Pure Childhood Joy

We are off to Delaware today. The girls and I are boarding the airplane and embarking on a six and a half hour journey with one plane change in St. Louis. I tried everything I could to ensure a successful flight, but we'll see if we are hereafter banned from traveling with Southwest Airlines. With a 3 year old and a 16 month old...let's just be honest...it is a distinct possibility.

But never worry blog readers. I have cooked up some good posts for the next week and you will be getting a daily dose of some Ahern goodness while we're in the process of our move.

But, for today, a photo that makes me smile. I spent my last evening in Utah with my favorite family, the Foleys. I always have such fun with them that sometimes I want to throw on my jammies and stay the night. And because we needed a photo of their family so we could take it with us to Delaware, I took some photos of them tonight. I will share more later, but here is the best one of the shoot. I am always striving to display emotion, feelings and capture the essence of a person when I take photos and today I succeeded with little Noah Foley.



Fly Baby, Fly!


P.S. Dave and Emily...don't try to print this one large...it's reduced for the net, but I'll get high res copies to you later. Your kids are super-cute. No lie.

12

and one more thing...

I have never experienced Brain Freeze.

Don't really understand it.

However, I do get a sharp ache in the back of my lungs when I drink Jamba Juice.

Maybe Lung Freeze?

1

Medical Mysteries of a Freak

I got tagged by my friend, Maude ( who is adorable AND has the cutest Quebecois accent to boot). I thought it was time to make some confessions about my weirdness...you blog readers seem to like that. I'm not sure why...sickos. Prepare yourself for the medical freak of nature that is Emilie Ahern.


1. My skin does not scar. I have had so many clumsy accidents in my life, that I should be covered in an array of scars, but I only have one (form where a knife went into my leg) and it's almost gone. Seriously freaky.

2. When I eat things that are sour my under-eyes sweat. I asked a doctor about this once to which I got a blank and then incredulous stare, but I did have a roommate in College with the same affliction.

3. I have Restless Leg Syndrome...even though it seems like a made up thing. When I was little I called it Cancer Legs since no one could tell me what it was. When I heard the official name from a doctor I totally thought it was a joke. LOL! Could we give it more official sounding name please?

4. My mom had my ears pierced when I was between 18-24 months old and I am totally self conscious because my ear lobes grew and now I feel the holes are too high...resulting in (wait for it...wait for it...) chubby earlobes.

5. I have a shard of metal in my finger from when I was 14 years old. I was washing my sister's truck and got some metal stuck in my finger that they could never get out. It still hurts. You can see the shard of metal but, of course, there's no scar.

6. I used to have a slight widow's peak and I hated it since my hair at the time was a bob with no bangs, so I waxed it off every month until it didn't grow back anymore. Widow's peak be gone!

How much of a freak am I? LOL!

You gotta leave a comment, especially if you also suffer from one of my creepy ailments!

11

Pop Tart Wisdom

2:00 am
eating pop tarts
with pictures of barbie on them
thinking about change.

Anatole France said, "All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves."

he said it perfectly.
i am really starting to get excited about the move
i know we will be blissfully happy in delaware
like we were blissfully happy here
but leaving means saying goodbye to what has become a part of us
and, more importantly, who has become a part of us
our wonderful friends and family that we leave behind

maybe it's just the pop tarts talking.


What do you think about change?
What happy blessings have come from changes you were hesitant to make?

6

Holy Crap...It's ME!

Check out the Memory Makers Scrapbook Idea Gallery cover.

It's huge-happy-faced me!

They contacted me and I made this layout for them 6 months ago and to finally see it on the cover is very surreal and ca-raze-zay!

I didn't tell anybody about it because I kept thinking it wouldn't go through because it seemed so unreal.

Buy your copy on newsstands in July or by clicking here.



.

63

NEW Paislee Press

Please To Enjoy: PAISLEE PRESS has a new digital collab kit coming out today at oscraps.com called TUTTI-FRUITY and boy is it delicious! I whipped up this page in about 20 minutes. The mark of a truly great digital kit.


All elements from TUTTI-FRUITY Kit except stitches by Lisa Whitney

1

Going...Going...GONE!

We closed on the selling of the house yesterday.
Hooray!
The keys were exchanged, the doors locked, the SOLD sign is up.


Afterwards we took out my parents-in-law and my brother-in-law to a huge feast at the OG. It totally set back my diet, but was so worth it!

Now, I never do this, but I'm gunna today. Could any of you reading this please pray for us to find a decent place to live once we get to DE? I am really terrified of our housing situation. We are arriving there on June 30th and need to find a place and move in by July 5th. Yes...that fast and I am so afraid we will have to choose somewhere that is not very safe or nice because we are in such a rush. This has been heavily weighing on my mind and we need all of the guidance we can get!

11

Freeze Happy!

Well, my new website, Freeze Happy! is up and running. There are still some areas I am working on, but it's getting rolling for sure. I have two recipes just waiting to get posted (once I have a minute) and a few more information pages to finish up.

If you have made one of my Freeze Happy recipes before and you wanna tell me what you thought, just email me a review and I'll throw it up on the new website. And if you truly love Freeze Happy! like crazy, I have a super-duper button for you to proudly display on your blog.



Let me know what you think of the website so far. Any feedback would be great!

http://www.freezehappy.com/

2

Ho-Hum Be Gone!

No more ho-hum, melancholy Emilie.
Today is sublime.
Thought I would just throw out a bunch of stuff.

- My Craft Critique report is up. I bash a popular scrapping product. Tempted? Go check it out, you!

- Someone wolf-whistled in Walmart last night and I instantly turned around. I realized later that it rocks that I totally thought a wolf whistle simply must be directed at me. Go me!

- I found out yesterday that the new season of Project Runway starts July 16th. Be still my beating heart. Fashion lovers rejoice! I can barely contain myself!

- Ella saw a man wearing a blue and black fleece jacket last week and said, "Look Mom! It's Spock!" All of Matt's dreams are coming true....and part of me died inside. LOL!

............
- I cleaned my temporary scrap-space yesterday. Now to go and mess it up again!

- I really really love the new Heinz low carb/low sugar ketchup. It is so delish...you must try it. Your kids won't know the difference and wouldn't you love to reduce their sugar intake by 75%? And it tastes amazing...much better than traditional ketchup. Seriously.

- In response to many inquiries (and some hostile threats) I might mention that I have no idea why my blog will not show up on FeedBlizt or Google Reader. Sorry. Not so techie here.

- Happy Birthday Bradley! Your present is in the mail. We all miss you. You're such an amazing boy and we love you! Have a very HAPPY day!

4

Ho Hum

What to write.
I know how you natives get restless when I miss a day.
But today has been very ho hum.

Cleaning the house.
Laundry.
Breakfast. Lunch. Dinner...Dieting.
Lost 6 pounds this week.

P.S. The image above can be found here. Her name is ho-hum. Very cute indeed.
I especially enjoy this one, this one and this one.

7

11 Days

It's so close.
Just 11 days.
11 days and we will all be in Delaware.

I'm freaking out.
Excited.
And sad.
Sad to be leaving friends.
Oh, how I love Emily Foley!
How will I live without her?

Cafe Rio.
The mountains.
Temples everywhere.
The Keeler Family.
Our little house.
My In-Laws.

Today I will allow myself the luxury of feeling sad to be leaving. Knowing good times are always ahead does not diminish the loss of leaving these happy times behind.

*This blog will return to its regularly scheduled upbeat programming tomorrow.


Sardine Canyon in Northern Utah. Taken last week..

4

I think I just peed my pants a little...

Just got a glimpse of the brand new Cricut cartridge and OH MY! It's called STORYBOOK and seriously...I haven't been this excited in ages (sad...isn't it?).



Click here to see all of the lovliness.
Can you just see the delicious possibilities with this?!!
The vinyl cut-outs for Ella's walls will be a MUST.

1

Serious Coolness

I have been dying to share something with you. Yes...all 400 of you, artsy and creative readers, need to see this amazing find.

While at Logan SummerFest we wandered through countless booths filled with Western Art, sculptures of grizzly bears and wind chimes made of forks and spoons. Which is still art and I'm sure is somebody's thing, but it's most definitely not my thing.

And then a booth grabbed me from the sidewalk and I was drawn in while literally whispering audible OOoooooosss and Ahhhhhsss. I think I may have even said Wowza! at one point.

This amazing artist, Alison Armstrong, who works out of Salt Lake City, creates mixed media art which I would fill my house with in a second. Seriously. I was so very upset at being in this transition time when we are leaving for the East Coast in just 2 weeks. I would have bought multiple pieces had I not had that restriction. Here is a sampling of a few of the art pieces she had for sale.

You have got to see more by checking out her website. While you're there, read her mantra on the home page in the right hand column. I totally agree. And while some poeple think scrapbooking is frumpy, I feel I am celebrating the everyday as Alison so aptly put it when she said, I've happily offered up my life to expressing little things. Amen sister.










And the one I would buy if I could. So delightfully orange and happy! I want it for my kitchen!




Let me know what you think.
I'm dying to know if this art is your thing too.
Also let me know if you buy a print so I can be insanely jealous!

10

Happy Father's Day!

"We encourage you, (men)...to earn the respect and confidence of your children through your loving relationship with them. A righteous father protects his children with his time and presence in their social, educational, and spiritual activities and responsibilities. Tender expressions of love and affection toward children are as much the responsibility of the father as the mother. Tell your children you love them" - Pres. Howard W. Hunter (LDS Prophet)

Today I celebrate the wonderful fathers in my life.

My amazing husband who is the most wonderful father I can imagine. (And talk about a Hottie Bigotti!) He is truly everything I wished for in a father and more. I am so glad I was lucky enough to nab him (because believe me...there were other girls trying) for myself, but also for the children I would have one day. He is loving, fun, serving, hard-working...amazing.



My Father in Law, Dennis, who takes the time out to spend quality time with our children. He participates in the activities which make them happy and exposes them to the activities that makes him happy. He is a truly great Grandfather.

5

Listening To

You gotta check out the songs Cold Shoulder, Best For Last and Crazy For You.
Simply Delightful.
.

3

12 of 12

1. Card I made for Elizabeth Kartchner's new baby girl.
2. Re-reading The Hiding Place. Bought a red pencil just to highlight the book.
3. I've always wanted to take one of these pictures. Time to clean the car mirrors.
4. A visual of where we are currently. Soon to change.
5. Gorgeous flowers outside today.
6. Took Ella to the library. Aren't we supposed to read books? But no...computers won.
7. My new purse. Love it. And look at how skinny my legs are?
8. Took the girls to SummerFest in Logan. Ella loved the artwork for sale.
9. The Port-O-Potties. They were called Honey Bucket. I laughed until it hurt.
10. Free Opera performances at SummerFest.
11. Went to Borders and checked out two of my layouts in July's mags.
12. Fifi never wears her shoes. It only takes her 4 seconds to remove and lose them. Ugh! But such cute widdle toes.

8

2 hours

in 2 hours I could...

feed the homeless, knit a scarf for orphans, plant a tree, start a good book, write a letter to my Grandma, scrapbook, volunteer at a shelter, make the world a better place.

Instead, against my better judgement and in the spirit of marital compromise, I spent 2 hours tonight watching this...




I am now mourning the loss of my two hours.

It's a very good thing I only paid $1 to rent this from the Redbox, because if I had paid full price to see this in a theater I may have actually lost my will to live.

Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig...how could you? I might have expected this from Steve Gutenburg...but you? I can forgive Daniel since he's so stinkin' hot, but Nicole...I'm gunna need some time.

11

Visited

Our family had a very fun visit from my good friend Heidi (a.k.a. Queen Of Paper) this weekend. Her and her little family drove from California and spent two days with us. Two hilarious, fun-filled days!

They arrived Sunday. We showed them our house (before it is no longer ours) and drove back to Logan. Ella and Bradley held hands in the car...so cute! We were chatting a laughing the entire way. We had a big dinner with steaks, roasted rosemary potatoes and grilled asparagus. With ice cream sundaes for dessert. We put our kids to bed and then just talked and laughed until way into the morning hours.

Monday we crammed a month's worth of fun into one day! We woke up and had mini pancakes and fresh fruit for breakfast. Then took all of our kids to the Zoo (and afterwards to the playground at the zoo). And then we had to take them to Cafe Rio for lunch...that's a must when you're in Utah.








Next we hit Gossners Cheese Factory and bought Jason some smoked cheese curd...which truly made him giddy. The kids got samples and got to see the huge machines they use to make cheese.

We then split up so Heidi and I could go to the SEI outlet while the husbands took the little kids home for naps. There at the outlet, all of my dreams came true, since Heidi and I were the very first people to get our hands on the brand new POPPIES line from SEI. We grabbed them even before the poor woman could get them on the shelf!

After naps we drove to Preston, Idaho and took the Napoleon Dynamite self guided tour. Hilarious!


We headed home and met up with my SIL Michelle and her fiance Tron and enjoyed a dinner of homemade Manacotti, garlic bread and salad. Heidi took some engagement photos of Michelle and Tron for her photography website.


And then it was time to really start the fun. We got the kids to bed and Heidi and I scrapped the night away while the husbands watched man shows on TV. Could anything be better? I decided to scrap pics of us from this weekend to celebrate!



Journaling Reads:
This Girl... makes me laugh uncontrolably, knows my faults and doesn't care, talks to me 3-4 times/day, "gets" my scrapbooking obsession, is a truly fabulous friend.

PRODUCTS Cardstock: WorldWinPatterned Paper: SEI (Poppies)Alphabet: American Crafts (Vinyl Thickers)Pen: ZIG

8

Tutorial: Fixing the Cricut Storage Binder

The Cricut Solutions Shape Storage Binder is a fairly new addition to the Cricut line of products. I was very excited to order one, since I have always found lugging around all of the font boxes was very bulky. Seemed like a pretty great product to me.

Cost: $10.00
Holds: 8 Cricut font cartridges and 8 font overlays
Available for purchase at creativeexpress.com and at cutncrop.com

I order a storage box almost as soon as they were released and I was extremely disappointed.

You know they have some brilliant minds working at ProvoCraft....just look at the Cricut itself! But the genius ends where this storage case was invented. The main problem? It doesn't really hold stuff. And that's important for a storage case don't ya think?

Here's how it comes when you purchase it.


The case itself has two sides, each of which is as deep as a traditional Cricut cartridge case. Each side has a plastic insert which holds 4 cartridges and then there is enough space left to store 4 of the cartridge overlays. So, in theory, if you filled it to capacity it should hold 8 cartridges and 8 overlays.

Here's where the problems start. This comes with one (yes, just one) green ribbon which you are supposed to use to tie in a little bow to hold the overlays in place when you close the unit. But if it is filled to capacity, that only hold down one side. And who has time to tie a little bow every time they close this storage case. Not to mention that when you open it, the side without the bow has overlays flying everywhere.

Now, you know I am not just going to bash this product without offering a solution. As I mourned the loss of my $10 purchase price, I realized I could fix the glaring problems with stuff I had on hand.

What you'll need:- 2 feet ribbon
- Velcro
- scissors
- sewing machine

Step One. Cut two equal pieces of ribbon measuring 11 inches long each. I used Bohemia Bungalo Twill Ribbon (available for sale here and here) that matched the light orange storage box perfectly. But you could use any ribbon you want.

Step Two. Fold down the top edge of the ribbon 1/2" (wrong side together). Lay the Velcro piece over folded down edge and sew in place with sewing machine. (please excuse the man hands)






Step Three. On the opposite end of the ribbon fold down the edge 1/2" with right sides together. Lay Velcro piece over folded down edge and sew in place with sewing machine. Your finished ribbon should measure about 10" long.

Repeat with second ribbon.



Step Four. Remove plastic insert from one side of your storage box.



Step Five. Place ribbon face down in box, letting the sides hang over the edges and outside of the box itself.



Step Six. Replace plastic insert in the box, making sure the ribbon stays flat in the bottom. Load with cartridges and font overlays. Close by adhering ribbon closed with Velcro.



Step Seven. Repeat with other side. But be sure to stagger the placement of your new closures so there is not too much bulk which prevents the box from closing properly.





Overall, I found this to be an excellent solution to the current design flaws of this product. Would I buy another one if I ever exceed 8 cartridges? Sure. But I would add my own closures to that one as well.


Pros:

- Space saving
- A great concept
- Constructed with good quality
- Extremely inexpensive


Cons:
- No closure for second side
- Suggestion to tie green ribbon around one side seems excessively time consuming.
- Could use a stronger magnet closer to keep box securely closed.


So. Think I am too lazy and should have just tied the green ribbon every time? Would you ever purchase the Cricut storage binder? Do you think the above tutorial is too much work for a product that should really work on it's own? I would love your feedback!

5

{blush}

So, you may guess that I am not easily embarrassed. In fact, I can count the times when I was truly embarrassed throughout my life on one hand. But yesterday was one of them.

Yesterday we traveled to Salt Lake City to go to Moochie's Meatballs, one of the restaurants Guy Fieri went to on his recent trip to Utah. I got the Philly Cheesesteak, which was very sloppy. I spilled cheese-steakiness all over the front of my shirt. Just then, Fifi, who was gleefully eating her spaghetti and meatballs with her hands, used my sleeve to pull herself to a stand and got marinara all over the shoulder of my light blue shirt.

Just then we received a call from our Realtor saying we needed to come and sign papers. I was feeling a bit sheepish to arrive with a completely stained shirt and was formulating a long apologetic explanation about our dinner experience. We sat down and Matt and Val (the Realtor) began discussing a class Matt had taken at U of U. This conversation was going rather long and I was just patiently waiting to sign the papers. During this discussion Val glanced over at me and then gave me sort of a funny look. It's the messy shirt! I thought to myself.

We signed the papers and were finishing up our business when I glanced down at my arm and saw something. During their long discussion my arm was itching. I have no fingernails so I grabbed a pen and started to scratch my arm with the closed cap. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the cap was not closed. There was blue pen all over my left arm. And I mean ALL OVER my left arm.

Can you imagine it? Val glances over and there I am like a mental patient with slop all over my shirt, staring blankly into space while I draw on my own arm with blue pen for an hour.

Sheesh.

11

House Update

First of all, I found this photo online and I'm thinking this is exactly what our family would look like if we were black. The two little girls. The chubby, but gorgeous Mommy. The stylin' Dad. We are a good looking family huh?

We signed with a realtor and turned in the final papers on Monday of this week. We had two offers and submitted a counter offer and yesterday we accepted an offer. An offer which is above our asking price. Wahoo!

The couple is wanting to close this month by the 26th! Double Wahoo!

We are so thrilled. I just hope the couple buying it is as very happy as we were in that little house. It was a great place to live.

18

Your questions answered...

*I get tons of fabulous questions from blog readers and here are just some of them with my answers.

Q. Is your daughters' hair really that red or do you make it more red in Photoshop?
A. LOL! It is truly that red. I even sent hair clippings to a far away friend once to prove it.

Q. I love your work so much and find it very inspiring. What inspires you?
A. First of all, THANKS! It is so nice (and kind of surreal) to hear that what I do inspires others. I get my inspiration from other scrappers...just like you. And from Magazines...Simple Scrapbooks has always been my fave. But mostly I get inspiration from the stories I want to tell. Scrapping has always been about journaling to me.

Q. I love your short hair. I live in Utah too and want to know who cuts it?
A. I do. No money for fancy cuts! Also, no one ever cuts it the way I want it!

Q. Where did you get those nesting doll images for your recent card? Are they stickers?
A. Nope. They are stamps. I special ordered them from Japan through this Etsy shop. But the stamps were too small for that particular card, so I scanned the image and colored them digitally in Photoshop.

Q. You constantly inspire me. Whose scrapping work do you admire?
A. Ugh! There are so many. Ali Edwards of course. That girl is genius! Cathy Zielske and Rebecca Cooper. Lately I have been getting a bit more daring with my inspirations and have been loving Amber Ulmer and Gigi Kennedy. Those girls are mad-fierce scrappers.

Q. What's your favorite accessory?
A. That's a fun question. But it's undoubtedly over sized, chunky mod earrings. Forever 21 makes them by the heaps!

Q. Where are you currently teaching classes?
A. Because of our weird moving delay the answer is nowhere. LOL! But you can see my work in the Got Sketch class highlighted in my side-bar.

Q. What is your favorite method of scrapping.
A. Well, that changes, but these days I love using patterned paper as my background and cardstock for smaller embellishments. It makes everything seem bright and cheery and that makes me happy.

Q. I love your photographs. You have inspired me to become a better photographer. What kind of camera do you use?
A. A small Sony DSC-W5. No fancy lenses...just practice. Love my auto mode. Always set to no flash. Use the Macro setting like crazy. Love this camera. Here's a recent favorite shot of Fifi.

Have you got questions?
Email me with them any time!

6

Where's Wemilie - June 2008 Edition

Here's where my work can be seen on magazine stands and online this month. It was a sparse month since the layouts were submitted right around the last CHA. And that was a super-busy time.

I list these here on my blog so my Mom (in Sweden) can see them. Not trying to be braggy!

Got Sketch Class
"Beach Baby" CREATING KEEPSAKES (June 2008)
"Love" SIMPLE SCRAPBOOKS (May/June 2008)
.

0

A Letter to the Home Owner

Dear Mom,

Thanks so much for letting us stay in your house while we sell ours. We have been enjoying all of the space and Ella especially loves sleeping on her window seat bed.

Things are pretty quiet here.

We spend most of our days just being peaceful. Sometimes I work up in your office while the girls play quietly behind me with their toys. You know how they are...so well behaved.

Thanks again!
Love, Emilie & the girls

P.S. Did you know you have a paper shredder?

7