Umm, so yeah. Once again I have let lots of time go by since my last post. This is not because I have not been busy getting my creativity on, but I just have not been inspired to write about it. That said, I encountered something yesterday that really, really made me want to blog. I just had to share this with everyone. I was in the dollar discount store…wait I need to go off on a tangent about this for a second.

TANGENT: These stores that call themselves Dollar Stores but the prices range everywhere from $1.00, $2.50, $4.99, to $39.99, really work my nerves. Why call it a dollar store if the items don’t cost a dollar, SERIOUSLY?!!! I must give a shout out to the Dollar Tree, they are true to their word EVERYTHING is actually just a dollar, sometimes even 2 for a dollar…but I ain’t mad at that.

O.K. so I am in the “dollar” discount store searching the aisles for rose water (I have a really cool project that I am working on, but more on that in my next post), and I happened upon a product called Gorilla Snot!!! What tha…??? I could not believe it, so you KNOW I had to take a picture of it. What type of marketing strategy is this Shock & Awe?? And the graphic on the jar…WOW! Evidently, it is some sort of hair holding gel. I am not even sure if there was actual gorilla snot in it but the idea was just gross. Too funny!

That said, I have used a hair conditioner from the Dom. Republic called Baba de Caracol which translates to “snail spit.” Which doesn’t seem so bad compared to Gorilla Snot.

My Gosh! I have not blogged in a few days and as usual I’ve been meaning to, but life got in the way. Well, now of course all hell done broke loose and my beloved Michael Jackson has gone on home to glory. It’s o.k though, he’s earned the rest. He has always been my ALL-TIME favorite entertainer of all time. My heart is sooooooo heavy and I feel sick to my stomach. His genius cannot be denied and in my heart and in the hearts of many, he will live forever. And there will NEVER, EVER EVER be another like him.

I was just speaking to a friend and I was telling her what I believe is the most beautiful blessing in life and death. So, I figure why not share it with you.

To me the most amazing, beautiful, GREATEST divine blessing in life is to be able to spend your life doing something that positively impacts the world. So much so, that even when you leave this earth, your gifts continue to give. When the things you’ve created breathe life to new ideas and inspiration for generations and generations long after you’ve gone. I swear, whatever it is in life that you love, whatever gifts or talents you have…SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD and maybe if the Universe sees fit, you too shall live forever!

Rest In Peace, Michael Joseph Jackson. I certainly will love you forever!

Another Saturday afternoon post-Health Freedom Walk and I am still awake. This time I did it on 3 hours of sleep. (Totally uncalled for…I was having some issues with the check-in list & database until 3AM, SMH) Could it be that my stamina is increasing? Maybe! We will see, I may be knocked out in another hour! No deep thoughts today. I just wanted to share this layout of my friend’s baby girl who is just too cute! Peep the hands on the hips shot. Growny-tail!!! BTW, Ming is her nickname.

I believe the paper and chipboard Alphas are from Marcella by K….I think.

How lovely is this bible?! The color is my absolute favorite right now (I am seriously going through a green thing) and to top it off it is engraved with my name! Yay! I received this gift a couple of months ago from a truly beautiful and kind friend, whom I’ve yet to actually meet in person…go figure. At the time when I received it , it was a total surprise, but it came right on time. Just when I needed that extra little push of encouragement and sign that I was on the right path! Everything is perfect about this gift, the timing, the color, the message! Tanya, girl thank you so much for being the messenger!!

Lately this whole idea of “On Time God” has been floating around in my head. Just recently I was having….well, let’s just call it “A Moment” and I went through this whole rant about faith and what does it all really mean when we have to struggle so much, and does God really hear our prayers, and… Blah, blah, blah! But then, in that EXACT moment a white car (Cadillac to be exact) drove by and in the back window someone had written “Got hope? God’s love has never failed.” Can you imagine?!!! I basically shut-up because there was nothing left to say! God is Good!

It must be time for me to eat. As I was searching my images, trying to decide which layout I would share…this one jumped out at me. The pics are from last summer when my god-child came down to visit us. “Do I even like marshmallows?” were her first words to me after tasting the snack that she begged me to make!!! That kid is too funny!

By the way…I know that marshmallow is spelled with an “A” The name of the snack is a play on words…just in case you were wondering. (The rich gooey’ness of the chocolate covered marshmallows are supposed to put you on Cloud 9 and “mellow” you out!)

Thanks for looking!

Lately, I’ve found myself in discussions about clearing the clutter in order to make room for new things. This concept goes a lot deeper than just getting rid of physical/tangible things surrounding me. It has to do with clearing space for the mind, heart and soul to grow and develop on a higher level. And I think if this is done successfully then it will translate or manifest into tangible or physical blessings even greater than where I started in the first place. Basically, I think God is trying to tell me something, which sounds a little like “AYSHA get it together!!! I have a world full of blessings waiting for you, but because you are holding on to so much stuff, your hands, heart and mind are too full to receive it!!!!”

So therefore, I am enacting Operation: Ready to Receive!!

O.K. so my Step 1: Get real! Honestly!… I am constantly working to re-organize my craft/scrapbook studio (despite the condition of the room I really do like to have a place for everything and have everything in its place) but I always get to a point where I feel overwhelmed and then I simply clear a small space, create a project, then say “That was fun, but it would have been a lot easier if this room was in order!” My reality is that I NEED to get rid of stuff!

So as I embark on this journey… I’ve shared with you a few BEFORE shots, in a digital layout I’ve titled “Organized Chaos…or Just Chaos?”. I should be ashamed at the condition of this room. But, atleast it will make the AFTER shots even more amazing!!!

O.K. so I am truly exhausted. Today was the Howard/Baltimore County Health Freedom Celebration walk and I was out there bright eyed & bushy-tailed at 6:30 AM, which means I woke up at 4:45AM and drove for almost an hour to get there. Now anyone who knows me also knows that I am NOT a morning person, but like Common, I do it for the PEOPLE! LOL

I am actually doing pretty good, usually I come in and CRASH immediately afterwards, but today I stayed up and out enjoying the rest of my Saturday. But now I am coming down, and am about to get some sleep. But not before I share one of my recent hauls from Big Lots. I racked up on plenty of Thickers that were marked all the way down to $2 (they typically cost around $4 each). I had to keep my head on straight because I was tempted to buy every pack they had. Did I mention that I was an alphabet junky?! Well, I am!!!

This is the newest member of our family, my cousin’s baby Genesis… GiGi for short. Everyone in my family has a nickname, regardless of how long or short your given name actually is. It’s just how we do it! Anyway, since I don’t live in NY anymore and had not been up in a while, it took me a few months to finally meet this bundle of joy. And you know it was love at first sight!! How could I resist those chubby cheeks?!! So anyway, world here she is Gigi Baby!!

The layout was created using one of the Classy Coordinates Sketch-A-Day sketches. The paper is from Marcella by K’s “Angelica” collection, not sure how “old” it is since I of course purchased it at a discount store. I love the colors that I chose for this layout it reminds me of candy!

O.K. so I am a die-hard discount shopper, this is especially true when it comes to scrapbooking and crafting supplies. I’m sorry but I spend entirely too much time and energy collecting stuff to break the bank on any one purchase. That said, lately I’ve been looking for some gems (others call it Bling…but I have issues with the whole bling thing…so I say gems or jewels) to enhance my scrapbook layouts. Of course M’s and some of the other retailers carry many varieties, but unless you have a coupon or it is on sale these things can really add up. So anyway, the other day I am in the Dollar Tree (I really like them because everything is REALLY a dollar, not like some of the other stores that set you up to think it is an actual dollar or 99cent store but when you get in there everything is like $1.99, $5.99, $1.29… ugggh!!), and I see bags of gems all differents shapes and sizes with like 130 in a pack…EXCELLENT! I grabbed like 5 packs, so that should last me for atleast a week…just kidding!

O.K., so as my Scrappin’ Sistahs have so lovingly pointed out to me…I really need to update my blog. LOL. So here I am updating.

So much has happened since I’ve last posted and I will do my best to fill in the blanks as I continue to make every effort to keep up with myself. Hehe. Well, one major change is that I moved. I now live closer to the D.C. area of Maryland. Not sure how much I am lovin’ it but, it will do the job for now. Also, this season’s Health Freedom Walks have begun so I have been running around trying to stay on top of that. I’m responsible for all of their graphic work and marketing materials, among many other tasks. If you want to know more about them you can check out their website here Health Freedom Inc.

It has been suggested to me that I start to share a little more of myself in my blog so I will try to do that as time goes on. We’ll see how that goes. Anyway, now that I am a little more “caught up” I can continue posting about some of the things that I love the most…my CREATIVE projects!!! Because despite the fact that I have not been updating my blog the way I should (bad Aysha) I have been creatively active…which is a beautiful thing!

Oh yeah, and I’ve been designing for the Classy Coordinates, Sketch A Day design team! Yay! I’ve really enjoyed working with the sketches. Although, I must admit it has been a challenge for me. Since prior to this I typically did not use sketches. I guess I am a “purist.” That said, I absolutely love their sketches and it really does help to push you over that “Scrapper’s Block” that sometimes slows us down. The best part is seeing all of the different styles of scrapbook layouts that can be created from just one sketch!