished! So I'm just sleepy and achy today. Don't want to think about getting back on the diet track. Can't I do that tomorrow? LOL! I'll be playing more catch up later.

What happens in Chicago...

CHA has been so much fun and absolutely crazy! We've met so many people and seen so much stuff!
We had drinks last night with Holly at the swanky Red Bar over at her hotel. Holly's got a photo of me from there on her blog. (I think I look crazy!)

We had some yummy cosmos there but that's all I can say about that!

Today we slept in a bit, and while we walking around, Jen Caputo called and invited us to lunch with lots of digi gals, including Kellie Penn, who's on Jess's team with me. She's so cute.
And of course it was at brewery called Ram, since Jen picked the place.

We also met Elsie! Her booth was just the most adorable thing ever.
And we made these cute little books with her.


We played with more stuff again today. Here's another cool thing - it's like a glitter and flock rub on from We R Memory Makers.

And these Zoom Albums are the coolest things ever! You print out the photos on a template, fold and stick the pages and then add the hard cover.
Here's a little CK tag book...
And these mouse pads were so cool. You could totally put a digital page in there.
There were so many fun things!

We had dinner and more drinks tonight with Holly and her some of her paper scrapping friends tonight and I think we're ready to crash now. Audra has a less crazy photo here. My throat hurts from all the gabbing I've been doing since I've been here!

I met Pattie Knox!

Out of all the people I've seen today - I think I was most excited to meet Pattie Knox. And she didn't think anyone would recognize her! We met so many people I can't even remember who they all are right now - but many are former RAK team members! We also had a bunch of gals come to the lunch I organized - and no one took out a camera! Aren't we dorks!!!!
We got these super cute bags for free! :) They have a really great line. And we're gotten lots of free stuff. We've also been doing some of the make and takes. Krista, Melissa and Melinda will be so proud of me! LOL! Aren't Mish and Audra so cute! And here are some little books I did ...


We didn't even see half of the booths! The convention is really huge. We were so exhausted though by the time things were shutting down. We'll be going to a 2Peas social thingy later tonight and we're just trying to rest up now!

Hola from Chicago

I am here in Chicago hanging out with Mish at the hotel. We didn't have any internet access all day, but I survived LOL! The flight here was ok - not too much turbulence. We were a little delayed trying to land. Mish was delayed too, so we both got in around the same time.

We had a nice long lunch (she had the "garbage salad) after checking out the convention center. It looks like it's going to be pretty cool. We were also checking out everyone's bags. Luggage. Purses. Laptop case. Altered bags. We both seem to be bag ladies.

We went to the Taste of Rosemont over at the convention center and had a few glasses of wine with Terry Maruca, and she was so much fun. Mish wanted to fix me up with one of the cute waiters.

Then we had dinner with Jeanine and Jen, and that was a lot of fun!

Audra just finally called us to let us know she's arrived. Seems like we've been waiting forever for her to get here! We've been gossiping, laughing, looking at magazines and now we can start all over again once she gets here!

If I lived in Springfield

Other than obsessing about HP and CHA, I'm also really looking forward to the Simpson's Movie! Here's what I would look like if I was a Simpson. :)
You can Simpsonize your self at the Simpsons Movie site. The trailers look pretty funny too. (All I can say is Spider Pig!)

I have some good news! I went for my weigh in and I've lost another 2.5 pounds!!!! That brings my total weight loss to 70 pounds! Finally! I've been really struggling lately, but I also just find out that I have thryoid problems and that's probably been part of the problem. So I'm hoping that 2.5 will motivate me to be good this weekend!

I'm mostly packed now. I've decided that anything that's not done is just not going to get done! I'm going to relax and watch the soaps. I'm also going to lay off the Diet Coke today so that maybe I'll get some sleep tonight.

Some of the girls over at RAKScraps have decided to hide a few RAKs in their galleries, and I've joined in with them! :) You can find a link over that way ---->>>>

Still can't sleep!

I'm not having much luck at it tonight either! And I really have sooooooooooooooooooo much to do tomorrow. I need to go for my weigh in, pick up a few things, pack, maybe get my nails done. I took my suitcase out of the closet and it's filled with scrap magazines, my laptop and case, external drive, ipod, various chargers, power strip and my camera (oh man, that reminds me the battery for it is still up here!). No clothes or toiletries. Just the stuff I really need!

I am so excited that I am going to meet Audra and Mish! I'll be staying with them in Chicago. I should be seeing Jeanine and Jen, too. And I've been hearing from lots of people who are going to be there! I do wish so many of my other friends were coming - you all know who you are!

I also want to thank everyone who entered in my baby shower game!!! I've sent you all links to Funky Chiquita and I picked a random winner for a prize from Jess. Congrats to Kelly Friesenhahn!

The word "chiquita" means little and that reminds me of these photos. (It's actually a slide that I scanned in ages ago. The images are too small to scrap :( )

That's my Abuela (grandma) on the left, Randi in the middle and Great-Grandma on the right. The two of them seem to be having a conversation, which they often did, even though they couldn't understand each other because Abuela didn't speak English! They also had names for each other. Abuela's spanglish name for Great-Grandma was "Grandma Chiquita" and Great Grandma called Abuela "Luella." It was always pretty funny.
I thought this photo was kind of funny too. Randi being sassy and copying her. See where my nieces get it from!

Looking at these photos, I also found these.

That's my Mom and my Aunt Lorainne and it just strikes me how much I look like Mom (especially with my hair short) and Randi looks like Lorainne. And Mike's girls even look like him when he was little. I think he was turning 4 (5 candles with 1 for good luck) so this would have been1981. That's a Smurf on his cake and the plates are Superfriends.
Mike's always been such a goofball! I have no idea where I was at this party! I'm not in the picture and I was too little to be taking them! LOL! I didn't develop my repulsion to cameras until I was about 10 or 11, when I would have fits or cry if someone wanted to take my picture. So instead, I'll leave you tonight with some photos of me when I was a cutie pie that were also in this stash.

Having trouble sleeping!

I haven't slept well the last few nights. I'm too excited!

Two more sleeps (or not) until I leave for CHA!!!
Three more sleeps (or not) until the new Harry Potter is released.
Five (or more) sleeps (or not) until I'll have a chance to buy the new HP.

So you can see why I am a mess!!!!!

Tania's shower

I still haven't sent out prizes yet, so if you still want to play in the shower game, send your answers in! :)

I got a few of the challenges done too!
It was hard to pick just one page for Emily's scraplift challenge. Tania's one of my all time favorite scrappers so my favorties have lots of her pages! I scraplifted Tania's End of Roll page. Credits.I found these photos in my stash for Cassie's scavenger hunt. (Credits: Paper from Jessica Bolton's Little Darlin Add On, frames by Nancy Comelab, notepaper by Angela Barton)

RAKScraps July Mega Kit and Newsletter

Have you seen the latest RAKFile? It's packed with lots of great layouts, sponsor reviews, inspiring ideas! You'll also find an article on using masks and profiles of our member Wyvernwench and CT member Ronda. And don't forget the FREEBIES!!! You can read the newsletter here.
This month we're celebrating our patriotism. Whether you live in the U.S., Canada or around the globe, RAKScraps July Mega Kit helps you remember why you love where you are! This FREE mega-kit includes 14 mini-kits by the RAKScraps Elements Team and each piece is available for a limited time only! Visit our announcement forum for details on how to download this kit!

If you miss any of the download links, you can purchase the entire mega kit on CD at Scrapdish, where you'll also find the Mega Kit Add on created by the RAKScraps Admins! All sales help keep RAKScraps a fun and free place! The add on is on sale for just $4 for the month of July!

Showering some love on Tania!!!!

My very good friend Tania, who some of you may know as Lunafarie, is expecting a little girl (Talula Jane - don't you just love that name!) and to celebrate all of us gals on Jessica's Eclectic Team are throwing her a virtual baby shower!!!! Jess has a special challenge and some goodies for you on her blog!

So just for the shower I have a game and a giftie for everyone who wants to play along! I promise it's super easy!

We're going to play Baby Word Scramble! All you need to do is unscramble these 25 words and then email me your answers to rmcabana AT gmail DOT com.

1 tebolt
2 rodeomothh
3 gefined
4 oralfum
5 teatley
6 abby kwaler
7 toobies
8 osneesi
9 kilm
10 abby bhat
11 herette
12 paired
13 abby gugby
14 dacler
15 ubberr yuckd
16 rollters
17 sinbates
18 yommm
19 unserry hemry
20 tyded reab
21 recipiaf
22 howser mages
23 paynpel
24 ldol
25 maneritty

Please don't post your answers in the comments! Here's the prize you'll get for getting all the answers...
If the colors look familiar that's because this coordinates with two classics (LOL!!!!) - my Funky Chicas and Tania's Funky Bunches of Flowers kits. I'll also have a random goodie for one person who enters from Jess too! The deadline to enter is Monday at midnight EST!

I hope you'll join in and be sure to visit Tania's blog and leave her and TJ some love too!

And there are some more challenges too.
Cassie is hosting a Scavengar Hunt
Emily is hosting a Scraplift Challenge
And Robin Forman has started a thread at DST.

Little Darlin'

If you don't have this kit yet, I don't know what you're waiting for! Krista Mettler and Jessica Bolton teamed up again on Little Darlin' it's just awesome!!!! And I love it even more because they made it with love for my dear friend Tania and her baby girl on the way!

Here's a page I did with it.
I have been using a lot of photoshop actions lately, and Lauren Barden's Make Me Balanced really saved this one for me! (I would link you up, but her stuff isn't at Funky Playground?) Here's the before. Yuck!
I'm hoping to see Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix before work tomorrow! I can't wait! It's one of my favorite books in the series. I bet they cut out a lot of stuff from Sirius's house, which I love, but we'll see!

Caught up on my Netflix the last few days. I watched Night at the Museum (which totally didn't look like the museum after just going there - but still very cute movie!) and Invincible, which was a great football film and great story with Mark Wahlberg, who I just love. I also finished reading Shopaholic and Sister. I am so hooked on these books. They are just so cute and funny.
Now I'm trying to get through my stack of magazines. Don't want to pick up a new book until the new Harry Potter comes out. :) Only a few more days to go!!!

I need a makeover

My blog does that is. Seriously, any blog beauticians out there? I am too busy/lazy to work on it!

Make a cute popcorn box!

Join Melinda for a DigiCraft Chat and Challenge at RAKScraps at 9:30 pm EST/ 6:30 pm PST on Tuesday, July 10! She'll show us how to turn a digital kit into a Popcorn Box!

If you miss the chat, you can still join in the challenge! The template will be available in our Digi Craft Forum for a limited time only after the chat! You can find out more details here.

And if you love Melinda's craft template, you can find more in the Day Old Donuts section at Scrapdish! All sales help keep RAKScraps a fun and free place!

Greeting from Springfield!

Check out where I went yesterday!
I went to into the city with my friend Melissa from work to check out the Kwik-E-Mart/7-Eleven!


These guys even had Kwik-E-Mart shirts on. And there was all kinds of stuff like Squishees (I had a Blue Woohoo), pink donoughts, Buzz Cola, Simpsons cookies, bobbleheads, cookies, t shirts, straws. And there were just lots of people taking photos and buying stuff, too. I think it's just brilliant marketing! :)

Ralph Wiggum is one of my favorites! (Sideshow Bob would be the other non-family fave.)
After that, we went to see Transformers in Times Square. We had bought our tickets early, but didn't get back soon enough so we had to sit in the front. So I was little dizzy. But the movie was so freakin' cool! I loved Tranformers as a kid. We'd watch the cartoon after school and Mike had a bunch of the cars. I thought Shia LeBouf was great, and his parents were a riot. I also love Josh Duhmel because he was on All My Children. The effects were all pretty awesome too. And at first it was cool to see the first robots transform. But the coolest thing for me was seeing Optimus Prime! I got chills! And the whole crazy NYC audience was cheering and rooting throughout the movie so it was just even more fun!

We had some maragaritas and Mexican food after and then I caught up with some friends at the local pub where I used to be a regular. It was pretty weird there because I had lots of guys hitting on me! It's been awhile I guess, so it felt strange, but cool too LOL! Not really my types though.

I'm waiting now for Betty and Lucia and Raffy to come by. I was outside trying to work on my tan, but it's just too hot out there! I'll stick to the nice, cool air conditioning instead!