Shuttle launch

Hi my friends!

First of all, I spent a good part of my Sunday morning picking out a new blog banner and background from House of 3... So I now present you my NEW blog, all decked out in a cutey patootey, whimsical, colorful, happy, Sassafras-like design by Rhonna Farrer! I hope you like it! :-)

My DH had a spur-of-the-moment idea and sometimes those are the best! Since I've never seen a shuttle launch before, he decided to take me to Titusville, FL (about 3 and a half hours from Miami) to witness this incredible sight. WOW! Ady and D'Angelo joined us and we made it into a fun ROAD TRIP!!! Ady doesn't do very well on road trips, folks, but what a trooper she was... LOL! We really enjoyed ourselves :-)



We arrived about 30-40 minutes before the launch, and we joined many others on the back lawn of a condominium complex across the bay from the Kennedy Space Center.




What a view! The pics were very difficult to shoot, but just imagine a pitch black sky suddenly lit up by the brightness of this shuttle.




Really awesome stuff. If you've never witnessed this, you have to plan a trip.

Happy Sunday!
Vanessa

Scrapping away...

... the day in my Happy Room... Somehow the tune of Jimmy Buffett's "Margaritaville" comes to mind! LOL!

I haven't been blogging as much as I used to, but I have been scrapping... I've spent a few evenings working on this album for Ady, my BFF. You see, it was supposed to be a birthday present for her back in July, but I wasn't able to finish it last month. Well, I finally gave it to her last week. And of course I snapped a few photos before handing it over...












Yes, I did include a photo of us with our EX-husbands... and I knew exactly what she would say... "I can't believe you put that photo in there..." BUT, I wrote "I know, I know, but if it weren't for these two men, we wouldn't have met." And this is so true. So everything does happen for a reason. :-)

Aside from the album, I have created five layouts with my July Cocoa Daisy kit, and I have a couple more to go, so let me continue and I will share these layouts with you soon. This is such a happy kit! Love the colors and the fun embellies.

Peace and happy scrapping!
Vanessa

Happy Hump Day

I am so glad most of the work week is over now!

Last weekend was quite busy, but oh-so-fun. I scrapbooked, attended a Baptism and luncheon, went scrapbook shopping with my buddy Damaris, went out to dinner and a movie with friends followed by a late-night cafe con leche at La Carreta, walked 6 miles in the HOT Florida summer weather with my hubby, spent time with family, and more!

This coming Saturday, I will be scrapping at Damaris's house during the day. And this is the kit that I am planning on digging into... finally! Isn't she a beauty? It's Cocoa Daisy's July kit. Delish!



Well, I am off to bed now... I'll share some layouts soon :-)

xoxo,
Vanessa

Scrappiness = Happiness

Hi my friends!

Well, all I can say is TGIF!!! I've been dealing with 2010 budgets all week, amongst many other things, and I need a break. So, I've decided to post pics of some of my favorite sneaks from CHA. These are the products that have caught my eye so far...

Although I have NOT been a big fan of Basic Grey's latest lines, I have to say that I really love this Nook & Pantry line!



Then there's Pink Paislee's new lines, Amber Road and Cupid





This is one of my favorites this year! It's called Postcards from Paris from Webster's Pages. Click here to see the entire line. It's fresh and beautiful!



The new Hambly Couture dress forms are awesome, especially the transparency (not pictured).



And here are two Prima stitched papers that I am in love with. One has butterflies, which I can't resist, and the other is bright yellow, my favorite color these days:




And lately I really like what Cosmo Cricket has been putting out there. This is Jolly by Golly (so fun and cute for my Christmas Daily album!):



That's all for now! I'm sure there's lots more, but it's a bit overwhelming. LOL! So, what are your favorite new releases? Any brand or product that has caught your eye lately? Please share!

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa

Rough week

Hi my friends,

A couple of you know that I came back from my Puerto Rico vacation to a very stressful, frustrating and disheartening situation at work. We had just completed budget reforecasts for the 3rd and 4th quarters before I left in early July. While I was away, our sales forecasts were way down and we had to cut expenses. Long story short, we cut everywhere we could, but in the end we had to let go of three employees this week. Two of them were in my departments. One of them, our editorial assistant, has worked with me for eight years and she's pregnant! I know that people are losing their jobs everywhere and that many folks have been affected by our global economic crisis, but when it hits close to home, it's even more difficult to digest. As a director, my role is to try and stay strong and focused for my employees. To "keep calm and carry on." But it's not easy, especially when tough decisions need to be made and when morale is so low. I just hope we can get through these tough times and remain profitable and that these employees all find positions elsewhere since I know the job market is very weak right now.

On a separate note, Jorge (my step dad) started chemotherapy and he's doing well. The first week was rough for him, but he's back at work. His second round of chemo will be this coming week. Thank you all for the well wishes and please keep him in your prayers so that he can beat this! We are all very positive and things are looking good so far.

Although I have been working long hours, I've been trying to de-stress by checking out the blogs, creative galleries and working on a mini album for my BFF. I have also been editing my Puerto Rico pictures (LOTS to go through!). I'll leave you with a few more pics of our trip, including a photo of us trying Snuba...







xoxo,
Vanessa

A Birthday and Some Layouts

Last weekend, we celebrated my BFF's 35th birthday! We had a fabulous time as always with my favorite ladies. We got together to scrap, but I think the least thing I did was actually scrap. LOL! We ate and talked and laughed and ate and talked and opened presents and ate and laughed... you get the message!



Jacqueline baked not one, but TWO delicious cakes. This little baker really knows what she's doing!!! She even stuffed one of the cakes with strawberries and it was moist and mouthwatering. The other one was heart-shaped and covered with chocolate frosting. The heck with Lucila and Edda! Let's just place an order with Cakes by La Princesa Jacqueline!



And the sweetest gift of the day had to be this beautiful, personalized pillow that our dear friend Maritza made for Ady... Isn't this gorgeous? I love those colors. Boy is she a special friend :-)



And now back to the scrapping part... well, since I wasn't "feeling it," I just scrap lifted a couple of layouts from the Daisy Divas over on the Cocoa Daisy gallery. I started playing with my June kit, Verandah, and I created these two layouts about Father's Day and Jorge's birthday.




When I was feeling more creative I sat down in the evenings this week and I made these three additional pages with the same kit. I really liked that these papers had a more masculine look to them since I always tend to go for the girly colors and design elements. This time, I was able to focus on some of the men in my life, including Jorge (my step dad), Pepe (my father-in-law) and my honey bunny.





Thanks for all the sweet comments about my Puerto Rico photos on my previous post. It was really and truly a FABULOUS vacation and an emotional journey for me!

I hope you're having a fabulous weekend!

Peace and happy scrapping,
Vanessa