We then proceeded to Lowe's to get our tree. See, being from NC I have to have a Douglas Fir tree. In Texas, you can't come by those on the Christmas Tree farms. They did have a couple there that were pre-cut, but I couldn't bring myself to pay the $185 they wanted for it. So, Lowe's was the place to go. We got a gorgeous 9 foot tree- for only $65. I'm happilly surprised at the price of things this holiday season!!

However, looks as if the excitement got the better of me. Cuz tonight, the body is telling me I have done too much today. I have to admit that, as things change in my life, as stress- all be it good stress- comes down, this disease I have reminds me that it's there, and it becomes a struggle. The timing on that is not good. After all, when change comes about there is always much to be done- none of which is to sit around on my haunches doing, well, nothing.

So here I sit. Enjoying the glow of the twinkling Christmas tree lights, and hoping that making myself sit here and do absolutely nothing will pay off tomorrow. I want to feel better, and get back to work. I want to be able to finish decorating the house, and make those cookies the boys have been wanting to decorate. There are things to be done, pictures to be taken, and events to be scrapped. I'm ready. Just gotta talk my body into it.

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving. This year was a little different for us. Different good, though. Paul's mother and father were here, but we also had special guests... my BFF Paula brought her husband and children over. It was so wonderful! Thanksgiving is a time to be with family and friends, and that was certainly the case this year. I think it helped get me into the holiday spirit. I am truly counting my blessings lately.

Speaking of blessings, I must tell you all about this wonderful man of mine. I am so lucky to have him. He's been taking care of me, cleaning the house, helping cook Thanksgiving dinner, putting lights on the tree... and being a perfect Dad. Whatever would I do without him? So many people I know have seperated from their spouses lately. It makes me sad to think about that, and appreciate him even more. If there is one thing I can encourage anyone reading this to do, it's to let that special person in your life know how much they truly mean to you.

So, that's probably my long blog post for the month. :) I will try to be less neglectful as we go through the holidays.

More soon~  Amanda

In the meantime, enjoy these quick pages, beautifully done by Christina Hutchings from my "Enchanted" kit, now available- and on sale this weekend!

Download Quick Pages here

This one took a little longer in the making, but here it is, as promised! A couple quick pages for you from the Vintage Sparkle kit- now available at www.digitalcandy.ca/shoppe

Download Here

 I hope you like em! This week's challenge at Sunshine is a doozy. But, as soon as I get it finished and posted, there'll be quick pages for you from that one as well! I won't tell you what the theme is, but I'll give you a hint.... it's allll about little girls.

More soon...

Amanda

The fall always brings for me nostalgia. I begin to think about the past, and times at home with the family. I miss them so much, but I also look forward to the future- whatever that brings. It's hard to say what lies ahead. I only know that I am going to continue on... working, creating, fighting the good fight, and believing in the betterment of the country, and in all of us.

Mostly, though... I think I just need a vacatoin. I am so much looking forward to the upcoming Winter trade show in January. It seems that some of my closest friends are those I only see twice a year. Those I talk to the most live further away, and even beyond the borders of my country. It's often hard to imagine that this chosen carreer path of mine has broadened such horizons for me. I am so thankful for it. So incredibly thankful.

Stay tuned for more and more creations, and more news as times change. Good things are to come. :)

Much love to all,

Amanda

To celebrate the grand opening of my shoppe there, (and my birthday...cough cough), everything in the shoppe is 35% off! Wahoo! Go check it out.

Also, it's that time of week again. The new challenge is up at Sunshine Studio. I was fortunate enough to make it through to the third round. This week, our challenge was to use some exclusively given to us commercial use items in our monochromatic kit creations. Now, it's not too hard to see that the whole "Monochromatic" thing about did me in. I started with purple, and then moved on to green. Nothing was coming together. So, in the end I settled on... well you can see.

 This one was truly a challenge, but I was happy with the over all outcome. Don't forget to go over to the forums at SunshineStudioScraps and grab it before it's gone! I hope to have a couple quick pages up with this one tomorrow. Let me know what you think!

It's been a busy month so far, and we are only now entering into the double digits. I have more exciting news to share as we get further into the month. So... just keep checking back!

That's all for tonight. More soon. ;)

Amanda

Here are your "To The Moon & Back" Quick Pages. I hope you like them!

Download Here

Stay tuned for fun and exciting news on NOVEMBER 15th!!!

More soon... and don't forget to vote tomorrow!

Amanda

If you haven't picked it up already, don't forget to stop by the AmandaDykan.com shop this weekend to pick up "The Hermitage Collection" freebie while it's still available! There are quick page freebies on the blog to be grabbed, so go get 'em! After Monday, the kit and pages will go back in the vault and only be available in the full kit collection. It's a great chance to grab the latest from Amanda at no cost!!

Amanda has some fun and great things up her sleeve, so keep coming by and stopping in to keep up with all the excitement!!

Don't forget to stop by the forum at AmandaDykan.com for some great challenges and random giveaways this weekend!!

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day!!!

Be on the lookout for "Digi-Scrappin' 104: Scrappin' With a Tablet" by Amanda Dykan- available in stores January 1st, 2009!!!

Fast forward nearly 12 years. I joined Facebook. Have the rest of you out there done this? It's pretty amazing. The really wild thing is, that allllllll these people I went to high school with are adding me as "friends". And it's so great! I am seeing the photos they are posting of the fun times they had in school, all with one another. It's making me wish I had been more social. And, it's making me glad that I am now part of what I missed out on.

I know it sounds silly. In my adult life I have moved around so much. I have gone from radio station to radio station, and then into television... and then pretty much into writing. This doesn't exactly leave me time or venues to meet and make long lasting forever friends. Now, thanks to Scrapbooking, I have this network of amazing women friends, who I am so grateful for. A lot of my friends through scrapbooking are women in the digital community whom I have never met or even spoken to. Yet, we feel as if we know each other, and if we have picked up the phone to chat, it's as if we've been forever friends.

The whole thing, and virtue of friendships that would otherwise never be, are all brought home by voyage of the Internet. Who knew. It feels like I am stepping into the past and the future all at the same time. My heart is skipping a beat at seeing old, familiar faces from lives past, and I am estatic to reconnect with everyone. Yes, by the way, I am spending too much time on Facebook.

My sister lives in South Carolina. My brother is in Chicago. My uncle, whom "in real life" I never talk to, keeps in close proximity all because of Facebook. Of course there are old flames (is it possible to blush online), and long lost friends. For instance, my dear friend Anne Nicole- who for all accounts was my closest and best friend in the world when I lived in Nashville. We litterally accidentally lost each other when I moved to Texas. She moved to Kentucky shortly after I did. I changed my phone number, and she got married and moved away all at the same time. Vanished. Now, we've found each other again. My old editor at the magazine I fore-mentioned- whom I always thought of as a mentor (though I don't think he ever knew that), and secretly (or not so secretly) had a humungo crush on..... yep. He's there too. The first girl I met when I moved to Charlotte from Winston-Salem, NC. We spent every waking moment together for nearly two years.... were thick as theives. We went to different middle schools, and then went to the same high school- but were in different crowds then- and not really friends. Now, it's as if alllllll those years never happened, and we are back to elementary school chums. It's weird, fantastic and wonderful. I even got Paul signed up on Facebook.

And, now that I've had my nostalgic kick for the day, I really should get ready for work and get off the computer.

More soon.... and add me on Facebook!!!! lol

Amanda

Paula and I are watching "Baby Mama".... hehe. So, I'm off to give in to the distraction.

Download Here

More soon....

Amanda