Econmonic Layoffs SUCK!!!!

Ok...so my resolution to blog everyday something went down the hill!!! But things have been hectic, trying and not suceeding getting ready for the holidays. Lots have happen, and while I don't want this post to be a downer, this is what is happening.
Our Company, (that Marc and I work for) has done a major economical layoff, and while I didn't get cut, my hours have changed and I know work a swing and Marc is still working on the extra board and goes in the early mornings. So at best, we see each other a few minutes each day while he gets ready to go to work, and I really should be sleeping, during the week. The other thing about my job is that I am now the biller, and a biller I am not!!! And my new boss is riding me to get my speed up. Mind you I had 2 months of training a year ago, while cross training, and then 1 week before he pulled me into the office and said I had to be to 40 bills an hour by January 1st or written up which is a start to be fired, he also said that meeting was a verbal warning, which mean, that is also the start of being fired, so, who knows what the New Year will mean for me, hopefully I will still have a job. I will say the last three nights I did 40 bills an hour, but we were not very busy due to the huge storm we had this past week, snow everywhere!!! So I will close this post with please pray for me, to keep my job!!!

More of the ABC Book

Here are a few more of Maddy's ABC Book. These all have to do with people with her:

Daddy & You

I just love these pics of Jeremy and Maddy!!! I took them when my parents were here this past summer one day when we took her to the park...actually it was the day my parents met Maddy (their Great Granddaughter) for the first time!!!

CREDITS: Adventurous Spirit by Amy Leigh's Designs / Alpha from the 2007 April "Advant Garden" Guild Membership Kit by the Guild designers / Cardboard Alpha by Birgit Kerr / Alphabead by Jofia Designs

FRIENDS & YOU

Are these three little ones just not the cutest!!! The picture was just perfect for this sketch by Amy Head over at the Guild...Maddy is the center girl with two of her friends over July 4th.

CREDITS: Struck Page Kit by Christine Haskell / Oh My Stars Alpha by Christine Haskell / Avant Garden Alpha by the Guild Designers part of the Encore Set: 0407 Membership Kit

Grammie & You

This picture of Maddy and me was taken at her 2nd birthday party and my DIH, Brooke had to bribe her with candy for her to take pictures with me...oh well, what I won't do for a pic of her!!!

Just So Mini Kit by Irene Alexeeva at Scrap Orchard

My New Look!!!

Thanks to Pixel Geek Designs aka Mel/littleginsu at Scrap Orchard for the cool Build-a-Blog: Reindeer Games Blogger Theme, & Amber Gray for helping me tweak my blog a bit (you know the blonde thing with me), I now have a bright, cheery, festive look!!! Thank you ladies!!! I also went and got Ziggle Designs "Reindeer Games" kit at Scrap Orchard and made a new avatar to go with the festive look!!!

I WANNA WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

CREDITS: Reindeer Games by Ziggle Designs / Holly Jolly Christmas Alpha by Polka Dot Plum / picture by Marc last year :D

Let us all, this Christmas Season, remember the True Reason for the Season, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!!! May you and yours be wrapped with warmth in His Love!!!

Merry, Brightest Christmas!!!

Time to Update!!!

I am going to sooo hard try to update and get all my LO's caught up here :D

I mentioned last night that I have started an ABC Book for Maddy, so I think I will post a few of those LO's here:

A is for "Adorable You"
CREDITS: Such a Girl by Veronica HurlyLavendar Dreams Overlays by Rene Bross' Candy Cane Lane by Rene Bross'Keep 'em in Stitches 1 by Lisa Carter

B is for "beary Busy You"

CREDITS: July '08 "Summertime" GDS collab kitTemplate 001 by Muma Bear Designs (aka Muma)

C is for "Chatty little You"

CREDITS: Shabby Girl Page Kit by Christy Skaggs Shabby Girl AOP by Christy Shabby Girl Alpha by Christy Skaggs Brilliant Blossoms by Amy Leigh Fennell Avant Garden Alpha from the Guild '07 Membership Kit at the Guild

E is for "Enjoyable You"

CREDITS: Coconut Tree by Amanda Heimann Designs from the Scrap Orchard

Now you are probably asking...gosh does Chris know her ABC's...Well of course I do...I will be posting somemore, but I will most likely skip around :D Keep you on your toes!!!

WOW...That was a long time!!!

WOW...has it really been over a month since I have posted anything...and soooo much has happened!!! Well I am still on the Guild CT, and Beth Nixon is now opened at a new store iScrapbook.com, and she asked me to be one her CT... WOW, what an honor!!! And then I also tried out for a spot as a Guest on the Scrap Orchard CT and I made it...How exciting is that!!! Well, the Guest spot was to be a month and they just asked all of us to sign new agreements for 3 months...YAY!!! So, I am now CT'ing for some Fab~tabulous Designers!!! And all the ladies on these CT's are just awesome and sooo welcoming!!! Exciting in the world of digi for me!!! Now if I could just get published!!! Really gotta start working harder towards that!!!

Here are a few of my most recent LO's...

December Guild Membership Kit

Debb Cozzi put this one on the DST Gallery Standouts...boy was I shocked!!!

isn't this kit just georgeous...I just love all the colors and the elements in this kit!!!

Beth Nixon's ~ A Sweet Love

I just love all the fun elements in this kit and it just flowed together of this darling picture of Maddy. I did

end up tweaking this LO to have a different title for her ABC book I am working on...for Joyful You!!! And this

one will go into Maddy's regular scrapbook I am doing for her...so two for one :D

Scrap Orchard

Gosh where do I start, I will show you my Contest LO's first :D

The first kit we were given to work with was Scrap Orchards June Mega Kit "June Bugs", what a fun kit to work with...all the cute little lady bugs and flowers...I just really wanted to do something with Maddy interacting with the Ladybugs...so I chose to work with out of bounds, which I do enjoy doing!!! I was quite pleased with this one!!! These were some pics I took of her at the park when Jeremy was playing ball!!!

We had to do two LO's with the kit so I chose to do one with Maddy and her little friend, Claire. The were exploring in the rocks outside the house, I thought the pic was perfect. I really liked how the title came out on this!!! Such a Fun kit to use!!! Well these two LO's got me on to the next round...YAY!!!In the 2nd Round we were assigned a Designer, and I was lucky to get the talent team that makes up Polka Dot Plum aka Lauren and Amy!!! I just loved the colors of this kit Que Sera Sera, and what better subject to scrap but my DGD Maddy again!!! I took this picture of her when we went out to the pumkin patch back in October, it was just one of the many many pictures I took of her that day, she is just growing up way too fast...she really is loosing that baby look and taking on that big girl look!!! She always brings a smile to my face and my heart!!!
This round we were again asked to use the same kit and make two LO's, and of course I chose my favorite subject Maddy, this time with her "Best Bud" Jaxon. Isn't this just the sweetest picture, but Maddy Girl watch out he is a quite the "boy" he sure likes to hug you!!! Well these two LO's got me my spot as Guest CT, which has now worked into being on their CT for 3 months!!! So Lots more LO's to come...I will start blogging every LO I do as it will be on my CT list to post to!!!
I am just sooo excited and thrilled to be part of these teams I am on...they keep me very busy, with wonderful product!!! So HUGE Thank You's to The Guild, Beth Nixon and the ladies at the Scrap Orchard for making this possible for me :D I truly do appreciated it and am thrilled to be using your products!!!!

Payment Promised...

UPDATE
They did pay this Designer monies owed her...but you know, they never should have withheld this money regardless, it saddens me that this Designer had to go through this, and as I learn more about this particular site...it truely isn't where I want to spend my money!!! I really don't want my monies to be held from anyone...and that is exactly what this site did, even if it was only for a short period of time!!! Withholding someones pay is just not right!!! I will say that there truly are some awesome designers at this site, and while I would love to have their product, I will not support that type of business, which means I cannot purchase from them, for that I am sorry!!! I am sure if those designers were in the same shoes as other designers that have left, they would want the same support.

I was out camping this weekend and got back a bit late, thus I am not posting this update until now. I did go read the designers blog when I got home to find that she was emailed that her final check would be mailed out on Monday. Now, I think she did the "classy and high road" thing by immediately posting this as soon as she found out about, rather than waiting until the promised check was in hand, cause it's not yours until you get it...kwim??? But she went ahead to let the digi community know that the check was promised to be mailed and infact said once it is all sorted out that she will remove the post from her blog, which is again a "classy and high road" thing to do!!!
Now it was stated to me before they removed my post at the site I posted at that they would discuss this with me in private, so I pm'd the CEO and what I was told that they had legal right to withhold her money. Well, you know I don't see anywhere that it is right to withhold an employee's final check, it's just not proper or legal from what I have read.
Then there is also the other side of it, if they were totally legal to withhold the check, why back down and set presidence for future final employees (cause ya know, there will be more that leave I am sure!!!) Some would say to be nice...come on bottom line "It's business", Right!?! and paying one former employee their money, does set a presidence for anything future, unless contracts are changed. So for me personally, I don't buy that it is to be "nice" but rather they didn't have a legal right to this designers money, and while I will wait to decide what to do with the rest of my GC in their store (most likely will donate it in their "Breast Cancer Awareness" Day, it's suppose to go 100% to the cause), I have pretty much decided I won't be spending my monies where I don't think they are on the up and up!!!
Also, it has been said that I need to be careful what I post on this blog...but I would like to say that, all entries of mine on this blog are just my thoughts and concerns and my way of journaling my way through those thoughts and concerns...they are only my opinions, you can take them or leave them, doesn't matter to me.

Piracy...does it happen where you don't expect???

Tonight I went to a site to ask a ligimate question, since I at one time purchased extensively at that site, and happen to want to support the talented designers at it, and within two minutes my post was closed for discussion...I wonder why??? And now I have been totally CENSORED!!! The thread has been totally deleted for none to see, hmmm...again, I wonder why???
Here is what I posted...

Are You Committing Piracy?
With the thread started by Margie about the Great Exodus at DSP and her sharing private business concerns that should have been left between employer/employee (which the thread has now been edited to delete a lot of what was shared). I now have concerns regarding how DSP handles the distribution of funds to their employees whether that be past or present. I am referring to the post at a former designer blog that is upset due to non payment for her sales in September and NO response from DSP regarding her payment. I am concerned over this, because as a customer that likes to help, promote and support the great talented ladies from DSP, I would be very concerned and upset to know that my monies that I use at this site are not being distributed as what I would expect when I purchase something. I also know that I depend on the money my employer pays me when it is due and that it be on time. Also, that in no way or form would I expect them to withhold any of that money, for any amount of time, no matter what, I depend on my income.
And while it seems she tried to handle this situation privately, there comes a time that you have to speak out for yourself, much like a couple of current DSP Designers did on their blogs about non payment for papers they made for a Printing Company that didn’t pay them.
According to this former designer, her payment should have arrived on the 15th of the month, and here it is the 24th and she has not had any money and only one vague response from DSP regarding her funds, which she says she asked for clarification on the vague response and had still heard nothing.
So DSP what is up with that???
There was a question within her statement which is making me think and realize it is something that we as consumers need to be aware of no matter where or how prestigious the site is when purchasing products online..."Could this be considered Piracy?" Something to think about when and where we are spending our money and wanting it to be distributed fairly and timely!!!
Reply by Margie (CEO and Buckeye Fan)
I will gladly discuss this with you privately, but I won't break our commitment to non-disclosure, but fyi, no we are not committing piracy.

While I would say this is defineately a contriversal issue, it is an issue as a consumer I have the right to know. As a consumer I want to know if I am contributing to piracy, wouldn't you???

So does cutting off the post with the reply mean that no matter what they do, they can do it because they are above it all. Well I guess so since I have now been totally CENSORED!!! So, am I to take their word that it's not piracy, well I looked up that word in the dictionary...and this is what it says...

pi·ra·cy (pī'rə-sē) Pronunciation Key
n. pl. pi·ra·cies
1. Robbery committed at sea. (well we are not at sea so this doesn't apply)
2. A similar act of robbery, as the hijacking of an airplane. (nope...not in an airplane)
3. The operation of an unlicensed, illegal radio or television station. (naw not this one either)
4. The unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material: software piracy. (hmmm...not paid for I would think that is unauthorized, BINGO!!!)

I really must do some more research on this, hmmm I think that DST would be a good place to start...