Life in the fast lane

My Pity Party

2011-05-23T03:15:00.002-05:00

I'm tired of liars. I'm tired of so called friends that aren't really your friend at all. I'm tired of people telling you they care but they do nothing to show it. I'm tired of being tough and pretending that it doesn't hurt. I'm tired of biting my tongue so I don't hurt others as they have hurt me. I'm tired of backstabbers. I'm tired of hiding my true feelings. I'm tired of acting like it doesn't matter. I'm tired of my friends helping others and yet never be there for me. I'm tired of finding out someones true colors the hard way. I'm tired of being taken advantage of. I'm tired of caring when you don't. I'm tired of learning that the person you really are isn't the person that I thought. I'm tired of discovering that I can't count on anybody. I'm tired of people that are only in it for themselves. I'm tired of being hurt. I'm tired of making excuses for others. I'm tired of being an after thought. I'm tired of trying. I'm tired of realizing that I'm not that important to you after all. I'm tired of false trust. I'm tired of fake people. I'm tired of immaturity. I'm tired of not fighting back. I'm tired of showing restraint. I'm tired of always being there. I'm tired of constantly being hurt. I'm tired of being disappointed. I'm tired of wondering why. I'm tired of being tired.

Fingers and Toes

2010-11-18T03:12:00.004-06:00

It's funny how you learn things about people. Things you never thought you didn't know. We were in the car driving back from my daddys first visit to the Oncologist. My dad was talking about how he is more worried about what mom is going to go through than what he is. Upon hearing this, my sister who was sitting in the back seat next to me asked "Mom, is that how you felt when you had cancer?"
"No, when I had it, it was different."
"How so?"
"Well, I had ovarian cancer. It was easy to cure. They just had to remove all my parts. But they made me get pregnant first."
"What do you mean?"
"When I found out I had cancer, they flew us to Germany so I could get pregnant."
I asked "What do you mean? They made you get pregnant? Why?"
"Well, I wanted another baby and it was now or never. They were going to have to remove my ovaries. So, they flew us to go be with your daddy who was stationed in Germany."
That was part of their story I never knew. My mother did get pregnant soon after arriving in Germany. Several months into her pregnancy she began bleeding. She was rushed to the hospital and the doctors informed her that her baby had died. They preformed a DNC and removed the fetus. My mother was heartbroken. Several weeks passed and she returned to the doctor. She told him that she still felt pregnant. They told her she was imagining things and sent her home. She returned again, insistent that she was still carrying a child. The doctor examined her and much to their surprise discovered that she was correct, there was still a fetus in her womb. They were certain that since a DNC had been preformed that the child would be missing part if not all of their limbs and tried to pursue her to have an abortion. She refused. She continued carrying the child for the rest of her pregnancy but in constant worry of the deformities that they child may have. On January 24, 1974 my mother gave birth. The first thing she did when she saw her baby girl was to count all my fingers and toes. Yep, they are all there. :)

They didn't have all the high tech gadgets they have now days. No one even knew she was carrying twins. I sometimes feel an absence in my heart and wonder if it's just me missing the twin that she lost. I must admit that it makes me feel rather special though to know that God must have wrapped me up her womb and protected me from the procedure. It makes me feel as though I have a purpose. I just wish I knew what that purpose was...

-Chantele

Lessons learned

2010-11-01T03:25:00.002-05:00

Recently I have learned several valuable lessons.

Lesson #1: Do not think that just because you have watched the girls in the nail salon apply acrylic nails to your hands numerous times over the years in any way gives you the inheritable knowledge of how to do them yourself.

Lesson #2: Always watch the instructional video included in the acrylic nail kit PRIOR to attempting to just "wing it" and do it on your own. Refer again to lesson #1.

Lesson #3: Do not apply acrylic nails for the first time while in a hurry.

Lesson #4: Applying only the white powder to the entire nail is a bad idea as well. Use clear or pink even if your not doing the french manicure look.

Lesson #5: Fingernail polish will not make your crappy nail job look any better.

Lesson #6: Learning how to successfully remove said crappy acrylic nails takes a very long time and lots of patience.

Here I go again

2010-10-03T01:03:00.002-05:00

I suck at blogging. I sporadically go through spurts where I decide to come here and write something. Today happens to be one of those days. I don't really have anything interesting to say. I guess the reason I suck at blogging is because I realize that no one wants to read about my mundane existence. Its boring enough living it. That's not entirely true, my life is far from boring. Well, I'm no rock star but I am a motorcycle momma!

We closed Scrapbook Obsessions on August 31, 2010. I feel as though I have been in mourning over it. Silly, huh? Mom and I built that company from the ground up. We grew rapidly and were very successful for several years before the recession hit. Since we are in the hobby industry we discovered that is the first place that everyone started cutting back in their budgets. We felt the hit hard. We tried holding on, for too long really, before we realized that it was time to finally let go. It's sad but it was the right thing to do. I will miss it terribly. I don't want to leave the craft industry forever though. It is where I feel at home. It's what I love to do.

-Flasher

Swirly

2010-03-02T21:17:00.002-06:00

It's been a while. Have you missed me?

You know what I was thinking about today? Swirly's. You know, when a bigger kid takes a smaller kid and flushes his head in a toliet. Yeah, that's a swirly.

You know what else I was thinking about today? That I'm not a good blogger. I remember an old saying "Good girls keep diaries. Bad girls don't have the time." Now, I'm not calling myself bad but I definitely don't have the time.

My lack of time is due to my inability to turn down a challenge. I have taken it upon myself to redesign my website (that I poorly designed years ago) and wow, has that been a major undertaking. I had no idea that I would have done as much as I have. I have taught myself how to code html and css. I learned how to use javascript to make my site interactive with galleries and chat areas. Oh, and now I'm learning how to use MySQL to design an entire user friendly shopping cart program. Not just download a program, I am creating the programs (with help from others). It's fascinating. I love doing it. I just wish I already knew it all so I wouldn't have to keep going back and fixing mistakes that I didn't realize I was making. But, I guess that's part of learning.

I have also taken on a VERY big project at work. I am excited as to where this may take me and I have been working diligently to getting it off the ground. I can only hope and pray that it pans out for me because if it does, wow. That's all I'm gonna say.

My life is like a whirlwind right now. I am being pulled in so many different directions at one time and I am doing my best to keep up with all of them. I'm not complaining though. I enjoy my brain working in constant overdrive. It lets me know that I'm still alive and not merely existing. Although, it does kind of feel like God is the one giving me a swirly right now...but if He is, than I guess I deserved it.

Serendipity

2009-08-23T02:18:00.002-05:00

I woke up this morning not wanting to get up and go for a ride only because I stayed up so late the night before. I had gone with my sister, Kayla, for some drinks at a local pub. We met some old friends, hung out, and listened to the band. The band was awful but what do you expect from a group of doctors, anesthesiologists and other medical professionals? They tried miserably hard to play songs everyone already knew but couldn't recognize until the chorus because they made them sound completely different than what anyone could recall. I actually went as Kayla's designated driver since I knew I had to get up early to go on a motorcycle ride.

Tom woke me up when he got home at 6:30am. We took a shower then I hopped on my bike and rode to meet the others. Before taking my bike out of the garage I stepped out into the driveway and spread my arms. This is my non-scientific way of testing the air temperature for riding. I stand there, with my arms out to my side and I spin around in my driveway. By doing this I create wind and I am able to feel the temperature of the air + wind sheer so I can estimate if I will need a jacket, long sleeve shirt, or other warmer article of clothing to layer over my shirt. Now that I type it out I guess it seems kind of cheesy but in all actuality, it is fairly accurate. The temperature you feel on your skin when your riding your bike at 80mph is a lot cooler then the temperature you feel when you are just standing outside.

It felt chilly but the sun was shining and felt warm on my skin. I ignored my first impulse to put my sweatshirt on and instead tucked it in my saddle bag. I figured that I could at least get started down the road and if I got too chilly I could just pull over and put it on. But, knowing me, you must realize that I was running late so even though I did get chilly on the way to the meeting point I didn't have time to make that comfort stop. In fact, I got on the interstate and pulled my throttle as far as it would go the entire way there. I didn't want them to leave without me and I was enjoying feeling the power of my engine beneath me. I even surprised myself because I believe I had my bike going the fastest it's ever been. I was going 93mph and would have loved to go faster if my bike would have let me. Times like this really makes me want to buy a larger bike but I keep telling myself that mine is paid for and I don't really NEED that power...I do definitely want it though. LOL!

As soon as I made it to the meeting point I gassed my bike up. I'm only riding a 600 and those I'm with have 1700's, 1900's, etc. and so I usually gas up every time we stop so I don't run out of gas in between stops. We usually only stop every 70-80 miles and my tank will only go 118 miles per tank. Even after fueling up my tank I contemplate not going on the ride and just heading home because I just wasn't "feeling it". But I didn't. We pulled out of the gas station and headed down the road. Instantly I felt great. The sun peeked out from behind the clouds and felt so warm on my back. The roads were nice and curvy and even though we were traveling a little slower than my usual pace, I was having a great time. The entire day was perfect. Tons of curves, a great lunch, fun with friends, really, what else could anyone ask for? It was a perfect Saturday ride.

Not the best of days

2009-08-04T22:29:00.005-05:00

Today wasn't a day like every other day. Some days you wake up happy. Some days you wake up sad. Sometimes you wake up wondering why you ever woke up. Today was that day. The alarm went off, I hit snooze...for an hour and a half I hit snooze. I would just lay there awake staring at the ceiling listening to country music blaring out of my clock radio because sometimes I was too uninterested in moving my arm slightly to actually hit the snooze button to turn it off. I just couldn't get myself out of bed. I knew I had to get up. I knew I had to get a shower and get ready for work. I knew I had an appointment at 10:30am but I still just laid there, numb, not ready to actually get up and start my day.

I heard movement coming up the stairs and knew that now I really had to get out of bed. Tom was home and he is going to wonder why I'm still in bed. Especially since he was late getting here since he had to make a stop before he got home. He gets so dirty working all night long at a tire planet and he comes home smelling like burnt rubber and I won't allow him to climb in bed and go to sleep for fear of him ruining our nice sheets so I insist that he showers every morning. Which also means that I know he is going to make me get up and take a shower with him (something we do together every day, yeah, weird I know but oh well, that's just the way it is.)

The door opens up and I close my eyes hoping that Tom will think I'm still asleep and he will walk in quietly, go into the bathroom, take a shower, then sneak back to bed without waking me up. He does that some mornings, but not this morning. He came to the bed and said "Sweetie, it's 8am don't you think you should get out of the bed?".
I say "yeah, but I'm not ready".
"Do you have any appointments this morning?"
"Yeah."
"What time?"
"10:30"
"It's 8:00 now."
"I know."
"Don't you think you should get up?"
"Yeah, but I can't."
So he grabs the blankets, tosses them off of me and they land on my dog who was sleeping in the bed curled up next to me. She wiggles free and starts doing her "I'm so happy to see you dance." I look at her and think to myself "I have no idea why you are so happy to see me. You slept in my bed snuggled up against the back of my legs all night and you still act like you haven't seen me in a week. Weird dog." Then I rub her head and she leans her head into my hand like she's hugging me. I sure do love that dog.

Next, Tom grabs my wrist and pulls me into a seated position then he grabs my hand and leads me to the bathroom, turns on the shower and closes the door. I climb in the tub and allow the hot water to pour all over my body. We have a lot of pressure in our house, which I love. So I just stand there, wetting my hair and enjoying the feeling of the hot water hit my skin. You know, I have often said that a hot shower is the number one on my favorite things list. There is just nothing like a nice, long, steaming hot shower. When I'm sick and finally get out of bed and force myself to take a shower I instantly feel soooo much better. I guess that is what I was counting on to happen today. I wasn't sick but I was still secretly hoping that my steaming hot shower would instantly make me feel better and able to start my day, but not today. Instead I just stood there, numb almost, staring at the wall while the hot water wet my skin. You know how sometimes you can catch yourself daydreaming because you kind of snap back to reality but you can still recall what you were daydreaming about? Well, that's how I felt standing there staring at that wall except I wasn't daydreaming because absolutely no thoughts were running through my head, I was just motionlessly staring. Tom got in the tub with me and just looked at me strangely and said "Are you alright?"
"Yeah."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Baby, I'm concerned."
"Don't be. I'm fine. I'm just sad."
Sad isn't really the right word. I wasn't sad. Well, I was sad but sad just isn't a good enough word to describe it. I am more like numb. Completely numb. Nothing makes any difference to me. That's not exactly true, a lot of things still make a difference to me but it explains my emotion better then sad. Don't freak out, I'm not depressed or suicidal, it's not that kind of sad/numbness it's just more like a "ho-hum" kind of feeling that you makes you just don't really care one way or another about anything.

By me saying "I'm just sad." made Tom drop the conversation and start wetting his bar of soap. He knows why I should be sad. My cousin, David is being buried tomorrow and his visitation is today. His death came as a complete shock to everyone. He was only 38 years old. He has been married to Jamie for only 4 years. They were together 5 years before they married. She has two boys from a previous marriage but David loved those boys like they were his own. I believe their ages are 17 & 14. David had been their father figure since they were 8 & 3. He had been having chest pains so he went to the hospital and they did an EKG and ran some tests. The doctor said he was fine and was just having an anxiety attack and sent him home. A few days later he was at work and was complaining of chest pain, thinking he was having heartburn he took some antacids and when it didn't relieve his symptoms he went out on the loading dock to get some fresh air. When he didn't return within 10 minutes a coworker went out to check on him and found him on the ground dead. He started doing CPR, the ambulance came and they continued doing CPR on him. He arrived at the hospital and they continued the CPR but they could never revive him. They pronounced him dead last Friday afternoon. This is my cousin. My cousin that I grew up playing with. The guy that tormented me as a child because we were around each other so much that he felt more like a brother that I never had then a cousin. He is only 3 1/2 years older than me but as a little kid 3 1/2 years is a huge age gap. I bugged the crap out of him and he enjoyed getting me in trouble. As we grew older we didn't torment each other as much as we went out and got into trouble together. We moved away and we weren't as close as we used to be but as we grew up we started to become real friends. He came to visit me a couple times after Tom and I were married and bought our first house. I went to his house for his wedding reception and then I hadn't seen him again until last December when we attended our cousin, Staceys' funeral who was only 20 and died from Cystic Fibrosis. We vowed to not allow time to pass before seeing each other again. I invited him for Easter dinner but he couldn't come because he had to work. I called several times and tried to get together but our schedules just wouldn't line up. Now I won't ever get the chance again.

That is why Tom thinks I'm sad. And it's true, I am sad because of that but on top of that I am also dealing with the thought that David is close to the same age as my husband. My life would be completely turned upside down and devastated if I lost Tom. My heart aches for Jamie, Davids wife, to have to go through this. It truly aches. I can't help but think what she is dealing with and how even though I consider myself a pretty strong person that I know that my life would be completely turned upside down and I would not be able to function if I lost Tom. We have been through a lot of things together but even through it all I can honestly say that Tom is the love of my life. He is my best friend and the only person that I could ever imagine sharing the rest of my life with. I honestly believe that not every person is lucky enough to find true love. But I have. Tom truly is my better half. He is a great guy. He is kind, generous, skillful, thoughtful, trustworthy. You name a good quality and that's Tom. He is a genuine nice guy. I have no idea how I ended up so lucky as to have him has a husband. This must be the feeling my dog gets when she wakes up and sees me for the first time every morning. She truly loves me. I have no idea why, but none the less, she does.

So, anyway, I muddle through the shower, get dressed and ready for work. I takes me forever to decide on which pair of shoes to wear because the snake skin heels looked the best with the outfit but they kill my feet so I put on a pair of brown suede heels that aren't as high as the others so they don't hurt my feet as much but they don't look as good with the outfit I have on either. After going back and forth and back and forth I finally settle on the snake skin heels and walk downstairs (kissing Tom on the cheek before I leave the room because he is already in bed snoring). It's 9am. I call my 10:30 appt to confirm and no one answers their phone. I go downstairs, look over my schedule and I get in my car and head toward my appt even though they didn't answer to confirm. A few minutes into driving, my phone rings and it was my 10:30am appt telling me they need to reschedule for Thurs at 8pm. No biggie, it happens.

Instead of driving to my appt I take an alternate route and go to the nail salon. I've been meaning to get my nails done. It had been a little over 2 weeks since the last fill in so they really needed it. I walk in the salon, sign in, and take a seat and wait for the next available chair. It looks like its gonna be a few minutes because they were already pretty busy in there. So I grab my cell phone and call my next appt. She answers but instead of confirming, she has to reschedule for a day next week due to other obligations. Ho-hum, No biggie, whatever.

I got my nails done, ran some errands, went to the bank, then headed to the office. It's now close to 11am. I walk in the back door and no one is there. I enjoy the solitude and use the time to be productive. Around 1pm I leave for lunch and head home. Woke Tom up when I got here so we could have lunch together and he ended up grilling me some chicken and made mushroom jack fajitas. It was pretty good too.

I head back to the office, try to get some work done but my brain just doesn't seem to want to function. I pick up my smartpad and turn it on but then I forget why I turned it on so I turn it off. I get up from my desk, go to the bathroom, walk around the office, talk to other agents, remember why I turned my smartpad on the first time. Go back to my desk, turn it on again then just sit there and stare at it because I have forgotten why I turned it back on again. This process keeps repeating itself until my boss walks up to me and tells me to go home because I am just no use to him in this state. So I pack up my stuff and leave. I start to head home and then I remember that David's viewing is today from 11am-8pm. I hadn't planned on going. I was just going to wait and go Wednesday to the viewing before the funeral but something tugged in my heart to go. So I did.

I had to call information to get the address to the funeral home so I could type it in my GPS, which by the way was no help because it couldn't locate the address anyway. It took me to Nolensville Rd and I eventually found it on my own. I pull up the steep drive and come around the bend to find 3 men standing out front, taking a smoke break. As I get closer I notice that only 2 of them are actually smoking and the guy in the middle is my Uncle Michael. The funny thing about Michael and I is that we are the same age. We grew up together. We went to school together. We were in the same grade. We had the same friends. I hadn't seen him in almost 18 years and there he was standing right in front of me. I didn't even park the car. I just stopped and rolled down my window and just stared at him for a second. He looked back and smiled and came walking up to my car. I took off my seat belt and got out and hugged him. Man, I missed him so much. I didn't want to let him go. One of the other guys that was standing there was my cousin Jarrett. Of all days, his 15th birthday is today. What a way to spend your birthday as a kid then to spend it at a funeral home burring his cousin. He offers to park my car for me. I ask him "Do you have your permit yet?"
"Nope, just turned 15 today."
"Can you drive?"
"If you let me. Can I park your car?"
"Sure, just don't wreck it."
"Seriously?!"
"Yep, go on. I've got insurance."
Then he hops in and I roll the window down as I shut the door. Mike says "What are you doing?"
"Rolling the window down so he can hear me yelling at him if he screws up."
We laugh then I instruct Jerrett to put his foot on the brake and move the car into Drive. He does as instructed so I tell him to take his foot off the brake and slowly move forward pressing lightly on the gas. He takes off a little wobbly but goes around the side of the funeral home and parks in a space between 2 other cars. Gets out, brings me my keys and hugs me. That was his first time driving. I'm glad that I could make him smile. This poor guy has a rough life. He and his sister shared a deadly incurable disease, Cystic Fibrosis. Last December he was the unlucky soul that found his sister, my cousin, Stacey dead in her bed when he returned home from school. She died of the same disease that he has and that will eventually take his own life. To be 15 and to have that much burden on your shoulders must be unbearable but you can't tell from his actions. He's a good kid.

I spent the next few hours visiting with family members I hadn't seen in a long time, viewing all the beautiful flower arrangements that were sent, and looking at my cousin David laying in the casket, still in total disbelief that he's gone. He looked like he was just laying there waiting to pop up and start talking. I hate funerals. I hate them even more when it's someone you know and love. I hate crying. I'm not a "crier". I typically don't cry, ever. Hearing Jamie cry the cry of a woman who has lost her husband unexpectedly was heart wrenching. I had to leave the room. There were people all in the hallway too so I ended up walking out the front door and into the parking lot. I got behind a large red full sized pick up truck that was parked near the front of the building and took some deep breaths. I got my composure back and I called my husband. I opened my mouth to tell him how much I love him, but all that came out were sobs. He talked to me and told me how much he loved me and that he was sorry that he wasn't there for me tonight but he will be there tomorrow for the funeral. I hung up then stood there just staring at the grass. Not knowing if I should stay or go. Then I looked up and saw my Uncle Michael outside smoking and he smiled and motioned me to come near him. The next few hours were a blur but I know that I ended up making it home safely and just in the nick of time to miss a thunderstorm that was headed my way.

I got home, changed my clothes, grabbed a sprite and headed to the screened in porch in my back yard. I sat in the swing and enjoyed listening to the sound of the rain falling. The occasional bolt of lightening would light up the sky and the sound of the thunder cracking was always close behind. I just love sitting out there when it's raining. Thunderstorms are just an added bonus. So, the lightening struck and a tree in my yard was illuminated and just for a second, the shadows that were cast made it look as though one of the trees had a face. I kept looking at it to see it light up in the next bolt of lightening and the face was still there. I knew it wasn't really there, it was just the way the light was casting but it got me to thinking about fairy tales and stories we used to tell as children. I started wondering when is that point in our lives when we quit using our imaginations? When do shadows become just shadows instead of faces, or monsters, or fairy tale creatures? Why do we lose that ability to truly imagine a world of possibilities, no matter how unbelievable they may be? So, I tried to "pretend" in my mind. And it was amazing what happened. I'll save that story for another day though.

What a wonderful day

2009-05-27T13:15:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't posted in a while. I've just been kind of spazzed out and not had any time to do anything fun. I am in the process of getting my Life, Accident, and Health Insurance License for the state of TN and I have been studying my butt off for the real test. I had no idea there was so much information to learn about insurance. I thought it would just be plain and simple but oh, no. They really want to make sure you know what your doing. Well, to make a long story short. I've been taking my training course online and I just finished it last night. I have passed all my practice exams, I went and got my fingerprinting and back ground check today, and now all that is left to do is for me to go take the actual test on Saturday. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I know it's gonna be hard but I am confident that I will do well. I'm a smart cookie.

I don't know if it was the fact that I passed my final practice test last night before I went to bed or what but I woke up this morning in the most amazing mood. Man I love days like this. I could skip along all day singing "Oh what a beautiful morning" but I'm sure others might look at me funny. LOL!

Everybody cross your fingers and say a prayer for me to score high on my test on Saturday!!!

I love my life

2009-03-24T07:09:00.002-05:00

This past weekend I had so much fun hanging with some friends and learning to play LRC. LRC stands for Left, Right, Center. It's a dice game that is very easy to play but definitely gets you laughing especially when you've had too much to drink and you can't remember which is your right or left. LOL! We didn't make it home until after 4am Friday night because we were having so much fun.

Saturday I chilled at the house with my boys. It was nice to just be home. I was able to stay in my scrapbook room all day long and just play until my heart was content. I started making a special top secret project for our new website. I almost have it finished. I can't wait to launch our debut. Shhhhh, this is all very secretive...but you know me. I can't keep a secret for too long. (hint...hint)

Sunday I woke up at 6am. Yeah, you heard me right. Me....up at 6am. Oh, I am sooooo not a morning person. It took all my strength to get my lazy butt out of the bed and into the shower. You know, I think that the hot water heater has got to be one of the greatest inventions of all time. God bless the person that came up with that idea....kudos to whomever you are! So, after my shower we get all geared up and jump on our bikes. It was only 36F degrees when we left the house. I made the mistake of not putting on my winter gloves and by the time we went 20 minutes down the road to meet up with a friend I was ever so eager to rummage through my saddle bag to find them and put them on. We then met up with about 50+ other SCRC friends and spent the entire day riding over this beautiful state of TN. It warmed up rather quickly. Before noon we were all pulling off our layers of clothing and stuffing them in our saddlebags. It ended up being a very beautiful 73F degree day. We had so much fun and didn't end up getting home until after 6pm.

Here is a layout I made of me on my bike using the current Scrapbook Obsessions kit.

Monday after work I came home, hopped on my bike, and headed out for a few hours on my own. Today the plans I had were canceled so instead I plan on spending it outside playing in the beautiful foothills of TN on my motorcycle. God I love my life!

Suck It Up!

2009-03-15T01:07:00.005-05:00

Ok, it's been a while since my last post. Obviously, as I am sure you have all discovered I'm not too good at this blog thing. It's not that I don't want to be, it's just that my procrastination gets in the way. How on earth can a girl get everything done when she waits until the last minute? Ha! Ha!

I have become addicted to a little online game on Facebook called Mousehunt. It is a game that can be played without taking up too much of your time...or so it seems in the beginning. See, the concept of the game is that all you have to do is bait your trap and press the button to go on a hunt. Sometimes a mouse will succumb to your trap, other times it won't. You can only press the button once every 15 minutes so it's not like you have to sit there and play the game constantly. Well, that's what they WANT you to believe. In reality, you discover that you can play this game all day long while still working, cleaning your house, cooking dinner, etc. but soon you find yourself living your life in 15 minute intervals. "Do I have enough time to go take a shower before I can press that button again?" "I've really got to go to the bathroom but I know that if I just wait one more minute my horn will appear again and I can press it." Pretty soon I feel as though I may start sleeping in 15 minute intervals too. LOL!

Hmmm, what else is going on in my life? Oh, I cried. Yeah, I'm not a big emotional person. I don't pour on the tears very often. I usually hold it all in and put on my big girl panties and pretend that all is good in the world...but last week I cried. It wasn't a big "boo-hoo" sobby cry but it was tears none the less. You wanna know what brought it on? I took my son to his Freshman Orientation at the high school. We went inside the gym and were instructed to find seats and wait for the presentation. We get seats at the top against the wall and all is good with the world. Then the lights go out except for a spotlight. Smoke is starting to drift across the gym floor. The cheerleaders run out with their pom poms high in the air. Then the music starts to play, it's the marching band...they begin playing the Riverdale Warriors school anthem. Everyone in the crowd starts to do the "Indian Chop" with their arm. Na...Na...Nanana....Nanana....Nanannaaaaa.... OMG! All the memories of me attending this school and now the realization that my youngest child will now be enrolled here is just too much emotion hitting me at once. I feel a tear well up in my eye. I blink. I blink again. It doesn't help. Soon both eyes are watery. I feel the wetness run down my cheek. I use my scarf and wipe my eyes. Surely no one noticed. It was dark. OMG! My baby is going to high school!!!

Growing older

2009-01-21T06:38:00.005-06:00

On Saturday January 24th I will be 35 years old. Not that age really matters to me anymore. Birthdays only seem to be of any importance when they are special milestones and most of those happen in childhood. I remember that turning 10 was an awesome birthday because I was now in the "double digits". Turning 13 was another milestone because then I was finally a "Teenager". Sixteen, of course, was monumental because, well, I was 16 (and not too sweet either). LOL! Naturally, my 18th birthday was a huge deal to me because I was "officially an adult". Twenty one is another big birthday but I had just found out I was pregnant with Tanner so I didn't even get to have a drink to celebrate the fact that I was finally "of drinking age". After that, I quit caring about birthdays. I assumed turning 30 would have been difficult because you are leaving your youth behind or something silly like that but to me, it was just another number. Internally, I still feel 18. My mind feels as young and vibrant as I did when I was in high school. The only difference is that my body does not reflect the same youthful appearance. LOL!

I remember sitting down with my grandfather and asking him what his internal age was. You know what he told me? He told me 24. I was a little taken aback but in a way, not too surprised all at the same time. He explained to me that we are who we are. There comes a point of time in our life when we wake up and become adults. It doesn't happen the moment you turn of legal age, for some it happens earlier for others later. The important thing is that it happens to all of us when "we wake up and smell the coffee". When life seems to take on new meaning. When we realize that we are who we make ourselves, when we know that our actions and choices we make will change our lives in positive and negative ways. When that happens, we are mentally fixed to that age forever.

Once I discovered that my grandfather and I were peers in our internal age, our relationship changed. Instead of just the grandfather - granddaughter relationship, we became friends. I feel blessed to have been fortunate enough to know him this way. It has also helped me realize that growing older does not matter. Age is only a number, a natural progression. Who we are is what really matters.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-02T00:11:00.003-06:00

We started off the New Year by going on a Polar Bear Ride with our SCRC friends. About 80 of us met for breakfast at Crackle Barrel this morning then we took off on a short 55 mile motorcycle ride through the 30 degree temperatures. It was fun...cold...but fun. LOL! I actually rode as a Fender Bunny on the back of Toms bike today. Something I don't do too often (actually this only makes the 3rd time) but I didn't trust my reflexes today due to me being sick and the fact that I may have just partied a little too hard last night at the New Year Eve party. LOL! Oh, well, what can I say? It was fun!

So, I guess since this is the 1st of the year I should consider making some resolutions that I know I will give up on but the fact of the matter is that I begin the initial effort of at least writing them down. LOL!

My 2009 Resolutions
#1 - Keep in touch with my cousins. I miss having them in my life and I want to get closer to all of them this year. I would actually like to get all of us together for a family reunion sometime this year if at all possible. I miss my Peeps!
#2 - Exercise regularly. I really need to get up and exercise at least 3 times a week. I have a tread mill in my bedroom, a Wii fit, and a membership to the gym. Why am I not using them all?

That's all I can think of. Those should be fairly easy to keep. We will see though...

Happy New Year!

Deep Thoughts

2008-12-03T02:02:00.004-06:00

How many of us ended up being the person we imagined we would be when we were kids? I had great ambitions of becoming an attorney, but that didn't quite work out as I had planned. Not that I'm complaining...ok, maybe I am just a little bit cause that big attorney salary would be pretty sweet right about now. LOL! Do you ever sit back and think "who have I become?" or "how did I get here?" - not necessarily in a negative tone either. I mean come on, who in their right minds ever thought I would end up creating scrapbook kits and riding motorcycles? Definitely NOT me or anyone that knew me. Honestly I never wanted to get married or have kids. I wanted to be the type of person that allowed my career to take me everywhere I wanted to go and I didn't care who I had to step on to get there....I am not that person anymore. I can't imagine my life any different that it is now. My husband and my boys are my entire world and I think they have turned me into a more compassionate, honest, caring person. I recently signed up on Facebook and I see the names of all the people that I went to school with and I am half tempted to contact some of them and then again not because I am not that person that I used to be. I'm sure we all have our regrets, things we wish we could go back and change...I know I do. I don't associate with hardly anyone I knew back then, because I am not the person I once was. For those of you that didn't know me in school, well, don't think that I was some horrible person, I wasn't. I just wish I could do things over. But that gets me wondering...if there were a way to go back and change things...would you? Do the things that happen to us make us the people that we are? Or do the things happen to us because of who we have already become? I have pondered that question a lot. I believe in Karma, to a degree. I believe that what comes around goes around...but what about those that don't deserve bad things and they happen to them anyway? Is it luck, chance, or fate that works its hand? Is there just evil running a muck that causes the horrible things to happen to good people? Do we control our own fate or is our destiny all laid out before us and we are just following it along on its unvarying path? I am a Christian so I do have faith and I do believe that my life has purpose...I just have no idea what it is. Was I put here to be a mother to boys, to give them life so they can continue to populate the earth? Was I put here to marry the man of my dreams and live a complete and fulfilling life? Yeah, I like that answer but is it the right one? Ok, enough deep thoughts tonight...

What a beautiful fall

2008-11-07T15:03:00.003-06:00

I feel blessed to live in such a beautiful part of this amazing country. Tennessee is always so lush and green in the spring and so vibrant and full of color in the fall. We just had our first cold snap so the trees just turned amazing shades of reds, golds, and oranges. Yesterday it warmed up a bit and Tom and spent our day off riding our motorcycles in the smokey mountains. We had an amazing time and took tons of pictures (all of which are still in the camera LOL!). Here is a photo I took on my cell phone of my bike and a yellow maple in the background.

Life in the Fast Lane received another award!

2008-10-21T09:14:00.004-05:00

Don't worry...I won't make another video acceptance speech this time. LOL!

I have received the Kreative Blogger award and with this award comes rules that I must follow. Hmmm, kind of reminds me of the Spiderman movie when they said "With great power comes great responsibility" or something like that. LOL!

The Rules.... list 6 things that make you happy then pass this award on to 6 people to make them happy!!!

6 Things that make me happy:
1. My husband - Tom is the love of my life and I can't imagine what my life would be like without him. He is my rock.
2. My boys - Codey and Tanner are AWESOME kids! I guess God knew I couldn't handle anything less... LOL!
3. A HOT Shower - Oh, I can't even begin to tell you just how much I enjoy a nice, hot, shower. I swear, a hot water heater is probably the best invention...EVER!!!
4. Riding a motorcycle - The sound of the motor growling when you accelerate makes you feel powerful, the feeling of the wind pressing against your body makes you feel virtually weightless almost as though you were flying, just being open and exposed to the world surrounding you gives you this feeling of ultimate FREEDOM...it's AMAZING!
5. My family - My parents deserve a medal for all the things I put them through during my teenage years. LOL! And my two sisters are still my best friends.
6. My life - If I were to die today I would die completely fulfilled and content. I love my life!

I'm passing this award on to these awesome bloggers:
1. Nancy of That's Nancy with a Jones
2. Lynnise of Shades of Bleu
3. Jing Jing of This Little Art of Mine
4. Jan of Scrap my World
5. Michelle of Acknowledge and Move On
6. Carole of 3 Dimensional Me

I am exhausted

2008-10-18T21:10:00.005-05:00

This has been one heck of a weekend and it's not even over yet. Friday started off wonderful because both Tom and I were off of work. Tom allowed me to sleep in while he got the kids ready for school. After they were out the door he crawled back in bed and we slept until 11:30! OMG! I can't even remember the last time I slept that long. We got a new box spring and mattress set and it just sucks you in and makes you never want to leave the bed. LOL! After sleeping that late we went out to lunch, did a little shopping, ran some errands, etc. Later in that evening we met friends for dinner at 6:30pm. We went to celebrate Debbie (Bones) completion of her Masters Degree. I think 25 or so of us were there and believe it or not they had us all seated at one really long table. Ok, so it was a bunch of smaller tables lined up end to end but you know what I mean! LOL! I had 2 margaritas and OMG! they were strong. By the time I walked out of there I was feeling comfortably numb. LOL! I'm a lightweight when it comes to drinking, in case you couldn't tell. LOL!

After dinner we headed to a club in the 'boro to see my friend Pam's (Goodwill) son perform on stage. Her son Brandon is the guitarist for Framing Hanley. They were the headlining band so they didn't even go onstage until 11pm. The music was awesome, but OMG! did I feel OLD in there! I swear all the people there were between the ages of 18-24 and here I was with my 34 year old self looking like a total mom in the middle of all these kids. LOL! Oh, well... Since my judgment was already impaired by those margaritas I had over dinner I decided to drink a few...or FIVE beers before we finally left at 1:30am. Oh, I haven't drank that much in many, many, years. BUT IT WAS FUN! LOL!

...until I had to get up at 6am to go help a friend, Christy (Dodger), move to a new home. I thought my head was going to explode every time I bent down to pick up a box. Now I know why I haven't drank like that in years! LOL! Now, where's that advil?

Chantele

BUNCO!

2008-10-14T21:16:00.004-05:00

Yep! I am a Bunco playing fool. Well, not really...but last night I was on a roll. I ended up winning the most games (29) and the most Buncos (6). I walked away with a really nice prize - thanks Penny!!! I'm just a sub. I don't actually belong to my own Bunco group but hopefully that will all change soon. This weekend I plan on printing out invites and giving them to all my neighbors. I hope at least 11 of them will want to play and we will start our own neighborhood Bunco group!!! Cross your fingers for me that all goes as planned.

Chantele

What a weekend!

2008-10-05T15:51:00.007-05:00

Friday didn't start off too well. In fact, I had to work late because we have been overwhelmed with sale orders. Which, by the way, ends on Wednesday so if you haven't ordered yet you better hurry or your gonna miss out on some really cheap scrapbook supplies such as ALL patterned papers (including double sided) are only 6 @ $1.00, all of our past kits are only $20 OR LESS!!!!, and everything else in the store is marked down between 20%-80% OFF! Ok, that was enough of a plug don't you think? LOL! Oh, I forgot the link: Scrapbook Obsessions Online SALE!

Ok, so, what was I saying? Oh, yeah, Friday didn't start off too well cause I had to work late. Usually I'm out the door by 2pm - 3:30pm at the latest. On Friday I didn't leave until 6pm. I know, that doesn't seem like "late" to most of you other hard working folks out there but that was 4 hours later than I was supposed to leave and I, for once, had plans on a Friday night. LOL! Before marriage and kids I used to look forward to my weekends because no matter what happened all week I knew I would always have something fun to do on the weekends. But I guess things all changed when I got married, had kids, and then 15 years later I discover I have turned into a homebody who never goes anywhere except to go shopping, work, or out to eat. Kind of sad when you think about....so, lets NOT think about it anymore. LOL! Anywho, to make a long story short, I had made plans to meet some friends in Nashville to attend a Haunted House at 7:30pm. Tom and I arrived at Death Row Sanitarium to meet a group of about 20 or so SCRC members. Since there were so many of us they didn't allow us to all go in together and ended up breaking us up into several smaller groups. Tom & I went in the first group. We had fun. I can't say that it scared me at all but I would give out the occasional "OH!" when something would pop up unexpectedly. It took us close to 45 minutes just to walk through the entire thing. It is in a huge warehouse so I think you definitely get your $10 admission worth. Afterwards, we all went to Hooters for dinner. No, it's definitely NOT my favorite place to eat but OH WELL!! While we are eating we all decided to go to another Haunted House after dinner. So, we all went downtown and went to the Slaughter House. I don't know if it was the alcohol that I drank during dinner but this one did seem better than the first one but it was much shorter. I think we walked through it in about than 15 minutes and it cost more. It was $15 whereas the other one was only $10. But, we had a great time with our friends and have already made plans to go some more haunted houses next weekend!

Saturday we got up early and went on a 294 mile motorcycle ride with some SCRC friends. It was a little chilly when we started out but within an hour or so we were already pulling off our sweaters/jackets because the sun started shining. It turned out to be a beautiful day and RickRick lead us through some awesome roads in this beautiful state of TN. We were even able to go to the top of a mountain and watch the TN Treetopers, a club of hang gliders jump off the mountain. Now, I WANNA LEARN HOW TO DO THAT!!!!!!!! Wow! To watch them take that giant leap of faith as they literally step off the mountain is amazing! I took tons of pictures because it was just so surreal. Afterwards, we split apart from the group and headed home around 4pm because I had a Pure Romance party to attend at 6:30pm. I had a great time with some of the SCRC ladies and didn't get home to well after 1am.

Tonight some friends are coming over and Tom is working his magic on the grill. He makes the BEST steaks EVER!!!! Always so juicy and flavorful. My man can work that grill! LOL!

Chantele

It's strange isn't it

2008-10-02T11:27:00.007-05:00

Isn't it strange the way life seems to speed up the older you get? I'm only 34 and my days seem to vanish into weeks and the next thing I notice it is a whole month later. It's October already. Where the heck did the summer go? The weather here in TN has cooled off dramatically in the past week or so. Just this morning I actually had to turn the heat on in my car while I was taking Tanner to school. THE HEAT! Just last week it was 90F and I was riding my motorcycle in a t-shirt and blue jeans while feeling the sun on my back. This morning it was 47F and I had the dang heat on in the car. Tom is planning a bike ride for some friends of his next week and the high temps are only expected to be in the upper 70's. I'm so not looking forward to taking off at 7am in 40 something degree weather. {Sigh} I want my summer back!

I decided to decorate my house the other day with fall stuff. I figure I can't pretend it's still warm and summery so I might as well enjoy the beautiful colors of fall while I'm still indoors. I bought this cute giant looking bottle cap at Hobby Lobby. It was half off and I thought it was cute so I brought it home and hung it on a door in the hallway. Not bad for only $4.50!

Yesterday Tom and I went to Martins Greenhouse in the 'boro bought these HUGE mums for only $9 each! These suckers were in 12" pots and I haven't seen them that big for that cheap anywhere else so I snatched two of 'em up and put them in pots outside my front door. Kind 'of purdy huh?

We posted the new Scrapbook Obsessions kit picture yesterday and the addons have almost completely sold out already. I've already got plans doing something with one my favorite pictures with this kit. Doesn't Sugar look adorable? Poor thing...I better go give her a bone for being such a good sport about getting her photo taken.

Chantele

Insomnia, Heartburn, and Tim Holtz

2008-09-27T08:18:00.014-05:00

What a combination, huh?! Well, when you can't sleep because you have some severe heartburn and you don't have any Rolaids, Pepto, or other anti-acid in the house you have no recourse but to go to Tim Holtz blog and try to follow his instructions to make all these tags. LOL! Honestly though, at 2am I wasn't a very good student. I didn't have most of the stuff he used so I just altered it and did it MY WAY... whatever THAT means. LOL!

This first tag was made following Tim's February Technique Challenge. I did pretty well on this one since I had the grungeboard shapes. I didn't have the crackle paint in the colors he suggested so I just painted the heart and wings with regular acrylic paint. After it dried I added Glimmer Glaze to the heart so now it's all PURDY and SHINY. LOL! For the crown I couldn't find any of my metallic paint so I just rubbed gold Stickles all over it instead. Oh, and Tim instructed me to use wire to "sew" the pieces together...well, that was just too darn hard to do. I dunno if my wire is just thicker than his wire but it was seriously ticking me off so I ditched that idea and got out some green DMC floss...worked like a charm. :)

Tim's March Technique Challenge turned out WAAAYYYY cooler than mine because I didn't have ANY of the stuff he used but I still think mine turned out pretty snazzy. You can't tell from the photo but this tag has got sooo much depth when you look at it. Since I had to go all ghetto and make up my own supply list for this one I used Glimmer Mists, a big foam flower stamp, a rubber mounted sunflower stamp, and a Prima rubon. The basic concept of this technique is that you first stamp in white paint, let dry, than apply glimmer mist. The paint acts like a resist against the glimmer mists and it looks REALLY KEWL. After the mist dries stamp a different stamp with black ink on top of the image. VIOLA! You have just created a really neat effect. I added a little Prima rubon just cause it sounded good at the time - remember, it was 2am! LOL!
I'd love to find the bird and tree stamps that Tim used in his demonstration but I'm sure that it still wouldn't compare to his masterpiece. Go look at his tag...it is so amazingly beautiful. I LOVE IT!

This next tag NO WAY even remotely resembles Tim's creation because (1) I didn't feel like making a Christmas tag, (2) I didn't have most of his supplies, and (3) REMEMBER IT WAS 2 o'clock in the morning!!!! This is my spin on Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas (tag #1). Please don't go to his site look at his tag and tell me that mine looks NOTHING like his...TRUST ME, I know this already! LOL! I was just playing with his techniques and I kind of like how mine turned out. I only have two colors of crackle paint - black & purple. I didn't feel like painting it purple so I went with black. After it was dry and crackled I went over it with white paint then wiped off the excess. I took a little bit of red ink and went around the edges too. Then I stamped the diamonds in the bottom corner with white paint and sprinkled distressing embossing powder over them before grabbing my heat gun and embossing it.

Following Tim's instructions for 12 Tags of Christmas (tag #2) I once again made nothing Christmassy or anything that even resembles Tim's demo but hey, I was having fun and by this time it was probably closer to 3am! Basically, what I did was stamp the diamonds with white paint, embossed them with rainbow sparkle embossing powder (because after searching for over 20 minutes I still couldn't find my clear embossing powder ANYWHERE!), and then here comes the REALLY KEWL part - you take your distress ink pads and rub them on a craft sheet - use lots of different colors to add to the effect, spritz them with water, then take your tag and plop it down in the wet ink. Lift it up, use your heat gun to dry it off, and VIOLA! kewl effect is now transferred to your tag! Then I stamped a Fancy Pants swirl onto the tag and finished it off with a Prima crystal flourish. After taking this photo I added a pretty blue Prima flower to the top right corner and it just really made it look all the better. IMHO

Once again, my next tag no way resembles Tim's tag that he created. I was tired, it was late...err, early and I didn't feel like sprinkling a bunch of stuff on a detailed stamped image so instead I decided to use large diamonds and use different colors of distress embossing powder on each one instead. LOL! If you have NO IDEA what I am talking about, check out Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas (tag #3). I kind of followed his instructions in the beginning. I stamped the diamonds with embossing ink, then sprinkled different colors of distress embossing powder on it before heating it with my heat gun, and then I just kind of went my own way. I inked over the entire tag and it did NOT give me the effect I was going for, but instead of tossing it I decided to just cover it up so I made a little chipboard tag the same way I made the black tag earlier (the 3rd tag image in this post), added a little flower BLING, and stapled some black cording. Definitely not one of my favorites but still kind of interesting.

And here is my final insomia, heartburn, Tim Holtz created tag. LOL! This one was made using Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas (tag #6) technique. This one remotely resembles his tag because I had the same Heidi Swapp mask (which I love to use often). This one was pretty easy. Just apply the mask to the tag, spray glimmer mist and allow to air dry - DO NOT use your heat gun or it will melt the HS mask (ask Jing-Jing, she knows all about this!!! LOL!), then repeat with other colors of glimmer mist, allowing each to dry before proceeding to the next step which is to remove your mask. Then you can ink your craft sheet and swirl your tag in it to pick up some of the ink color. Then spritz a bit of water of the entire tag, let the water droplets sit for about 10 seconds then remove them by dabbing a paper towel over it. Let it dry, distress the edges, add some embellishments, and your done.

Now I need to go get some sleep! LOL! :P

Chantele

Time flies when your having fun

2008-09-23T21:21:00.004-05:00

It's been awhile since my last post because my life seems to have been going in fast forward and I haven't had a chance to do anything other then work, eat, and sleep. I had one heck of a weekend. I taught 4 classes at the GASC in Chattanooga, TN and I am completely worn out from all the running around. I am still trying to get caught up on my sleep...I just can't seem to get enough of it. Since we got home I have been going to bed early, around 10pm, and sleeping in late, around 7am. And it's still not enough! I wake up just as exhausted as I was when I laid down.

My boys think I'm the worst mom in the world because I grounded them both for a week for not doing their chores. When I get home from work I expect their chores to be done. The last few days I have come home and not only have they not done their chores but they have even made huge messes and not bothered to clean them up! ARGH!!! So, what's a mad momma to do? Hit them where it hurts the worst. That's right...I took away their Internet for 1 week! Oh, they are so upset with me it's not even funny. Now, ask me if I care. LOL!

Who would have thunk it?

2008-09-13T09:58:00.004-05:00

I realize I just started this shin dig of blogging 10 days ago and I have already received an award. Now, how freakn KEWL is that?! Sex Diaries of a mom awarded me with this snazzy little award:

Thank you so much! It means a lot to me to know that someone actually likes my blog enough to send me an award! Now, when can I expect the diamond to actually arrive in the mail? I'm assuming it's the same size as it is on my screen...right? What? What do you mean it's not a REAL diamond? But, it's so pretty and shiny.... {Sigh} Click play on my video to view my Blog Award Acceptance Speech. Yeah, I'm a dork, but hey, how often does one receive an award? This could constitute as my Lifetime Achievement Award. LOL!

Make sure to turn my playlist music off at the bottom of my blog or you wont be able to hear my speech!

Later Taters!
Chantele

Oh, yeah! It's one of THOSE days

2008-09-09T07:54:00.010-05:00

I've been trying to start this blog post for 2 days now and for the life of me I can't ever seem to get it going. Sure, I've written several different things but when I go back and re-read them I end up boring myself...that's pretty bad. LOL! I think I have come to the conclusion that I just shouldn't blog if I'm not in a good mood. The words I write don't tend to be as witty when I'm in a crumby one. Yesterday was DEFINITELY one of those days. You ever have a day where you wish you just stayed in bed, pulled the covers over your head, and just laid there staring at the ceiling instead of actually getting up and facing the world? Well, lets just say that my life would have definitely been better if I had obeyed that inner calling to stay in bed rather then experience the day I had yesterday. I think me and Murphy might be related because "if things can go wrong, they will" would have been a good motto for me yesterday. I woke up with a phone call of bad news. I got to work and encountered more bad news from one of our vendors...and then a second vendor gave me even worse news. I couldn't eat my lunch because I cut the roof of my mouth on a chip a couple days ago and it is still so tender that everything that touches it sends pain racing through my head. Oh, I should have just stayed in bed all day.

I shouldn't really complain though because it wasn't all bad, my hubby knew I was having a yucky day so when I rode my motorcycle to meet him after work he took me on this amazingly relaxing scenic ride. We rode along side the lake, we saw deer standing in the fields (thankfully they didn't try to dart in front of us), we even got to see a small plane doing tricks in the air. Now, how KEWL is that? I guess it was some private owners plane and they were just having fun up there in the sky. I was able to put my earplugs in, turn my MP3 on, sit back on my bike, feel the rev of that engine, the warmth of the sun, and simply ride. Oh, it was exactly what I needed after that kind of day! When we got home a few hours later I was completely relaxed and ready to make dinner, watch the news, then go to bed.

I am so fortunate to have a husband that loves me and takes care of me the way Tom does. He turned my bad day into a wonderful ending. What a guy! You know, I think I'll keep him...at least for another day. ;) Check out this layout of Tom & I with a picture of us from "back in the day".

Later Taters!
Chantele

Oh, Good Lord! Here I go again!

2008-09-05T08:24:00.004-05:00

I like to consider myself computer "savvy". I mean, I can code html, css, java, etc so I think that means I have at least a step up above the basic knowledge of computers. I only tell you this so you will commiserate with me on my numerous failed attempts to upload a friggn video to You Tube. Can it really be that hard? Why, oh, why won't my video load? We've all seen You Tube. There are literally 100's of thousands of stupid videos that I am sure where not only created by but also uploaded while the user was surely under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. But, alas, here I am, sober, and the inability to upload my video has left me feeling like a total loser! I've followed the instructions, I get to the upload screen, I find my file and press upload and then.....NOTHING HAPPENS!!! I'm pretty sure that my video file is simply just too large but since I am so new at this whole digital video thing the ability to edit my video has completely eluded me. {sigh}

After I typed this initial message I realized that I had failed to utilize the most common "problem solver" known to man....Google! LOL! So, I type in "how to edit a digital video" in my google browser and all these things pop up about Windows Movie Maker. I click on one, then another, than another and finally find a link with a Free Download. Well, before I download I decide to check to see if it is already on my computer and wouldn't you know...it was! Ok, I've had this computer for oh, I don't know, at LEAST two years and this is the first I have ever heard of or seen anything about a friggin Movie Maker. LOL! OMG, talk about feeling like a total LOSER! Well, now that the Forest Gump part of me has eaten that whole box of chocolates that life is supposedly resembled to, I have finally created my video with the help of Google, Windows Movie Maker, and You Tube. Dang! Who would have thought it would have taken me this long...ok, you, in the t-shirt that is nodding your head like you KNEW all along what I needed to do but instead of feeling empathy for my failed attempts you sat there smugly and read about my misery and enjoyed my misfortunes...you, I BANASH from my blog...POOF! No more blog for you! Kind of like the soup Nazi but instead I'm the blog Nazi. LOL!

Here it is: my 1st video ever created and I'm sharing it with y'all first. Turn the music off at the bottom of my blog before starting or you will hear two different songs playing at once. Yes, I'm southern and I REALLY do say that all the time. ;) Ok, so the video had to be edited because it was just too long in length so I just took a few minutes off the front and a few off the end and added some music and a title and end credits. It's me, on my bike riding Deals Gap - 318 curves in 11 miles. Sorry for the glare on my windshield.

And here is one of the scrapbook layouts that I made from this trip. I used the Scrapbook Obsessions July kit to create it. I made it right after we got back from our trip. There were people hiding in the trees taking your picture as you rode by. That's where the pictures of me riding my bike came from. Pretty KEWL huh?

Wow! I have really gotten bitten by this blogging bug. I have tons of stuff to show anyone that is interested in seeing it. If you are reading this blog PLEASE leave me a comment just so I'll know if you find my content lame or not. But then again, if you call me lame, I will have to banish you too! LOL!

Later Taters!
Chantele

Intro to who I am...really

2008-09-03T08:04:00.004-05:00

Well, I decided to finally jump on the blog bandwagon. Yeah, yeah...don't everyone clap at once. I'm not really sure who would even want to read my blog so I'm not really sure what direction this blog will take. I plan on sharing photographs and videos of my recent motorcycle trips - I got this REALLY KEWL camcorder on my bike that I turn on and tape bits and pieces (usually the really fun curvy roads) of my rides. I also plan on sharing my scrapbooking projects because it truly is an obsession of mine. (Hehe...good play on words since http://www.scrapbookobsessions.com/ is the company that my mother and I started in 2004 and it is still going strong today. ) I also think this would be a great way to share some photos with distant relatives who keep begging me to send them some pictures and sadly, I never do.

So, I guess since I figured out what I'll post I should actually post something about who I am to get this whole shin dig started. Ok, let's see... my name is Chantele Jacobs. I was born in Germany while my daddy was in the Army. I'm a full blooded American that lives in Middle Tennessee where it doesn't get too cold in the winter and it doesn't get too hot in the summer. Who am I kidding? It gets friggn' hot here. 107F is definitly considered hot! But at least it doesn't stay THAT hot for long though. I do prefer the heat to the cold. I could never live up north where they get tons of snow and it gets real cold.

I have a wonderful husband, Tom. He is my best friend, the love of my life, the father of my children, and the most amazing man you will ever meet. Even after 15 years of marriage he still makes my heart go pitter patter when he kisses me. Now calm down, he's not completely perfect. I do, after all, have days when I just want to bop him upside the head with a frying pan...but not today. LOL!

I am the mother of teenage boys. Oh my goodness. My youngest just turned 13 on Monday so now I can officially say that they are all teenagers. Tanner is 13, Codey is 17, and Brian is 19. God, now after typing that I feel old!

I have two 8 yr old dogs, both were rescued from the local dog pound. Sugar, is a mixed breed of a Shiatsu and a Cocker Spaniel. She is the only other female in the house so she is my baby girl. She even has a pink rhinestone collar. She isn't too sweet though. In fact, everyone that comes to my house is terrified of her because she doesn't like strangers in the house and she is not afraid to let them know it! Rosco Peco is a beagle and the bestest dog in the whole wide world! LOL! Don't get me wrong, I love my Sugar beyond description but EVERYBODY loves Rosco! He is just so darned cute and always wants to play ball - no matter how many times you throw the darn thing he is always bringing it back for more!!!! But, like my husband, he is not perfect either.... he will eat anything and EVERYTHING in sight that even resembles food. This one time he got into a can of used cooking grease that I had sitting next to the trash can for my hubby to take out with him when he took the trash out. Oh, it was nasty. Rosco ate the entire thing and it was all in one of those large Maxwell House metal coffee cans and it was full to the rim! Eww, my stomach just turns thinking about it. He got so sick he would just lay there and literally moan. It was awful. Poor Rosco.

Ok, I've covered my husband, my kids, my dogs...what else should I mention? Oh, I have a motorcycle! How on earth did I forget that?! My hubby has a really pretty baby blue & black Harley Davidson Softtail Custom motorcycle (that I picked out) and I have a maroon Honda Shadow. Yeah, his is bigger and cost more but I'm REALLY short so my choices were kind of limited as to which bikes I could actually sit on and my feet touch the ground. You know, that kind of comes in handy when you come to a stop. Somethings got to keep it from tipping over. LOL! I love my bike. I just learned how to ride in April of 2007. Since that time I have ridden over 20,000 miles! I LOVE riding my motorcycle. Every free moment I have I am spending it out riding but I'm sure that will be evident when I start sharing our riding habits.

Well, I guess that's all I'm typing now. I need to get off my butt and go work out on my Wii. I'm trying to get back that girlish figure of mine. I am trying to get back in shape. Oh, who am I kidding? Round IS a shape too. LOL!

Later taters!

Chantele