ramblings.

hi.

i know i haven't posted anything in awhile. little tired here. last week was so very full of many things going on and blogging was the last thing on my list.

we spent the weekend celebrating DH's birthday. he requested a key lime pie instead of a traditional cake {or the brownie pyramid i made a few years back with three types of brownies}. i fervishly made the pie friday afternoon and finished it off with a the vanilla-rum whipped topping. viola! we have pie.




{pardon the yucky flash photo and yellowish results in the 2nd photo...}



okay. so, my daughter has a new "oddity" i have to talk about because it's really just very cute & funny.
i cooked her up some farfalle {bow-tie pasta} for lunch yesterday and after i prepared everything, mixed in some parm and set it down in front of her, she started "inspecting" it {i always love this move she makes...as if she needs a royal taste-tester to make sure the food isn't poisoned}. i went to go grab my lunch {of yogurt} and while we sat together i noticed that she only eats half of the bow-tie. what does she do with the other half? well, thankfully she did not throw it down on the floor in a fit of discontent. but, the other half just sits on her tray...the symbol of a little, rejected specimen from her meal. i even tried to persuade her to eat it...popped it on the fork to make it more exciting. no dice. the kiddo does NOT want the other half of that farfalle. the photo's a little blurry, but...you get the point...!



::sigh::

on a completely random note, i'm making it a point to read more current events. i don't know about you, but sometimes the only way i know about things going on in the world is the 5 minutes i spend listening to the morning news as i'm waking up in the morning, before i get my daughter...or through my husband who religiously reads the newspaper and online news. so, i thought this was interesting. and this. this is just unbelievably amazing. {read the 5th paragraph}. this was...different...

there...i've done some reading for monday...and even a little more.

it's a gorgeous day, so i'm headed off to run and work off some of that winter flab. ick.

results.

after some deliberation, i think i'm going with this doormat and this welcome sign:





thanks to all who dropped a note and an opinion. =)

also...some pics of my most recent layout. i thought i'd go outside my comfort zone and do more handwritten journaling, but i'm not sure i am happy with the end result. i don't know if it's because of the color of the journaling or the thickness of the journaling pen i used. ack! anyway...







papers that i used in this layout are the sugar & spice line from CTMH. many of the fun embellies you see here are courtesy of some fun RAKs i've received or swaps i've participated in. when i started this layout, i managed to exacto-knife myself by switching the blade out into the base of my index finger. let me tell you...it REALLY hurt. my finger still hurts a little whenever i bend it or clench my hand. hmmm...not a positive sign, but i'm hoping it heals! {i've gotta be more careful with that thing}.

i'm also starting to think about scrapbooking organization. one of the reasons i love CK magazine is the organizing section by denise pauley. her new book looks interesting. what is your favorite scrapbooking organizing technique?
{or any organizing technique for that matter}.

have a great week!

'round here.....{cast a vote!}

hi all...

we've been so busy 'round here. {when is it not busy, right?}.
hubs had bad food poisoning over the weekend. fortunately, he has recovered quite a bit.

yesterday was GORGEOUS! 75+ degree weather. i took my daughter outside to go on the swingset and she nearly lost her mind with all the good fun we had on the swing and the slide.



i got to wear flip-flops. it was wonderful! what a tease though...we're getting a cold front and snow...or sleet...or rain...gotta love meteorology. you can be in that profession and be wrong almost always...and never really get in trouble for it.

so, bummer! must wait patiently for that awesome san diego-esque weather to finally arrive...before the humidity does. we rarely get a true spring...it'd be nice to have more days like yesterday.

on to other news...i'm trying to pick out a doormat. i'm pretty indecisive when it comes to most purchases, especially for the home...i stand there and debate whether or not the item would go with my home decor. then, by the time i decide it's something that would be great in my house...it's gone. or i wait and forget about it. well, indecisiveness has kicked in and i'm trying to pick out a doormat. i've found a couple and i may have a favorite, but why not put it to a vote?
i'd love to hear which ones you like out of all the photos posted below. i know it may not be your taste, but i'd love to hear thoughts...

i've been asked about style, and what kind of "style" we use to decorate...and i can't really pin it down. it's like pottery barn meets cottage/country living. not really traditional...not modern...not colonial...and not cutsey country. there's nothing wrong with any of those things. it's just not us. we love the beach, but it's not a prominent theme in our place.







i've always liked the thought of a pineapple accents here and there {not everywhere} as it has the "welcome" affiliation. i'm just not sure a pineapple doormat would be overkill with say, something like this:



so...do you notice how i'm already over-thinking this simple purchase?

my new layout is coming along. i love it already. it's just been pretty hard to sit down and finish. i don't know if i'll get to it before the weekend. but, i'll post it as soon as it's done. promise.

i'm also participating in a swap of music you listen to when you scrapbook. i've got the songs picked out...i just need to burn the CDs...and make the artcover for the jewel case. at this rate...it's going to have to be something cute & easy. there's not a lot of time left to get them done.

other stuff...the madness begins!!! my husband's family has a tradition of filling out fantasy brackets for march madness. i don't even remeber who i picked last night...and, i really didn't have time to read the dozens of articles written about the favorites, the sleepers, the cinderellas...i think i picked florida to win in the final championship games. yikes...? was this a good call? not sure!!! all i know is the insanity has begun...and i've got a lot of other stuff to do in the meantime. =)

have a great week!

you've got mail.

or i've got mail...
anyway, today was a great mail day. not overly heavy on the junk mail. no bills.
my april issue of bon appetite came in with a lip-smacking photo of a lemon meringue pie gracing the glossy cover. {must read that later...}. AND...and, and, and...
two fun, scrappy packages.
the first was from kelly, who sent me a bunch of scrapbooking goodies i won from her recent RAK drawing.


{unfortunately, the picture does not do the package justice}. thanks, kelly! this RAK was super generous and i look forward to putting these embellies to good use.

i also got my CTMH personal business order in. i plan on using a lot of their new spring items in a few layouts, including some sweet stamps, papers, stickers, ribbons and more. march is stampaganza month - buy 2 stamp sets and get a third free...so, it's a great time to grab a few sets and get some freebies too! awesome stuff. love their font stamps. =)



other stuff...whew! there's been a lot going on, so i haven't had a chance to update my blog with random stuff {until today} or scrapbook much. my husband was traveling last week and, unfortunately, the stomach bug relapsed on my daughter. she was sick friday, throwing up, and then saturday, with a high fever. now, we've got major teething issues going on...her eye-teeth are cutting and she's just miserable...chewing on everything you can name...chairs, her toy stove, stairs {yes, stairs}. i think this has been worse than when the molars were cutting and coming in.

we're running up to my inlaws tonight for dinner to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday. i made a 4-layer {they're thin layers} dutch chocolate cake with whipped cream filling, milk chocolate frosting and a crumbly layer of chopped snickers {her favorite candy} to adorn the top. {let me tell you...cutting a cake layer in half is NOT as easy as it looks in the pictures, especially with no skewars to guide you!}.



hope everyone has a great day and hopefully i'll be posting more soon. =)