new releases 5.5 & a chat

hey everyone!!! happy new release Thursday!  I've got a few new kits for you today & remember they're 30% off just today... plus all the other goodies in store that are 25% off all week long!

I've been wanting to do these for a while... hope to have more to come in the future too.  They are all seperate pieces so you can mix them up & choose the look you want or just use the pieces seperately... + I've included 3 different attatchments to help you out there.  My fave thing to do with the stamp/image portion is to fool around in photoshop with the different blending modes to change the look... or to use them as a clipping mask with different papers.

This is something I've been playing around with too & hope to have lots of different versions of the kraft with colorful pops... I've got so many inspiring color palettes on the back burner waiting to be used. I hope you like... & of course I'd LOVE to see what you do with my designs!  Feel free to link me up or put them up in the DHD gallery!  Here are a few layouts done with the new goodies...

layout by {me}  here I used both releases + a little Karla Dudley, Jen Allyson & Gennifer Bursett goodness. That's me & my sis Carol before our first 5k Easter weekend.

& of course another cool layout from {allison}  check out how she clipped out the little swimming guy at the bottom... fun! ****speaking of miss allison**** we are hosting a chat together TONIGHT Thursday May 5th @ 8 pm mountain {that means 9pm central} for all of you wanting to join us!  You have a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to the store too!  & maybe I'll have a freebie for you as well {wink wink}!!!

& the always stunning pics from {shelley} love how she created this graphic layout with the elements & the papers.

& another by {shelley} super awesome how she played around with blending modes here with the photo & elements. 

yay! have a fun Thursday!

{robyn}

Easter weekend recap

I can't believe Easter has come & gone once again!  The kids were lucky enough to finally get a little break from school after spending most of their days off of school recently as snow make up days.  They had a long weekend of Good Friday off, the weekend & then Monday too.  I tried my best to take it easy those days to do some stuff with them.  Thursday night my neice came to stay & then Friday I took them all to see Rio.

it was a nice break in our day since it's been rainy, cold & just not good outside weather.  the popcorn was great too :)  I was also gearing up for Easter Brunch {on Saturday} with my family at our house, so of course I was doing lots of cleaning & preparing for that.  We've also been doing a lot of "disaster clean up" recently... the 4 year in our house has been on a whirlwind of getting into everything, which most generally ends up in some sort of clean up!  I enjoyed taking some slow time with the kids, though, I haven't done that for a while & it was much over-due! 

Here's what I did Saturday morning...

yep, this is me & my "big sister" Carol pre-5k! It was the first time for the both of us :) I LOVED it!  Can't wait for my next 5k & I'm already working on my speed/endurance to have a faster finish.  This time I finished running/walking it in approx. 42 minutes.  I'm so proud of Carol for accomplishing this goal too... I don't think we ever would have thought of doing it a year ago!  I'm looking forward to May 14th, when my sisters' Carol & Kim & my mom Mary & I are all going to do the Weight Watchers 5k with our group.  It should be fun & again, I'm so proud of them all for pushing themselves to this goal!  Next will be a 5k with my hubby... yep, I'm holding you to it Danno :)  He's also been plugging away recently on the treadmill... I'm hoping to get one in with our boys over the summer too.  Anywhoo... after the 5k, we hurried back to my house to eat somethin' & let the kids hunt eggs.  Lydia couldn't wait :)

then we were off to a 50th birthday party to end the night... whew!

Easter was a much more layed back day... breakfast, Church, bbq lunch & hanging out on the porch & then Dairy Queen for supper ;)  I was able to snap some pics before church of my cuties...

& of course some 4 wheeler rides were in order to finish out the day...

hope you all had an incredible Easter & were able to spend some valuable time with your families as well!

have a great day {robyn}

new & unexpected... love?

I never, ever thought I'd say this, but I'm falling in love with running.  I started several months ago doing a Couch to 5K plan, was really loving it, then I took a run outside on one of my longest days so far on the plan & I have to say, it really sorta freaked me out.  It was slightly cold & breezy that day & up to that point I had only run on my treadmill.  I had a hard time keeping my pace & my breath.  So I took about a week break from running, thinking maybe it wasn't for me after all.  I did exercise dvds in the interim, but I was actually missing running... I couldn't believe it.  Never in my entire life, have I had an easy time running.  I used to dread the days in high school gym class when we had to run around town or do laps in the gym.  It was really hard for me & I never enjoyed it.  Running still isn't the easiest thing for me, but it's definitely getting easier, more enjoyable & I'm loving pushing myself to levels I never thought possible for myself. 

The other day my sister & I went to a running store & I got fitted for the right running shoes... can I say, if you haven't done this yet, do it.  I was actually wearing the right type & size of shoe for my foot, but since I'd had them for quite some time I decided to get a new pair.  A.mazing.  I'm running faster, longer & with less aches. 

Another thing I've been doing tons of is reading as much as I can about running... about form, nutrition, injury prevention, races, training... really whatever I can get my hands on {I'm a little obsessed}.  I've "liked" about every running/fitness magazine I could on Facebook.  I downloaded the book "Run Like a Mother" to read & took it down in a few days.  Although they're way more hardcore than me, it was funny, informative & enjoyable.

I'm doing my first 5K the day before Easter & although I'm still not sure that I'll be able to run it all {probably a run/walk combo}, I'm excited to just do it!  It's funny, I seriously sit at my computer, do housework, help the kids with homework, make supper, just thinking... when will I have time to go for a run today?  That... is NOT my normal behavior people!  But I love it none the less!

Another thing I love... my kids & husband are seeing how serious I am about this.  The kids are asking if they could do a 5K too, can they run on the treadmill, Lydia {4} watches intently while I run {asks many, many questions} & tells me how fast I am.  We're talking about doing more active family days, like hiking trails when the weather warms up.  It's going to be so much fun this summer to be able to do things I would have never considered last year as my larger, less fit self.  I've already promised more trips to the pool!

{robyn}