Weekend Wrap-up

We spent yet another weekend at the ball field...watching our own boys as well as games their friends were playing in...a total of about 6 games. Soaking it all in, enjoying the game. There is a social aspect to it too since other parents are there and BONUS, the weather was gorgeous!

And in case you're wondering, my older plays on an AAU team as well as the town team. AAU wrapped up last weekend (waiting to hear about playoffs) and so has the town team. He got selected for the town 13 year old All Star team and games start tonight! My younger is still in Little League and is on the 12 year old All Star team...they won yesterday and have another game on Tuesday. Love that the league treats them like all stars including a special snack shack menu! It's one game at a time...which is hard, I can't plan more than 2 days ahead but it's temporary. Anyone else doing this dance with me?

Besides baseball, we also had a nice chunk of family time in the evenings...grilling and just hanging out in the backyard. There's still quite a few things on the calendar but it's definitely SLOWER. Enjoy the weather!

Garden Tales 06.24.14

This girl (I think it's a she anyways) has been visiting us twice daily for the last two months. Recently, she's just been hanging out under our chairs and in the shadowy corners of the yard. We love having her around since she's only eating dandelions and clover which are in abundance in our backyard PLUS she has stayed away from my veggie garden.  Cute isn't she?

In the last two weeks, my garden has been thriving in the rain and beautiful temps. Check it out!

We've also harvested our first batch of sugar snap peas...love eating our home-grown produce!

Weekend wrapup

First Monday of summer vacation and I'm wide awake at 5am. The house is quiet and will be for a while yet. It was a busy weekend especially for my boys. Jori had 3 baseball games on Saturday and a call about making the 13 year old All Star team for his Babe Ruth League. Darin has an all star game (12's) on Saturday plus a pool party in the afternoon. Sunday was practice for Darin and team family cookout at the field after. It was so nice to meet hang out with the other parents and watch the team and siblings play just for fun. 

Sunday morning we decided to step away from the field and took ourselves to our favorite state park for a run and some fishing. The boys "hooked" me up so I got to catch a couple too. We'll have to do this more often...and hopefully getting out of the house is faster and smoother with more practice ;)

Today I am...

celebrating my boys - Jori is done with middle school and Darin with elementary school.

listening to some busyness in the background - washer, video game, husband working on his laptop
getting ready for a weekend of baseball - 7 games total this weekend

looking forward to a slower schedule
needing to come up with some sort of routine for the summer - a tween and a teen home for the summer while I "work" is going to require some negotiations ;)
ready to dive back into scrapbooking - those photos and papers are calling my name

Weekend Update

3 games of baseball, 3 parties on Saturday, 1 parent meeting, 1 impromptu practice and a hike with the husband...makes for one very tired me on Monday. We had some time off on Sunday afternoon so we hung out in our backyard and then me and my main man set off for a hike without the kiddos. I think this hike, a 5K loop from our front door is going to be a staple through the summer. Next time I'll bring my camera and take pics along the way. Talking about pics...here's one of my boys on Father's Day :)

This week is their last week of school, and there are 2 graduations - an elementary (6th grade) graduation and a middle school (8th grade) graduation. Oh boy!

Flashback Friday

Another new feature on my blog...flashback friday. This is when I'll post about past events or old layouts or anything I feel like reminiscing about. 

I'll start off my first flashback friday by going all the way back to the beginning of my business. All the way back to 2005 - because I found these pictures and also I get asked how long I've been doing this - to my very first open house. Look at the products I carried...I've come a long way from 4 trimmers, 3 albums, a few rub-ons, and just 3 panels of pegboard. I started by signing on as a consultant with a company called "I Remember When" and never looked back.

They closed their doors in 2009 and I went off on my own and have been since then. So how many years have I been in this business?...9 years total, 5 years on my own. I am happy to say I love this job of mine and am looking forward to many many more, after I take the summer off ;) 

Coming up for air

I thought when the crop season ended, I would have a little more breathing room. Instead it's been taken up by baseball, end of year celebrations (I have 6th and 8th graders moving up) and today, worrying about how my kids will get home from school due to the President's visit to our city this afternoon. Wrapped up crop season with our SOLD OUT Just Scrappin' in Westboro crop the previous weekend.

The weekend went as planned and a great time was had by all.  The food was delicious and yummy as always!!!

Class for the FREE Make n Take was great except for a few known troublemakers, who shall not be named, causing all kinds of ruckus.

Jill even had photos to add to her FREE Make n Take!

Scrappers from near and far (as far away as Long Island) joined us for the weekend.

And our most supportive customer/friend deservingly won the weekend's grand prize...a FREE future weekend with us!!!

You missed it if you weren't there for the weekend...I'll just say there were Burpee demos, line dancing, lap dancing and a whole lot other fun going on. Won't you join us for our next event? June 26-28...same deal, same location...email me for more info.

Garden Tales

There are a few blogs (HERE and HERE) I follow daily and in the growing season, I love that they share photos and updates of their garden weekly. Since I am in my off-season AND have a veggie garden growing...I thought I would add that feature to my blog to change things up for the next few months.

A little background...this is the 5th year of my veggie garden, the blueberries went in 4 years ago and the raspberries and strawberries are in their 3rd year. I am not a pro and am a hobbyist gardener. I just like to putter around in the garden and if we can get edibles out of it great. If not, oh well that's what the farmer's markets, farm stands and grocery stores are for ;) Last year  was pathetic, the year before excellent..hoping for a great year this time around.


Strawberries and lots of them this year it looks like

Tomatoes - a heritage, a bush and a cherry...stakes coming soon.

 Kale and herbs (mint, parsley, dill)

 Snow peas, cilantro, mesclun, peppers

 Zucchini and yellow squash

Thai basil and a pepper

Fave Pinterest Finds

Loving my Nailed It Wednesday posts but it's hard to keep finding new projects as well as the time to accomplish them. Some are easier than others while some take more time to complete or to gather the "ingredients".  Saw a post about her favorite finds of the week and thought I'd mix it up...favorite finds and nailed it projects. So here's a few of my fave finds from the past few weeks.

Tzatziki & Greek Style Garlic Chicken - looks like a healthy & delicious summer dinner. Looking forward to trying it sometime soon.

DIY coffee table with casters - We just got new theatre-style couch and chairs for the man cave and am thinking this DIY coffee table will go nicely in there. Love that there are casters to move it out of the way when not needed and the baskets for extra storage! Now to see if I can convince my handyman to build it ;)

Love the hexagons on this camping/outdoorsy layout - looking forward to some scrapping time to play.

Washi tape feathers - I want to try this technique with all the washi tape I have hoarded.

And this quote is just perfect...may have to print and frame it for a reading nook this summer. Check it out HERE - it's a free printable.

Weekend Wrap-up

Saturday was spent running around from parties to games to errands but ended up with a quiet evening finishing up leftovers for dinner. It was then that it hit me...it's unofficially summer!!! Which means I get to start taking pictures for my #100daysofsummer project. I mentioned it in my post HERE and am planning on doing this:

1. Brainstorming some fun summer activities.
2. Take a picture of the activity or a summer daily
 3. Post said picture to Instagram with #100daysofsummer.
4. Print photos and compile it into a 100 Days of Summer album. Looking at two options...

• Digitally - a BLURB album, starts at 12.99 for 20 pages
• Paper and glue - We R Memory Keepers has some new Instagram Albums on the market. Alternatively, Project Life albums would also work for this. Instagram photos would have to be printed in polaroid style but there would be room for journaling. Also, 12x12 layouts could be added into the album for major events with multiple photos.

5. Print photos into a poster. Persnickety Prints has a 24x36 Insta Print that I am dying to try out.

You can follow me on Instagram or even better...join me for this fun little project. Leave a comment with your @callsign and make sure you # your pics.

I started on Sunday and here are my pics...

Did you miss me?

Could you tell I wasn't around? I'm working on a trip wrap-up post but thought I'd pop in here and shoot off a Random Friday post.

I am...
losing the battle to a spring cold :(
wanting to sleep during the day, 12 hour jet lag is no joke 
itching to scrapbook but finding myself zero time for the scrap room
looking forward to a weekend with only ONE baseball game scheduled
psyching myself up to edit 45 portraits and scan a million photos for the 6th grade yearbook
enjoying the many meet-ups I've been going on with my high school friends both on my trip and last night in Boston

waiting for the weekend to head to a store/nursery to get the rest of the plants for my veggie garden plus flowers for the yard
anticipating good weather this weekend so I can work in  the yard and maybe even take our canoe out for our very first ride in it

What are you up to this weekend?

May Newsletter

My "Siewleng's May Scrappy News" went out yesterday. Did you get your copy? It only goes out once a month. I don't sell nor do I share your info. It has info on where I'll be in the upcoming months, new kits and products and links to good stuff on my blog. Sign up is easy...just type in your email in the window at the top right hand corner where it says subscribe to my mailing list :)

And since a post isn't complete without a pic, here's a funny to share.

Weekend Wrap-up

Spending the weekend with the Scrap-A-Way ladies in Warwick, RI. The vendors are in a separate room and it has been way too quiet in here this weekend. Getting quite a bit of work done but missing out on the social aspect of it. Made up for it by making frequent trips into the crop room to chat ;)

Class was great...THANKS to all who joined me. I hope it was as painless for you as it was for me. As always, it was a great time and am looking forward to the next one!

Around Here

I am...
scrubbing baseball pants daily.
prepping for a crop this weekend in Warwick, RI.
looking forward to being able to sit outside on the deck or at a game without long coats, wool socks, gloves and blankets. 
listening to the "Laid Back Beach Music" station on Pandora.
reading "Love and Logic for Teens"...yup I have teens in the house. And we have some things we need to work on. Love what I'm reading here so far.
running again. I am so happy to be done with the 30 day shred!!!

watching season 4 of The Unit...I know I watch a lot of random stuff.

celebrating 16 years married to my wonderful husband.

planning for my upcoming trip to my hometown Penang, Malaysia (more on this in the upcoming newsletter)

Weekend (Spring Break) wrap up

Did you have the week off? We did and didn't plan anything special...no trips, nothing fancy, just me and my boys home working on re-upholstering our dining room chairs while running around to games/practices and meet-ups with friends. They each had school projects they had to work on during the week...D even had to work with a partner. Despite projects, games and practices, we did also get in a movie, a couple of meals out (Fire & Ice and a local sushi place) and some shopping for much needed stuff for the boys. We also celebrated my brother's wedding (held in Melbourne, Australia) via pictures :(

I will be traveling back to my hometown for their traditional ceremony next week. Is it really next week? Eek! I'll try to get some posts up but no promises. It will be a whirlwind trip...there and back in 11 days and it's a very long way to go. I will be posting on Instragram (@siewlengH) if you'd like to see what I'm up to plus a traditioncal Chinese Baba Nonya Malaysian wedding ceremony.

Spring Break

School's out for the week and it looks like blogging is out too. There are things I want to blog about but don't quite have it together to get them on here. I will pick it back up next week. Meanwhile, I will be enjoying a break from the computer (as much as I can) and spending time with the family, outdoors as much as possible even if most of it is at a ball field.

 I'll leave you with a pic of my veggie garden...just some spring and cold hardy plants to start with. Happy Earth Day!

Weekend Wrap-up

Happy Easter to you and yours!

We enjoyed a wonderful Living Stations mass on Good Friday.

Saturday started with a breakfast meeting w Jean plus a little trunk shopping. We meet up to brainstorm and exchange products...plus we get some time to hang out and chat.

 It was followed by a triple header...there was some overlap and one game went 3 hours so I ended up watching 2 games. It was a beautiful day but the wind was chilly. It was so nice to be home for another weekend and get to watch my boys in action. This is D coming in to relief pitch...

 

 and J running out a throw. Getting to watch them both pitch and play short stop this weekend was amazing...they are both so much fun to watch, them and their teams.

 

 Easter was spent at church for the early mass, some time at home to prep for our annual framily gathering before we headed over. Sitting on the deck chatting while the kids ran around playing...couldn't ask for a better weekend. So grateful!

Sneaky Sunday

I'm sure by now you've heard about the weekend crop I host with Jean of The Crop Shop twice a year in Westborough, MA. Did you know that part of the crop fee includes a FREE 2 page layout class?
Our sold out May crop is coming up soon and after the snowy cold day we had on Wednesday, I headed to my scrap cave and got my scrap on :) The result is this 2 page layout for our May weekend.

If you were lucky enough to get a seat at the crop and would like to have pictures on hand for the class, this layout uses one 4x6, three 4x4 and three 3x4 photos. See you at the end of May...and don't be surprised if I tweak this layout ;)

100 Days of Summer

We celebrated our younger son's 12th birthday a few weeks ago and hubby mentioned they weren't kids anymore...that at events and in our travels, they now counted as adults. Four adult tickets, please! Where has the time gone? How is it even possible that they have grown so much?    

My boys Jan 2005

I know I didn't miss much of it...I am a stay home mom after all but it's been busy the last few years. And yet lately it feels like a different kind of busy. What I mean is, when they were little it was about caring for them, diapering, bathing, feeding, monitoring, entertaining, etc. Now we are busy with our own lives...it feels weird to type that out but it's true. The boys have their own interests, friends they would rather hang out with than with mom and dad, their own activities and soon they'll be on their way out into the real world. I would like to hang on to these last few years and the best way is to document it. This summer I am going to start a project called 100 Days of Summer (#100daysofsummer) and document our summer. We'll still be spending most of our days together this summer...next summer I'll have a high school-er and a middle school-er, and hanging out with mom won't be as much fun anymore.

So how exactly am I going to execute my 100 Days of Summer project?
1. The boys and I will sit down and brainstorm a list of things to do this summer. We've done this the past few summers.
2. Take a picture of the activity.
3. Post said picture to Instagram #100daysofsummer.
4. Print photos and compile it into a 100 Days of Summer album. Looking at two options...

• Digitally - a BLURB album, starts at 12.99 for 20 pages
• Paper and glue - We R Memory Keepers has some new Instagram Albums on the market. Alternatively, Project Life albums would also work for this. Instagram photos would have to be printed in polaroid style but there would be room for journaling. Also, 12x12 layouts could be added into the album for major events with multiple photos.

5. Print photos into a poster. Persnickety Prints has a 24x36 Insta Print that I am dying to try out.

Won't you join me?

Experimenting with Gamsol

I have copic markers, zig markers and wink of stella markers but love to play with color pencils. I bought myself a kit and played with Gamsol while at a crop and on Tuesday while it rained cats and dogs. What is Gamsol?  Gamsol is the best blending medium for colored pencils and a perennial Inky favorite! Gamsol is a brand of artist-grade odorless mineral spirits, which we've packaged into a convenient, sponge-top dabber bottle. This "magical" liquid results in a pretty, almost watercolor-like look since it essentially melts the pencil lines and erases their grainy appearance (from Inky Antics website). It's a fun product to use and I love the look of it. I think I need more practice with it especially with how much color to add and working on the blending and shading. This photos in this tutorial is awesome...too bad I can't read it.

Want a kit for yourself to play with? I don't currently have them in stock but if you're interested, let me know and I'll get some in.