I am a Mom. Step-Mom. Wife to my best friend. Christian. Blended Family. 36. SAHM. WAHM. Writer. Scrapbooker. Close to My Heart Consultant. Creative. Bookworm. Playful at heart. Midwest girl.
Loves scrapbooking, cooking & baking, photography, horseback riding, words, living frugal, animals, sushi, chocolate, coffee and walks in nature.
Strongly dislikes spiders, Brussels sprouts, cleaning and messes. Ironic eh?
If you need to contact me for any reason, please email me at nicole (at) nicolehumphrey (dot) net.
Currently my scrap area is in our huge living room and I love it. I love being in the central location to my family, and the room is so large you hardly notice it – okay, not totally true – I mean when it looks like it does below, it usually is pretty noticeable:
I couldn’t remember if I still had these pics on my computer or if I deleted them. I actually took these about two weeks ago to show a friend so she would come over and help the weekend before last to clean it. Earlier, on the CTMH boards, a lady posted a pic of her scrap area that was absolutely in shambles. Seriously a mess. Makes mine actually look clean (which really isn’t saying much though). So since I am hardly proud of my mess, I thought I’d show it off to my friends. Nobody seemed too shocked, and honestly the room doesn’t look this way anymore. In fact, it looks a LOT better but since its evening now I haven’t gotten any good pics taken – tomorrow AM I will post some of what it looks like now.
BEFORE:
I have two 6′ tables side by side up against a wall with a window. I cannot reach the curtain so I only pull the one side back to enjoy sunlight where I usually work. Those buckets under the table seem to catch all the “extra” stuff and totally needed to be cleaned out and reorganized. I found all sorts of goodies that way. My purse is also not normally placed on my sb table but for some reason its there in these pics. It is ironic to look at it now, because that side doesn’t even resemble these pics anymore.
This pic is my main work area which has not looked this bad since apparently the day these pics were taken! I also don’t typically have my coffee/soda mug on my scrap table because in the next pic you can see my little Chatterbox Tag Along I got in the late 90′s.
The rolling cart in the bottom left of the photograph holds all my stamp sets, so while it can roll under my table, I leave it out so I can get to my stuff more often.
This picture is just further over. That’s all our DVD’s on that bookshelf (that’s been moved too). I moved that around a little so its not right in the “middle” of my scrap area anymore. Love all my shipping boxes there? haha…again GONE! Oh and the missing drawer on the left cart has been returned *giggle*
The bookshelf on the left is MUCH more organized now (and not located there anymore) and I can find everything once again. Funny to look at these pics because it reminds me that I cannot possibly be productive in that mess.
You know, there is nothing more exhilarating than obtaining a goal without meaning to. I wound up getting a downline without doing much, and now I am a supervisor. Wow!
I actually was going to pick up my daughter from a friends house, and while talking to the mother who I knew scrapbooked, I also learned that she sold SU and I had no clue. She invites me to pick Melissa up at a certain time so I can swap catalogs (which we did) and see all the products and items she would be showing at her party that afternoon. I was pretty excited because I thought if anything I would gain a customer from the whole thing. You know, the whole – you buy from me, I buy from you. Our daughter’s are best friends so I thought it would be pretty cool. Plus I was really wanting someone to scrap with, and she seemed like fun!
I had no idea that I would have anything else occur. In fact, I was under the impression that I was arriving BEFORE her party so I could see everything. When I arrived, the crop/workshop/club/party was in full swing. I was a bit intimidated for a moment, because I was not there to ‘attend’ the party and had come completely unprepared. She quickly had me sit down and pour over the catalog (which while I was impressed with, I still LOVE CTMH so much more!)
Well, this gal across the table was checking out our CTMH catalog and was loving everything in it. She asked me questions like why I chose to sign with CTMH instead of Stampin’ Up, and everything else under the sun. I am very excited about CTMH products and the fact that I am enjoying my home business so much, that I am sure my enthusiasm was just pouring out. Well, guess what? She wanted to sign. Yep.
So she called two days later (in time to take part in the March promotion) and we walked through the sign up process together. She isn’t really sure she is going to sell a lot, mostly she is doing it to be a hobbyist, which isn’t exactly what I want, but I respect and understand that decision. I am wanting to attend some leadership and other conventions, etc. And some things are only open to supervisor’s and above, so I am glad I made it there. I want to grow my team beyond this and my goal is to be on the top eventually. It just takes forever. I am so motivated. Who knew, a harmless party for our competitor’s stuff, would warrant a new recruit. LOL
Thanks for signing Tammy! I am so excited to get to know you better!
This has got to be one of my very favorite paper packs that we carry. Mainly due to the awesomeness of the color combination (blush, Chocolate, Lilac Mist and Sweet Leaf), total visual appeal for me.
Whenever I finally get the chance to do the paint in my scrap room, I’m tossing up the idea of using Life Delights or Let’s Get Together. Yummy pallettes. Not sure which one I’ll choose because I truly love them both the best.
Anyway, this is my latest little cutie of a card – a flap card. I made a bunch of them but this was my favorite. I made them today for kicks, because well – I was bored and its Saturday and well, I like having cards on hand. So what do you think? Does it need anything else?
Ack! Almost two weeks ago, Kari tagged me with a meme thingy. Time got away from me, and I actually forgot to do it (sorry!). So I’m doing it today, because uhm…. I felt like it.
The rules are:
• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, we all want to know them.
• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
1) Even as a die hard scrapbooker who has been in the industry for over thirteen years, I still have a magnet album absolutely FULL of photographs. I totally need to do something with it.
2) I am a coffee addict and have to have almost a pot a day. Yeah, I’m aware of how bad it is for me.
3) If I don’t blog everyday, I actually go through real withdrawal and spend a lot of time obsessing about it. I actually compose blog posts while I am out running around. Weird, I know.
4) My favorite place in the world to be is the barn my daughter rides at. I just love the smell of the horses, the feel of their hair and manes, one horse in particular I’m very connected to. I just love it there. Quiet, nature, horses. Perfect.
5) I love sushi, and most everyone I know does not. It sucks for me cause I have nobody to go out and get it with, but my kids tolerate it when I get a craving and don’t gag too much.
6) I am addicted to L&O SVU, own all of the DVD sets, have watched them all multiple times and watch every single show on TV even if its a rerun. I think I’m in love with Elliot. LOL I do not like the other two L&O’s.
7) I love to cook. I hardly ever follow a recipe, and can usually prepare a meal from scratch with no measuring.
I’m tagging Aaron, Michelle, Laurel, Kelly, Marjorie, Jen, Tresa. Okay, off to go let them all know. Oh, and if you are wondering why I chose these seven? Because I visit their blogs often and am extremely inspired by them!
Normally I love my UPS man. Really I do. He’s a total sweetie pie, always smiling and super friendly and nice. Today. I am irritated, even though I’m sure it is not his fault.
I’ve been waiting for an order from Close to My Heart that I placed earlier in the week. I knew it was scheduled to arrive yesterday, and our UPS guy always arrives between 3 and 5pm. Hardly ever a moment after. After he had not shown (and I saw another one in earlier) I figured for whatever reason the package was not being delivered yesterday. We left the house at 5:20pm to go get dinner and groceries and guess what we found when we got home.
Yup – an attempted delivery notification. *sigh*
Now I have to wait until Monday to get my goodies. Grrrr…. And guess what time the sticker said. 5:36pm. So essentially I missed the guy by a mere 16 minutes. And that would be the one time the kids were ALL ready to go, no waiting for coats, shoes, socks, nothing…..
Ah well. I will be patient. If nothing else, at least I know Monday will be a great mail day because I have another package scheduled to arrive that day! YAY!
I saw this about a year ago and it just wound back up in my email box again. It makes me laugh every single time I see it. If you haven’t seen it, that is ONE BRAVE bunny!! hehehe
Oh and if you are looking for my SATURDAY PHOTO HUNTERS – skip the post after this one and its right below that one! Have a great Saturday!
I am sure you are thinking ‘how so?’. Well, my frugal little self has figured out what a difference owning rather than renting saves!!
Obviously mortgages can be a lot of money every month, but putting your money towards something you own rather than rent, is oh so much wiser. You get nothing back for that rent money in the end. Trust me, I was there for years and years and years. At the end, you have nothing to show for it. All that money down the drains, wasted on a place to live when it could have been spent on a beautiful home for your family.
There are so many different options available to first time buyers, buyers with poor credit and even people who already own a home. It doesn’t seem budget friendly to me at all, to waste money every month on rent. Instead, put that money into a mortgage payment and own what you pay for instead.
In addition to the many valuable programs and offers available for various types of potential or current homeowners, there is also new programs that offer lower interest rates, a newer program known as a Tracker Mortgage, and several others. These programs are designed to help homeowners save money, invest wisely and not go house poor which so many people do.
My advice for you my friend, is to be sure that if you do get a house with a mortgage, you are sure to pay it on time each month. There is nothing worse than having THAT on your credit when you go to refinance or do other things. And the last thing you want is a foreclosure on your record. Do everything you can to keep that house payment on time, it will make such a difference when you are ready to move, upgrade, sell, etc.
It sucks because for a long time now, there have only been one or two places to go on the Internet to look for a comprehensive list of job openings. Jobs are getting harder and harder to find, no matter how qualified you are. In fact, unemployment rates are extremely high right now, and our economy pretty much sucks.
Enter a new website known as realmatch. It is awesome. They have designed features to search for skills and for prospective employers to find them based on this. Job seekers can input enough information to truly define themselves making it easier for companies to find them, and for them to seek out jobs. Extremely large companies have gone from using search engine keywords and other job sites to using Realmatch. WAY better in my opinion. I loved it. I have used another EXTREMELY popular job seeking website, and got nowhere. However, the features found at Realmatch are outstanding. Give it a try, you will not be disappointed.
On Saturday, March 29, 2008 (yeah that’s today!), Earth Hour invites people around the world to turn off their lights for one hour – from 8:00pm to 9:00pm in their local time zone. On this day, cities around the world, including Copenhagen, Chicago, Melbourne, Dubai, and Tel Aviv, will hold events to acknowledge their commitment to energy conservation.
It is one hour of your time, to learn more, visit Google’s page about it at: Earth Hour
The stickman videos that help advertise Kettering University are so funny. They are incredibly creative and were obviously created by some very talented people.
I think my favorite one is this one, but it was truly hard to pick a favorite (in fact there are TWO that are my favorites), because they are all honestly very funny, and creative.
I love that they are targeting the true audience they are interested in. No boring college commercials with pretty pictures of the campus, people looking engrossed in studying and to be completely honest, boring pictures and music. This is far more fun to get these kids interested in college! My kids thought the videos were fantastic and they didn’t get bored watching them at all.
There are a few others that are totally worth taking a look. Plus if you have a college bound kiddo, be sure and have them with you, because they are awesome. Kettering University is awesome anyway.
It is important to mention that Kettering isn’t all about silly comedy videos to encourage enrollment. The US News and World Report has ranked Kettering University as “the #1 University in the nation for Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering” in its annual “America’s Best Colleges Guide for 2008″. Read about the US News Best Colleges, and learn about how great Kettering is. It is pretty incredible that they received this rank and gives me a lot of confidence in this educational institution.
There is a wide variety of course of study at Kettering University, from Business Management to several different types of Engineering, example: mechanical engineering, there is truly something for everyone.
In this day and age, a good education is the key to a good future. Start planning now and check out Kettering University.
This has got to be one of my very favorite paper packs that we carry. Mainly due to the awesomeness of the color combination (blush, Chocolate, Lilac Mist and Sweet Leaf), total visual appeal for me.
