Reflection...

on Memorial Day is probably the theme of the day.

I spent the day with the family by taking a walk (about 30-40 mins - our boys can only last so long! LOL!!) in a place where you can get some exercise and reflect on your thoughts. As the day was Memorial Day, I thought of my friends' spouses that are serving overseas and how their families are spending this day without them. Made me feel how lucky I am that I can spend the day with my family...it was a beautiful day in more ways than one!

Got to sleep in a little in the morning and in the late morning, we went off to Spring Valley Nature Center & Heritage Farm in Schaumburg for our walk. Of course, we had to "bribe" the boys into going by having a late lunch of RAMEN and bubble tea at MITSUWA's food court. You can only imagine how fast two boys can move to get in that car! LOL!!!

If you are ever in the Schaumburg IL area (aka Woodfield Mall), you'll have to make this one of your stops! I never went to the back of this place....there's a farm (duh!) and took some great pictures! I'll share some below:




Can't get over how tall my oldest DS is getting!







This statue is placed by the vistor's center and is such a sweet piece! Definitely one of my favorites!







Can you tell how excited my boys are to be walking in 80 degree weather?! LOL!!! "Deal with it!" HA!






One of the scenes before arriving to Heritage Farm :0)








Such a magnificant bird! Was gobbling all day long! LOL!!





Look at the colors on this one! He is a beauty! This one was the quiet one. There was another who didn't know what time it was...he kept going all day long too. What is up with these birds - it was a very noisey bird coop! LOL!!







I made a friend!








This is Heritage Farm's visitor's center.




It was a very nice way to spend a holiday and after a week's worth of cold weather too!

Hope you and your family had a wonderful holiday weekend....hope that you also reflected a little about those who serve, served and sacrficed.

Have to share.....

OK! It's about two months to this day that I rec'd something really special from my friend, Jen (aka Race Goddess)! To back up, I had a RAK to give out around CHA-Winter when I had debuted my newest line with LaserLine....acrylic-shaped mini albums! Well, Jenn won my scalloped heart mini (one of my favorite)!

Look at her creation!!!! I am so honored and thrilled that she took the time (out of her busy schedule) to make this wonderful album.











Sorry that it took two months to finally post...as you can see I haven't been posting much! LOL!! Thank you, Jen! You rock!!!! xoxoxo

Where did April go?! LOL!!!

Hey all!
So sorry to be slacking in the blogging department....

Many things happening as it is the beginning of the school year for Japanese school and guess what! I was "chosen" (by lottery) to become my oldest DS' class mom (8th grade). Somewhere in the definition of "volunteer," the translation forgot to include own free will. LOL!! Each year, the mothers pick out a number from the "hat" and if you are in the top (at least) five, you're it. It also gives you an automatic "in" to the PTA "inner circle" which means you have to draw a number again at the end of the year to see if you are "it" on the executive board or committee head. Lucky for me that I have a "partner in crime"...almost all classes have 2 class moms. She is very cool so I am lucky to partner with her..well, maybe she isn't so lucky to have me! LOL!!!

Also we had a stamping/scrapbooking open house toward the end of April for the Japanese community. I had only two full days to prep as my parents were visiting from out of town. I think my best seller was the personalized papers that had either CUBS, SOX, BEARS or Chicago landmarks on them. I had some people interested in pursuing scrapbooking so that's always a PLUS!










Here are some of the things I made for the open house. The single flower has a stamped imagine on the back....in this case, either "Happy Mother's Day" or "You're so Sweet." I thought it would be cute to have a 3D "card" rather than just a regular card. The mirrors turned out really nice..my favorite was an all-pink w/ cupcakes on it! CUTE! Unfortunately I did not take a picture of it. That one sold in the first few minutes of the show! LOL!!!!

I mentioned my parents were in town..it was so nice to have them here. The boys just loved having their grandparents over. This time was a VERY SHORT trip. So we'll have to make a trip to LA (next time they're in the States) or to Japan (which is long overdue). Thanks for coming, mom & dad!!! xoxoxoxo

My scrapbooking classes have been keeping me busy! Right before my parents' visit, I had classes almost everyday! LOL! I don't know if that is good or bad but I'm having fun!

Lastly, I do want to wish everyone a very Happy Mother's Day...hope it is a day full of good memories!