Catching up

Oh, it has been a LONG time since I have posted anything in here!
Well, lets see.... what has happened since MARCH! LOL

Most recently, we had to put our cat (Gus) to sleep. I miss the little guy so much! He was almost 15 years old, he started serious weight loss over the past few months and the day we lost him, he was down to 6 lbs... (a year before that, he was more than twice that weight). It was one of the hardest things I have had to do, but I know it was the kind thing to do, he was suffering, and this was a peaceful way for him to go. I held him when the vet injected the medication, and he just went to sleep and was gone... no pain... very quick. He was a good cat, because our house is surrounded by woods, we get the occasional mouse, and he always got rid of them for us! He was very loving, and he even kissed the tears off my face when I said good-bye to him. We brought Gus home to live with us when he was about 8 weeks old, so he was a part of the family for a long time. I will miss him...

On to happier things... www.deco-pages.com is really starting to bloom. We have new designers coming on board, the forum and gallery are fully functioning, and people are starting to use them. We hope to have the chat installed this week! I am very excited about that! If you have not stopped by recently, I hope that you will!

Matthew is enjoying his summer. He will get to sing next month at the RiverFest in Niles. He spent the night at a friends house last night, and called me at 7am to come home because he had been up all night and was tired and wanted to come home and go to bed!

Jeff has been workin hard, doing the landscaping, piano tuning, side jobs, and now he is taking a computer class at a local college. I hope he learns how to fix computers so he can take care of mine! I did get a new computer this past month. It's great! I love it! FAST! Has enough RAM so I can work in my Adobe products! And it doesn't crash every 5 minutes!

I have been working on a new kit since Mother's Day... lol... how long ago is that now! There just are not enough hours in the day! This is a layout I did with it of my Mom and my brother Scott, it was taken a year or so before she passed away. I think it is a wonderful photo of her, she looked so happy. I hope to have this kit finished and available at www.deco-pages.com very soon.

Well, I guess that is about it for now. I will try to post in here more often... but I am not promising anything!

St. Patty's Day Kit

This is a layout I did with my newest kit -- St. Patty's Day which is available in our store.
Here is a link to the kit:
http://www.deco-pages.com/Deb_Ammerman_-_St_Pattys_Day_P310C38.cfm

I took the photo of the shamrock last fall. It is my husband's work. Isn't it beautiful?

A Carrot, An Egg and a Cup of Coffee

I did not write the story below... it was something a good friend of mine sent me in an email. I thought it was a wonderful, and that this would be a great place to put the story... Hope you enjoy it, and share it with others too.

A Carrot, An Egg and a Cup of Coffee.

This is too good of a life lesson not to pass on! A carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee..
You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water andplaced each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.

She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you see?""Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.

The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, Mum?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however.

After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

Which are you?" she asked her daughter."When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?"

Think of this:

Which am I?

Am I the carrot? That seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg? That starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a break-up, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean?

The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity?

Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you...

Love Letters

This is a layout I created with my "Love Letters" Digital Scrapbook Kit. It is available to http://www.deco-pages.com I love this photo of my Mother-In-Law when she was a young woman. It was taken the day she graduated from High School. Her brother (Bud) Frank Long, was away serving in the military, and he sent her the flowers she is holding. This kit is great for a Valentines Day Layout, and so much more!

Our first contest went really well at Deco-Pages! Here is a link to the three winner's layouts in our Community Section:
http://board.deco-pages.com/showgallery.php/cat/533

I wish we could have made everyone who participated a "winner" in the contest! Our designers had a very difficult time choosing! As far as I am concerned, they were all "winners"!

Our newest contest has been announced... Here is a link to the Valentines Day Contest:
http://board.deco-pages.com/showphoto.php/photo/297/cat/531
We hope that you will submit a layout or two, you can win a gift certificate good in our store, and an assortment of kits (to be announced as the contest dead-line approaches) from our designers!

Hugs & Kisses

Don't cha just love those lips! This is a layout I did with my new
"Hugs & Kisses" Digital Scrapbook Kit, which
is available at http://www.deco-pages.com Here is a link that will take you
directly to the kit.
http://www.deco-pages.com/Deb_Ammerman_-_Hugs_And_Kissse_P266C38.cfm

It's been a while...

Well, it's been a while since I have written in here! So much has been going on, and with Christmas, there just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day!

I finished a new kit a few days ago called "Starry Night"... you can see it at:
http://www.deco-pages.com/Deb_Ammerman_-_Starry_Night_P257C38.cfm
The layout above was created with the kit. I had a lot of fun creating this kit... I have always loved using Stars and Moon, this kit is an "Any Occasion" kit, and can be used for so many things. Please let me know what you think of it.

http://board.deco-pages.com Our new community section of the web site is great! You can leave comments for our designers about their layouts and kits, you can also post your layouts to share with family and friends. This community section will continue to grow with the implementation of a message board, and a place to Chat. Coming soon... Don't forget to check out our Christmas and Winter Layout Contest, where you can win some really wonderful prizes from our sponsors! http://board.deco-pages.com/showphoto.php/photo/7/cat/506

New Community Section and Contest

It was an exciting day at http://www.deco-pages.com today! Our new Community Section is finally live, and we launched our first contest! Please stop by our web site to check it out! Now people can upload their layouts to share with family and friends! I can't wait to see what our customers create with our kits! The contest is really exciting... we have really cool prizes to give away!

When you spend just $10.00 (Combined order) on the Digital Scrapbook Kits found in our store at http://www.deco-pages.com/ (excluding Fund Raising Items) You will receive an email from deb@deco-pages.com after your completed purchase. The email I will send you will provide
a special code to use to get My "Christmas Joy" kit FREE!

http://www.deco-pages.com/Deb_Ammerman_-_Christmas_Joy_P192C38.cfm

This sale ends on December 1, 2005, so please hurry to take advantage of this offer.

This is a new layout I just finished of Matthew from Christmas 2001!
To see the New "Christmas Joy" Kit I created Please Click Here!

Halloween Sale

We're having a big sale to celebrate Halloween by offering 25% off on most of the digital scrapbook kits at http://www.deco-pages.com but hurry, because when the goblins are gone, so will the sale be!

Autumn Clean Up

I just finished this digital scrapbook layout of Matthew and Jeff from 2001! Matthew was still too little at the time to hold the leaf blower on his back himself, so Jeff had to help him hold it up! Matthew was so cute, he thought the leaf blower was the coolest thing!... he still does. Just the other day, he told us that he would blow all the leaves off the yard this year as part of his chores to get his allowance! I think his Dad is going to let him do it! This layout was created with a new kit I just uploaded to the store today... to see the kit, please click here.

Well... the Chicago White Sox are in the World Series, and tonight is the first game. Jeff is watching the game so I got to come in here and play on the computer! Jeff and I took Matthew to see his first major league game over the summer, we went to a White Sox game in Chicago. It was a very exciting game... and the White Sox won the game. It was a fun experience for Matthew. Matthew is also watching the game, now that he has been to a game, he has started to watch it on TV.

Finally Friday

It's been a long week. My father-in-law fell and broke his hip. I have spent allot of time at the hospital. But he is doing very well.

Today I finally finished my "Birthday Kit". It is available at http://www.deco-pages.com


Here is the layout I created using the kit. I love the layout! Matthew was not too thrilled... but who cares! I like it! Of course, the photo was taken over 10 years ago, but it is priceless don't cha think?!

A Nice Quiet Evening....

Matthew and Jeff went to the Apple Festival, I didn't feel like going, so they went off on a "Male Bonding" evening, and I am enjoying the peace and quiet here at home. Jeff called me on his cell phone so I could hear the "Beatles" tribute artist group... they are really good... but I have seen them a couple of times before. It's an "Elvis meets the Beatles Night"! What a hoot! But they performed at the Elvis Festival when we went to that last year, and we had also seen them at the Morris Civic in South Bend. Sometimes it's nice just to spend a quiet evening at home alone!

I started watching some movies today on TV. I don't usually watch TV too much. Matthew usually has the cartoon network on, and I would just as soon be doing almost anything than watch that! I watched the end of Steel Magnolias this afternoon... Good ole' tear-jerker chick flick! One of my favorites! Then Zorro came on, and I was sorting socks, so I watched that, then Gladiator came on, and I watched part of that... that is the most TV I have watched in ages!

I've been working on a Birthday Celebration kit the past couple of days. I will post a layout here when I am finished with the kit, so check back soon.

Have a good night...

Matthew has a field trip at school today. It will be interesting to hear what it was all about when he gets home this afternoon. It is some kind of history reenactment thing.

Yesterday was Jeff's Birthday... the big 47! But he is still a youngin! Matthew, Jeff and I went out for pizza last night to celebrate. We had to go to Pollitos... Matthew doesn't like any other kind of pizza but that any more! PICKY... PICKY... Picky! It is pretty good pizza though... Rossini's and Polittos are about the closest thing to New York Style pizza around here. We will get together with Jeff's Dad this weekend to celebrate.

(Irv Cass)

The Apple Festival started yesterday, so we are planning on going some time this weekend. Probably the night that Irv Cass is going to be singing. My son Matthew is an Elvis Tribute Artist too... Here is a layout I did from his performance at the school talent show the last day of school last spring. Matthew has performed during Irv Cass's breaks at the RiverFest in Niles two years in a row now...

The scrapbook kit I used to create this layout is called "Any Occasion" and if you would like to see the kit please click here. Sorry, the Elvis pics and silhouette are not included in the kit!

Well, it's Wednesday, Matthew is off to school, Jeff is off to work, and I am ready to get creative! I am so close to being done with my "Friendship" Kit. I will post a collage later today when I have it put together. I really like the flowers... you will have to wait and see!


One of Matthew's fish is not well. We do not know what happened, but it's eye is missing! Poor thing! Matthew was so upset. I know it is just a fish... but you can't help but feel sorry for it. Hopefully nature will take it's course before Matthew gets home, and I can get rid of it.

It looks like it is going to be a beautiful day. It's a little chilly, but the sun is shining, and Fall is definitely in the air! The Apple Festival starts this week, Jeff said something about going tomorrow night, if the weather is good.

I joined a digital scrapbooking group on Yahoo about a week ago. It is so cool to see all they layouts these ladies are doing! I even "met" someone who lives in the area! Talk about a small world! Here is the URL if you are looking for a digital scrapbook group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/computer-scrapping/

Ok... I'm back, this is a layout I created today with my "Friendship" Kit. You can see the kit at: http://www.deco-pages.com/Deb_Ammerman_-_Friendship_P152C38.cfm. The Layout above is me and Marsha, way back in 1989! Wow... it seems like a long time ago! I showed the layout to Marsha.. we both think the photo is a hoot! I met Marsha when Jeff and I were living in Colorado, (That was 19 years ago!) ... Then Jeff and I moved to Lansing, where he went to MSU, and shortly afterward, Marsha, Randy and the Girls moved to another part of Michigan! We stay in touch, send Christmas cards... talk on the phone once-in-a-blue-moon. The layout is about being friends for years ... even though we are so far apart!

A+ Weekend

Well, it was a "Homework Weekend". Because Matthew was off school on Friday, we had to make up all the work from that day! So Matthew spent a good part of his weekend working on school work! But he got it all done!

Jeff had a piano to tune on Saturday, and then Sunday he had to do a landscape side-job. Of course it started to rain when he was working on Sunday, so he came home wet and unhappy.

Saturday Night Live

Nothing really exciting happened today. I did get my hair cut this morning! I live such an exciting life! But that is just fine with me.

Matthew wanted to take some photos of Gus tonight, so we tried to get a couple of shots... Gus is like me, he doesn't like to have his photo taken! Gus turned 14 years old last month!

Brownies are in the oven. I'm telling you, not a very exciting day!

TGIF

Well, it's been quite the Friday! Matthew woke up at 2am with an unpleasant surprise for me! His Mussels from dinner did not agree with him! I won't go into the gory details, but it was smelly, messy, and not a lot of fun at 2am!

So the boy stayed home from school today. We have a ton of homework to make up over the weekend. It will be lots of fun.

I spent the day working on print work for a client. I am exhausted, but I didn't want it to turn into a week long process, so the whole day was dedicated to getting her work done. Just some printing to be done, and it is all complete, and ready to ship.

Dad's birthday dinner was very nice. We went to this restaurant we had never been to before. It is called Fishbone Seafood Bar & Grill. The food was really good... just shouldn't let 10 year old boys eat mussels so close to bedtime I guess! It was a pleasant evening.

Thursday

Well, instead of lighting a candle for ambiance this morning, I thought I was going to have to light them out of necessity... but the power came back on only moments after it went out! Now the sun is shining, and it looks like things are going to clear up. If you don't like the weather in Michigan, just wait an hour or two!

Today is my Dad's birthday! Happy Birthday Dad! Here is a photo of him taken last month (He's the one with the white hair!) -- (Paybacks Dad! for the laughs about the tribune telling the whole world that I am 40!). He was honored with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Osteopathic Medical Foundation of Michiana at "Celebrate the D.O. Difference -- An evening of Baseball and Barbecue!" held at "Cove" where the SilverHawks play baseball in South Bend Indiana. http://www.silverhawks.com/

Well, lot of creative stuff to do today, not to mention laundry... better get at it!

Day Two...

The candle is lit, there is a soft jazz CD playing on the stereo, Matthew is off to school, Jeff is off to work, and I am ready to spend another day in creative mode. I am working on a Friendship Kit for the web site. I already created a QuickPage, but now I need to work on finishing up a full kit. I donated the QuickPage, where all sales from the site will go to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina victims. Here is a link if you want to take a peak... http://www.deco-pages.com/Deb_Ammerman_-_A_Friend_Quick__P147C73.cfm Below is the QuickPage Gallery Example with photo and journaling.

I just love the fall, and all the colors that are starting to appear in the woods behind my house. I guess today is officially the first day of fall... So, happy fall ya'all!

This is so cool, I just found this... go to http://www.colorstrology.com/ ... here is what it says for my birthday. I really do like the colors it chose for me!