August + Everything After

having a proud moment.

2012-01-20T20:02:00.000-08:00

i'm going to savor this moment.

yes, i know i haven't updated this blog in over a year. lots going on and i can become notoriously bag at blogging. i have ambitions and often so little time.

and, like all knowledge that isn't applied on the daily, i file it away in a bottomless drawer in the back of my mind - good luck retrieving it on a day, oh, say more than a year later, when i actually want to use it.

so, is my blog visual perfection?

hardly. BUT...this is a start.

some quick updates and then more later when i've done more blog construction.

listening: to random 80's music on my iTunes. very, VERY into my 80's at the moment.

baked: butterscotch + chocolate chip cookies with a smack of coconut. new recipe. not sure if i'm entirely pleased with the results. for the record, using crisco in a cookie recipe has never worked well for me. have no idea why. so, mine did not turn out pretty + chewy + delightfully flat-looking as the picture in the link. they were more like, browned on the outside, light-colored-to-well-done on the inside. i couldn't bring myself to photograph them. would like to test it again, with some tweaks, at another time. also made this. haven't tried it yet. looks fabulous. very excited. i may be moved to photograph it tomorrow and post about it later.

weekend plans: i may be shaking my fist at mother nature tomorrow as we're supposed to get a wintry mix (i would take snow over a mix. a mix just involves more of a colossal mess that isn't remotely pretty to look at.) i have a birthday party to take my son to in the morning. questionable attendance given the weather forecast, but we'll see...

would also like to do more work on my project life. i'm excited to post pictures of my album as i do more.

wishing: i had more time right now to tinker around with my blog tonight.

=)

n

welcome, december.

2010-12-02T18:40:00.000-08:00

hard to believe, but it's here. the last month of the year...and, to be honest, i'm a bit blown away by how fast the past...well, year...has flown by.

anyway.

as we move forward, i'm going to attempt to post a few times during the season's craziness. i haven't been in a "picture taking" mood. for a variety of reasons. i have to play a lot of catch up - burning discs, clearing out memory cards, etc.

think i can do it?

ha. i'm not so sure.

so, here we are. december. peppermint. baking. snowmen. delicate ornaments. these are definitely some of my december "feel goods".

what makes me happy this time of year is the lights. i love the lights that decorate trees and homes...those little, electric candles that people put in the window. it's all very comforting. and, well, my kids are basket-cases right now...making a mile-long wish list and asking a million holiday-related questions. they're buzzing with excitement. tapping in to that excitement is a whole other story. recapturing the feeling of what is was like to be young, anticipating all the good things december brings...it's hard for me to do, but my kids give me glimpses of it...reminders from awhile back.

as we head into the height of the holidays, i hope you're able to bring back some of those memories. revel in what makes you feel good and happy and warm inside. twinkling lights. toasty fireplaces. happy elves.

you get the idea. =)

got book club?

2010-09-29T13:06:00.001-07:00

i do.

later today.

and, where's there's book club, there's an opportunity to bake.

so, of course i jumped right on that. and produced these sweet treats:

peanut butter cup cookies are a total piece of cake to make. made the dough this morning; baked them this afternoon. other than straight from a tube from pillsbury, it doesn't get much more convenient.

so, yes. i'm well aware that i haven't posted pictures from class. and no layouts. bad on both fronts. i'm dealing with a slow-poke of a PC, that makes it both time-consuming and frustrating to work with photo-editing software...let alone open then internet, which is a feat that sometimes takes minutes to accomplish. i get up and walk away a lot...do some cleaning...come back...do the next thing...wait for that program to save or run...get up do some more cleaning...

it's a real bummer.

so, it honestly kills the motivation to do any of these things.

as for the layouts. my basement is in a state of chaos. i want to move my craft area to a different side of the basement. move the kids' stuff to the side where my craft desk currently sits. it involves time and...well, another person to help me out. and right now, i'm it. (if only i could single-handedly move furniture...wow...). so.that.is.that.

for now...there are cookies. and book club.

we'll be discussing The Book Thief. which was a good read. sad read, but good. it surprises me that this is a kid's book, but maybe i shouldn't be so naive? the narrator of the book is Death and takes place during WWII in Nazi Germany. so, it's not what i would exactly call uplifting. regardless, it's well written. coherent. expressed beautifully. a bit of a tear-jerker.

up next is The Kabul Beauty School.

if you do care to join, there will be guaranteed dessert. you may just need to bring milk. ;-)

a thing of beauty...

2010-09-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

...in a nice neat package.
specifically in a package containing a piece of homemade chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake.

it.is.awesome.

(and did i mention it's tasty? probably closing in on 500 calories per slice. + or - another 500 - after all, i did use light sour cream and some light cream cheese - hahaha).

delicious though.

it's been about a solid two months since i last blogged. that being said, the page is a little dusty. updates are coming soon. *slight update to my original draft...i have started making some tiny updates. the banner always takes me a very long time because i have to start from scratch and figure out how i updated the darn thing in the first place.* some highlights are in store, too. mostly from my photography class this summer, which took up a lot of my spare time. worth it though.

things are good here. settling into the fall routine with the kids. still settling. i feel like things have been a bit too crazy and i've been out a bunch. hoping it levels off soon. then again, if it didn't, at least things would be pretty "normal" here. ;-)

we watched anyway...

2010-07-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

Sure, the heat index was 108, but we still went to the Phils game.
Cheesesteak? Check.
Flying Fish beer? Check, check.
Water? Triple check.
Graham Slam ice cream...goes without saying.

The Phils had the game pretty much locked up and by the 7th inning, we called it quits. A shower never felt better that evening. But, it was so much fun.

Things have been pretty busy around here. I'm currently trying to finish this book for book club - clear it out of the way so I can put all my focus in getting my assignment done for my photog class.

My husband reminded me that I need to rechannel some of my attention back to the basement, which we're currently organizing and getting ready to turn into a multi-purpose area that's mainly a rec-room of sorts for the kids. My craft section off to one side. And, yeah...a bit of a retreat. Complete with circa 1970's wood paneling. How sweet is THAT? ;-P

So, no, sadly no layouts right now. Photog class has been my priority...getting every nickel and dime out of it, just like I did with Karen's class last year. We finished up Composition last week and I was able to learn a bit more in the realm of photo-editing, which is awesome. I learned some fun basics on photo composition last year; now, I got to build on that...by trying to incorporate more than one of those fundamentals in a photo. Here are a few of my "comp fundamentals" photos that I edited using photoshop (PS):

Frame with a Frame + Rhythm + Leading Lines

Circle + Triangle (main flower, the flower beneath the main and the flower to the right forming a triangle)

Rhythm + Leading Lines + Negative space

Rhythm

Rule of Thirds

Circle + Rhythm + Leading Lines

So...fun stuff...I'm still working with my photo editing stills. It's been slow progress, but I really enjoy tackling it when I set aside the time.

Now on to Depth of Field...and more photo-editing, of course! ;-)

On a completely random note and end to the post, what better time to chat about July 4th...other than at the END of July. (Well...I guess you could've answered with "December" and that would've been true, too).

Here are some fun, little cupcakes I made, inspired by this bakery and their Patriotic cupcakes. Yum, right? (Not sure if their World Cup Cupcakes are still up there, but if they are, you need to check them out...).

(Photos courtesy of phone...so the photos are not the best, but...trust me, these little suckers were more delish than they may look!!!) .

If you're sitting there thinking: "There's no way in heck I could make those..." THINK AGAIN. You CAN. It's many steps, but if you through each one and tackle it piece by piece, it's not so bad. Here's how:

Tools you will need: A pastry/icing bag, a pastry/icing tip with a large hole at the end (sorry, I do not know which number, but make sure it'll allow for a large, even flow of icing to come out); red, white & blue sprinkles; muffin/cupcake pans; cupcake liners; a sweet tooth. ;-)

Step 1: Make vanilla cupcakes - from scratch, if you're feeling industrious; from a good, old-fashioned box mix if you're a time-saver.

Step 2: Make a chocolate ganache filling (hmmm...no picture). Don't have a recipe? Try this one or do a google search. I promise you - there will be plenty of ganache recipes to choose from.

Step 3: Stuff those little buggers with the chocolate ganache. How? Easy! If you have an icing set, take an icing bag and find the icing tip with the biggest hole at the end that you can find (I know this is very professional of me. If you're using Wilton or Ateco, I'm not sure about the tip number...); attach the tip to the bag with a coupler. Fill the bag with the ganache. Shove the icing tip into the cupcake and fill.

Step 4: Make vanilla icing or just buy a can of the pre-made stuff. Tint it to the desired shade of blue. OR...simply leave it white if you want. Frost your cupcakes.

Step 5: Make some star-shaped sugar cookies. Yeah you can do this from scratch. OR get a tube of sugar cookie dough from the dairy section of your grocery store. Roll the dough, grab a small star cookie cutter and make your stars. Once you bake the cookies, let them cool. You can ice them like I did...leave them plain...dust the edges of them with sugar crystals. Whatever your little heart desires. Be creative. Play with it.

Step 6: Grab some sprinkles. I got a red, white & blue assortment of shapes, sugar, regular sprinkles and dumped it into a bowl. Take your frosted cupcakes and roll just the edge of it in the sprinkles. You should have a blue middle free of sprinkles when all is said and done.

Step 7: Top each cupcake with a cooled, decorated sugar cookie.

Viola!

Done.

And delicious.

What are you waiting for? Go make some (because it's still July...!). =)

progress is as progess does...

2010-06-30T05:16:00.000-07:00

and i'm moving along.

making time to do things that need to be done. even though time is slim to none.

the wallpaper border in the master bedroom is off. i finished taking it down yesterday evening. looked at the clock after i put my daughter to bed and figured, "what the hey...why not now?" and at 9.30 p.m. it was DONE.

now on to the tough part of the job: rubbing off the residual wallpaper glue.

i've googled a few home-made solutions that claim to do the trick. my mom is coming down to visit for a few days...i'm thinking of enlisting her help.

made barefoot contessa's peach raspberry shortcakes early last week.

not bad at all. having a really tough time with fruit. because of the early and consistent hot weather here (hot meaning a daily temperature of 80-mid 90 degrees), the fruit is ripening early...and rapidly. and, not holding up well. because of that, i'm not into my fruit desserts like i usually am this time of year. such a shame.

BUT, grilled salmon sandwiches are on tap for tomorrow night's dinner.

i'm a little "grill challenged", so this is guaranteed to be an interesting adventure for me. (interesting here defined as "resulting in a possible catastrophic outcome").

of course, my main focus right now is my photography class. it's been intense, right out of the gate. the homework assignments are definitely a challenge...they take longer...involve a lot of thought. hopefully, i'll be able to post the results of some of the photos from my first assignment. which aren't pretty. except they're mostly of my daughter, and i feel that my daughter IS pretty, so to say they're not would be putting her down. i should say that, technically, i'm not thrilled with them, but i'm pretty much starting from scratch again, relearning a few things...so, the outcome isn't what i want. but, it's what needs to happen to get to where i want.

make sense? hmmm. i'm sounding confused, which isn't good for first thing in the morning.

i'll leave you with a recent layout:

you can also view it here.

will be back with more updates. hopefully, i won't be drowning in a sea of wallpaper glue and lovely glue removal solution made by yours truly.

there are about 20 other things i should be doing right now...

2010-06-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

oh well.

what's a little procrastination and a later bedtime every now and...every DAY. ;P

barefoot in the kitchen is still going strong.

i recently made ina's croque monsieur. (if you're a book junkie, you can also find this in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook).

think of it as grilled cheese, inside out. hmmm, except there's technically cheese inside, too. so, it's like and inside AND outside grilled cheese. (no, it's not burned. just nicely browned in the pan. seriously!).

okay, so where am i going with this? patience, my friend. (yes, you'll have to tolerate the dark pictures taken with my phone at hand. again...witching hour does not lend itself to a safe camera environment).

the efforts to put this together were minimal. the taste was extraordinary.

one of my friends was over that evening and can vouch. she can also take credit for handling the 5 pm crazies that my kids dish out...totally helps speed up dinner production. =)

on a whim, i also served up ina's jalepeno cheddar cornbread. WOW.

amazing. i've always relied on my super-special, hyper-secret cornbread recipe. tried and true. *ahem*. um, you know, the one found on the back of the quaker yellow cornmeal canister. ;-) yeah, that one. which i love...a little on the sweet side of cornbread, which is great. contrasts nicely with spicy mexican, if you're up for that sort of thing (and we are huge mexican cuisine fans here...well, minus the kids on that one). this recipe was right up there, though. it is made in a 9x13 pan. why the emphasis? because you will have a lot left over if you're making this for only a couple of people. and, even if you refrigerate it, you only have a few days to use up the leftovers. so, just make a mental note.

other stuff. oh, quick layout i did of james's storytime favorites. thank goodness i had this picture. i may have been scratching my head for awhile trying to think of what they actually were at 18 months as he's well into his 2's.

details of the layout and materials used can be found on my post here.

things on the scrapbooking front my take a slow down. this week was a big one as i started a new photography class, taught by wendy schultz. i'm really psyched about it. on the flip side, my free time (what's that again?) is going to be spent on the assignments and tutorials. which are sizeable. a wee bit longer than the ones from karen russell's class. i'm nervous. it's a big endeavor for me. i also don't have a clue what i'm doing (always a good feeling). i'm branching out into new territory, trying things on shaky legs because they're unfamiliar. but, it's what i have to do to be better...

slight confession: i may still use some of the extra time i find in a day to - oh, i don't know - rip down the awesome pink paisley wallpaper border in my bedroom. (i'm too embarrased to show a picture of my room because of the pink hideousness...and, well, frankly my room is a mess at the moment).

NO I DID NOT PUT IT UP THERE.

the former owners did. along with the pink carpeting in the same room.

seriously, what guy is OK with this? i'm thinking that the wife wore the pants in that relationship, BIG TIME. or he just didn't give a...well, you know.

(and if i've offended anyone out there...my apologies...but, pink bedrooms are not my thing...unless i'm all of a sudden a tween again).

anyway, i've managed to spend 4 years (that's right) ignoring it. i'm sure it would've been less if i actually had one ounce of decorating prowness. it's taken me awhile to settle on a style, color scheme, etc. but, i think i've reached it...

in time for me to start another photography class. =)

quick layout for the 6/13 sunday sketch.

2010-06-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

just a quick note today. it's been a whirlwind weekend.
but, i was able to participate in SC's sunday sketch.

here's my take:

i used EK's photo label punch to make a little spot for writing the date of the picture:
here i used a stamp to make the clouds. one cloud i used as a mask and painted in what i cut out...the other a straight stamp cut out.

some more stitching. boy, there was a lot of stitching...

I just wish I could get the layout itself to look a bit brighter. The white cardstock looks grey. Granted, sunshine would probably have helped...but, with in and out thunderstorms...clouds and such...it wasn't happening.

Maybe I can tinker with it more another day...OR maybe I could somehow aquire mad-photoshopping skills...hmmm...

ace of {risotto} cakes.

2010-06-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

not really.

okay. towards the end of the cooking process, i was getting the hang of things.

but, why rush to the end when i can fill you in at the beginning?

making ina's chive risotto cakes was an interesting endeavor. interesting in that: 1. it involved hot oil and a hot cooktop, 2. my kids were more clingy than normal that day, each clutching one of my legs near said hot oil and cooktop, and 3. both kids decided that normal dinner time was not OK, but needed to be earlier because starvation was apparently imminent.

such is the state of my home at 5 p.m....EVERY DAY.

battling these somewhat daunting elements, i still made the risotto cakes and am proud to report that a. i didn't burn down the kitchen {despite filling the first floor of my house with smoke}, b. neither me or my kids were burned in the cooking process. yay. and, c. the risotto cakes weren't a *total* disaster. there were some minor issues, so let's address those.

prep was a piece of cake. i did all of that in the morning before taking my daughter to school. cooked the rice, grated the cheese, minced the chives and threw all of these ingredients {plus a few others} in a bowl. sealed the top with plastic wrap and placed the bowl in the frig so everything could get nice and cold, as the instructions advised.

fast-forward to 5 p.m. it's the witching-hour. kids are antsy. unusually hungry...this doesn't set in until closer to 6 p.m. see, keeping track of all these things helps me mentally gear myself up for what i need to do and the state in which i get it done - am i relaxed? {which makes my concentration and general flow of things} much easier? am i hyped and pressed for time? {this is killer and makes me rush a bit more than i would like}.

i was hyped.

so, i add the oil to the pan. hmmm..really? only 3 tablespoons of oil for all these risotto cakes? okay, ina.

no, not okay.

if you're making this recipe, note that this recipe makes a lot of risotto cakes...and because of that, more oil is needed. i felt that 3 tablespoons didn't cover the batch. i had to add more oil...and cooking spray...because i hate using large quantities of oil in cooking. and the rice really absorbs the oil until you get a nice, crusty, brown outside to the cake.

initially, i started with small risotto cakes, as the recipe instructs. as i found myself pressed for time {with antsy kids at hand}, i started to cheat, making the cakes bigger. not good. the bigger the cakes are, the longer the cook time...and the harder they are to flip and the easier they fall apart. so, definitely keep the risotto cakes small.

see how they're falling apart? {at this point i was annoyed with the process and myself...because the cakes in this photo were still small...i hadn't even made them big at this point...and they were still not staying together despite the length of time the mixture spent chilling in the frig).

the picture above makes me happy. because it's at the point where i got my groove in the risotto cake-making-process. the first batch i chalked up to a rookie's luck. sort of like the universal theory behind the first batch of pancakes that come out of the pan...you can tell it's the first batch...they're thinner, lighter...different. the second batch is where you really get down to cooking...and get better results. i think that's what happened here. my cakes were definitely smaller. they weren't thin and not too thick. yeah, i definitely got into a groove here.

i'd like to say that my cakes were this beautiful:

they looked more like this:

and, for the most part, i'm OK with that. i never made risotto cakes before and i'm hardly a seasoned cook in this area. i'll take it.

the kids seemed OK with the concept of cheesy rice cakes {i figured chive risotto cakes would be code for "i don't know what this is but it's mommy-speak for something i won't like anyway"} - which isn't a complete fabrication if you look at the recipe and what basically goes into a risotto cake.

my son ate about 3/4 of his and then declared he didn't like it. {a routine meal-time statement when trying something new}.

my daughter ate a few bites, then was put off by the little green chives {saying it was a "seasoning" apparently didn't reassure her it was edible}.

{and to boost my overall kitchen confidence, i made neiman marcus cookies with white chocolate chips the next day - my own little concoction}:

next up on barefoot in the kitchen: delicious jalapeno cheddar cornbread and croque monsieur sandwiches.

p.s. photos courtesy of my phone. at the end of the day, i get a little nervous with whipping out my camera with all the action i have going on in the kitchen...

my natural.

2010-06-01T12:46:00.000-07:00

sometimes it kills me how fast these {almost} five years has gone by with her.

we stayed local over the holiday weekend - no major plans. a neighbor gave us her daughter's princess bike - she had grown out of it. we lucked out and she happened to think of us before she junked it. {it's in gorgeous condition, too}. little girl was over the moon when our neighbor walked up the driveway with it a couple of weekends back. all we had to do was put the training wheels back on...

jim took her out on sunday for a little test run. apparently, she had been making mental notes. he showed her once, ran down the instructions with her {we're still going over the safety rules verbatum}, and - well - that's all there was too it. like she had been riding a bike for eons...

and, boy, was she sure proud of her accomplishment.

now she's into negotiating how many times we're going to go around the block so she can practice. i'm trying to scale it down a little on the hotter days we're experiencing right now.

hopefully be back soon with barefoot in the kitchen updates and some layouts. the wacky weather has me dodging clouds today - not the best for photographing them a la natural light.

it's hard to rely on my good intentions...

2010-05-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

...when the end of the school/activities year is upon me and there are several other projects going on simultaneously. do i pick the worst time to engage in personal endeavors? you bet.

we've had a garage sale. and preparations for the garage sale. organizing and tossing stuff. sick kids. running to school. dance. gymnastics. music. making up missed dance, gymnastics and music sessions. you know - typical stuff.

so, you'll be happy to know i didn't completely slack off with my barefoot contessa recipe replicating in these couple of weeks...
i only dropped the ball last week. ;-)
and that was upon discovering the dish i picked to make required me to make a trip to the grocery store for fish. i wasn't feeling the grocery store vibe with the other errands and things that needed my attention.

c'est la vie.

i'll be chatting about what i have made, so far, in the next series of posts...hopefully, every few days as i have time to jot down my notes on what i did and how things turned out.

so, without further adieu...

i tried making the chicken salad sandwhich recipe from back to basics, being a complete chicken myself, knowing i was heading into a "busier than normal" schedule and needing something totally easy. this recipe fit the bit. and, it's nice to know that easy doesn't mean "it's going to taste mediocre". on the contrary. the flavor was fantastic.

my personal notes on it: i'm not a huge mayo fan. normally, large quantities of mayo sends shivers down my spine. i find fingernails on a chalkboard more appealing than the though of someone glopping mayo on a BLT sandwhich, dumping it over cucumber salad or dipping their finger in a container of mayo to take a taste (which, no joke, my daughter did the other week and i almost tossed...).

ketchup, however, completely different story...

and, when i say "large quantities" of mayo, i mean anything over a few tablespoons in a recipe. so, this was a little bit of a challenge. the recipe called for 3/4 cup. i had light greek yogurt on hand and some fat free sour cream. no mayo in the house. the recipe still turned out great and i don't feel like the flavor was compromised with the reduced fat and fat free condiments. i think part of that was due to roasting the chicken with generous amounts of salt and pepper as chicken is basically a bland piece of meat when you straight cook it. the fresh tarragon leaves were essential in that flavor boost, too, so if you can help it, don't skimp there.

and, because i'm a baker, i made ina's chocolate chunk cookies. you can find this in her barefoot contessa parties! book. i couldn't resist taking a picture of these beauties. i have always struggled finding a good chocolate chip cookie recipe. mainly because i feel like the cookies flatten out, flatter than a pancake, in the oven while they're baking. i like "plump" and soft chocolate chip cookies. when i make the nestle recipe, they're flatter than flat and crisp. which, granted, some people like. and, i've always altered chocolate chip cookie recipes by throwing blended oats into my flour. at that point, i feel like i'm making a neiman marcus cookie rather than a classic chocolate chip.

you get the picture.

or do you?

ina's recipe for chocolate chip - oops...i mean, "chunk", cookies did not disappoint. they were soft and chewy and stayed that way for days. and, yes, the cookies survived the house for more than days...a good week. i omitted the walnuts due to a member of our household being allergic to them. they still rocked.

i'll continue my recent barefoot contessa exploits soon. my kids need help playing fairy dress-up right now...and i'm a little scared that my son is donning wings and trying to fit sequined shoes on his feet.

my (culinary) hero.

2010-05-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

This lady:

is my hero of the kitchen. I've watched Barefoot Contessa for years. My kids know her by name (well, does the name "Barefoot Contessa" count?). (Hmmm...this is a touch embarrassing, I suppose). I think Ina's truly fantastic.

Why?

Because she makes everything in the kitchen truly effortless.

Now, yes, of course cooking and baking are effortless tasks when you have a whole crew at your disposal, setting up everything, measuring out the ingredients, cleaning the dishes and pots you used to prepare the meal, putting them away, having a kitchen the size of a small home at your disposal...

And, I suppose it helps not having little children tugging at your leg or hiding behind you because one child is teasing the other, while you're using sharp implements at the counter...

And, surely, there's no crying or the need to break up fights every few minutes as you're trying to calmly saute something on the hot stove.

Okay, okay...

My point is, even with all that going on, I - you, whomever - can pull these meals off even with Armageddon occurring all around.

And, to me, that's an awesome thing.

So, this is where the whole "Barefoot in the Kitchen" blip at the top of my blog comes into play...

I'm going to be preparing a couple of Ina's recipes (yes, Ina and I are on a first-name basis, here - hehehe) each week. I may have a photo, I may not, but what I will definitely have is my honest opinion of the recipe - was it hard to prepare? Was it satisfying? Garbage-worthy? So, it's, in part, a personal challenge. I'm really the baker of the household. My husband is the cook. This allows me the ability to prove to myself that I can cook. And, that I can make some of these trickier meals. And, that I have a little "Barefoot Contessa" in me, too.

Stay tuned...

his big day.

2010-04-30T11:25:00.000-07:00

big day.
big bed.
big boy.

hard to believe dude is ready to go into a regular bed.
when i was pregnant with my daughter, i can remember the vast number of people who told me how fast time flies by with kids. and, before you know it, they're grown.
and, i can also remember the crazy, restless nights with a newborn. the regular feedings. the nap "scheduling" - and that phase is gone so quickly. but, when you're going through it, it's like an eternity.
{and let's face it...the inability to get a solid night's sleep never really goes away}.
and, here we are, the next phase...

one last look at the crib before the last night of sleep in it.

one last nap...

one last storytime with the crib in his room...

dude...you promised you wouldn't grow up...

no...wait...that was my daughter...and she obviously didn't keep that promise. ;-)

of course, as soon as the bed arrived and was set up, both kids started acting appropriately with it:

yep, here too...

still processing all of the excitement...

so, when jim took the crib down, i was basically throwing dinner together. and, i was OK with not being around for that part of the process. for me, it's hard letting the baby thing go.

because, now it's the big time... (and, mickey mouse sheets)...

he's ready...

(placing a quick call to the grandparents first...from the bed...)

our first storytime in the "big boy bed"...

and, we're ready to roll.

i would've sworn a million times over that he wouldn't stay in bed that first night...we made it to three nights before dude processed the concept of "free range" and got out of the bed to roam. still, we're getting there.

now, if he would only pass out within a half hour of lights out...one can dream, i suppose...

do stop back in a few days. more in a little project i've cooked up. ;-) enjoy the rest of the weekend!

very sad today.

2010-04-27T17:45:00.000-07:00

pardon the appearance of my blog. it has been my intention for a long time to revamp it...so it's undergoing a bit of that.

and, it's also been my intention to engage in some kind of fascinating, life-altering endeavors that would draw in a crowd of dedicated followers...

then i decided, really...what is there that i do that can be deemed riveting enough to lure people here and read about the everyday stuff in my life?

(i can assure you...i have come up with zilch in answer to that question).

so, in the next few days/weeks (hoping it won't be as long as the latter indicates) i hope to share with you some stuff that i'm currently working on...such as why i've added the little blip: "barefoot in my kitchen" to the header of my blog...

maybe post a few photos too...of things that make me totally smile...

and share with you the zaney, little stories behind photos like this:

and this:

okay...so...onto why i'm a bit sad today. long story short, the cute, little dude you see in the picture above has decided (unbelievably without consulting me first on the matter) to grow up and move out of the crib. yes, tonight is his last night sleeping in his crib. tonight is, perhaps, the last night i will be able to have a normal evening for a long while. tomorrow we will welcome "big boy furniture". and the "big boy bed". i fully expect he will not be staying in the bed after the lights are turned out and we leave the room. not exactly sure what the over/under will be on the number of times he will get out of bed and leave his room. i'm pretty sure i will be dedicating a lot of time breaking from whatever i spend my evenings trying to get done, getting up and putting him back in the bed. over.and.over.again.

regardless, it's a huge step. and, i lucked out with my daughter who, maybe, got out of bed a handful of times her first few nights in her "big girl bed". Lord help me, i'm getting my fair share the second time around for what i did not endure during the first round.

love him anyway.

however, i may be muttering passionately over the next few nights...weeks...whatever...until we've made the transition.

*sniff*sniff*

more later...

glory be, glory be...

2010-01-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

girl scout cookies are back!

good timing, too, because i just noticed i was dangerously low on thin mints - one roll left in the freezer. just imagine if i had run out of them completely? i shudder to think of that potential discovery. and, we somehow, miraculously, nurse those boxes for a whole year. it amazes me when we do it. but, i believe my steady baking throughout the year helps us hold off on single-sitting consumption and rapid depletion of what we buy.

lemonades and thanks-a-lots are also household favorites for our little crewcuts. eating a great meal is often rewarded with one of these tasty treats.

so, huge thanks to my neighbor who stopped by yesterday at prime insanity hour in my house {i.e. after 5 p.m. - otherwise known as the "witching" hour around these parts...}. i may have been elbow deep in kneading pie dough and crumb topping; but, the interruption for something of this magnitude is welcomed anytime.

Now thoughts.

2010-01-02T21:23:00.000-08:00

There you go.
No frills blog banner for the new year.
At least, simple-as-can-be for right now...
As always, time is a precious commodity.

If you happen to stop by, Happy New Year to you. =)

Somewhere, rattling around in my head I have a list of resolutions.
I could bore you with them now, but I think I may wait until later to do that.

This is something I do want to share with you. My mother-in-law forwarded to me. I felt there were some interesting truths.

{Be forewarned...it's lengthy}.

2010 Handbook

HEALTH

1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
5. Make time to pray.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

PERSONALITY:

11. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or worry over things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class, but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

SOCIETY:
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

LIFE:
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy!

I guess the Happy part is what hit me. That and comparing your current situation to other people. I wasn't thrilled to ring in the new year. Partly because there are some things I have to deal with for the first couple of months and I'm not entirely thrilled about them. I've been going through this "why me?" coupled with a "how am I going to do this?" phase and I'm just ready to jump this mega-hurdle and be done with it. And, there are a number of reasons I can't elaborate on the situation.

And, yes, I know I need to drink plenty of water, as stated in #1, as I currently drink a pitifully low amount.

I do sincerely wish everyone a great 2010. And, I hope to write more soon. =)

in summary...

2009-11-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

i'm looking at the date of my last post and the lapse of time does not connect. because it seems like that was practically yesterday.
and, it's not exactly surprising that it's been as long as it has since i'm one of the worst bloggers around {in case you are wondering, this honorary status applies to more than just blogging...let's talk facebook, email, etc.}.
so here i am, a week out from thanksgiving. and, here's what i've been up to...

i spent last week getting my butt kicked fighting a cold. not fun. especially, not when you're in charge of two little kids and can't hug and kiss them like crazy because you're so darn nervous about getting them sick too. my daughter is phasing out her naps, but i made her take them every day last week and basically passed out to try to recoup before the afternoon and evening stretch. it would be nice if i could get a flu shot, but those are annoyingly scarce. i'm sure by the time i can get one, it'll pretty much be pointless to do so.

said cold killed my ability to do my faithful morning treadmill runs. well. more like massively put a crimp in my ability to pull off a 4-mile run with relative ease. i've spent this week pitifully trying to work back to where i was, but it has proven difficult. i'm hoping that this week will be better.

i'm always on pie-duty for the family turkey-bird dinner. i planned the pies...now i have to make them. it'll involve some daily prep to make it less of a project. one of my friends asked me to help her bake up one of my pumpkin streusel pies for her family, so we need to figure out when that's going to happen next week. on the roster, though, for next thursday: caramel apple pie with crumb topping, streusel pumpkin pie, toffee pecan pie. all homemade with homemade crust. yum.

i was able to finish another scrapbook page earlier this week. it felt fabulous to get it done. now on to the next one. since i have a hard time blocking off time to be able to just sit and push around papers and be creative, i do it in stages...mostly when i'm making trips to the basement to put things away or clean...or work out. i'll walk by my desk, rearrange and pull out things...it some how slowly comes together. i'd like more time to actually sit and work on these things. i'm getting ready to order some more pictures - a whole other project in itself whenever i do it. because i don't just order pictures to scrap with...i order updated pictures for the frames and collages around the house, for my husband's office, for family members...considerable thought and time go into this purchasing process.

work has been good. getting ready to head into the holiday season...which is where the insanity of people in the world of retail-shopping is magnified ten-fold. i now get to wear a walkie-talkie while i'm on the sales floor. interesting. even more interesting trying to get the ear bud to stay in my ear and a challenge even more so to try to move my head as i normally would...but i know i end up looking like i have some sort of crazy-neck problem. i'm silently hoping i don't get too many grinches this year, but they are always out there and you just kind of have to grin-and-bear-it {while silently cursing to yourself and vowing to reward your good efforts with a nightcap later on}.

miss playing around with photography practice. want to get back into it, but getting side-tracked by a lot of things in general. hopefully we'll be planting shubbery tomorrow after we completely tore out all the landscaping around our house over the summer. {i vaguely remember when weekends didn't involve housework and waking up before 7 a.m. this is a very distant memory, lol}.

also just started my next bookclub book, To Kill A Mockingbird. love this book. loved it in high school. couldn't believe some of the ladies in bookclub never read it. so, i had to put it on the "to read" list and here we finally are. within the first few pages, i was reminded why i love this book. i'm having the girls compile a list of books they would like to read - we're getting ready to pick out a few months worth of books {a task we immensely enjoy}.

and, can i just say again...wow...a week out from thanksgiving. i've been bad lately with this inability to keep track of my days...and this kind of proves it. i'm even more shocked that next month is december. christmas. the shopping and preparation that still needs to be done. and shortly after that my son turns 2 and birthday festivities to plan. a new year. new resolutions. {i find that being able to keep my sanity relatively in tact to be a good, solid aspiration for the upcoming new year, but i digress...}.

so, no wonder it feels like only days since i've last updated the old blog...

confessions of a candy corn addict.

2009-09-22T10:54:00.001-07:00

if lent were in september, i would be giving up candy corn.

i'm horribly addicted.

and, of course, i was in target last week and picked up a bag of brach's autumn mix {which is regular candy corn, chocolate candy corn and candy pumpkins thrown in for good measure}. what i really wanted to was the candy corn and chocolate candy corn combo - i could honestly do without the candy pumpkins - it's too much. of course, on the drive home i found myself eating it. put the bag away when i got home. later i pulled it out and took out a few pieces. it's horrible. potato chips and french fries i can part with after having a few. for some reason, i can't do that with candy corn. {or cheetos for that matter, but i would diverge if i started talking about cheetos....mmm...}.

that's my thought for today. i'm working a little on changing my blog over to a new format, so if you visit, bear with me. there's a lot of stuff i've been "meaning to do" and i do it when i can. i'm just now trying to do it in earnest.

but, really quickly before i go, i had an awesome anniversary weekend. i hope to post more on that next time and share some photos as well.

happy fall!

5 years.

2009-09-19T07:05:00.000-07:00

just wanted to stop by very quickly and post a happy anniversary to my hubby. it was actually yesterday. and, i had the best of intentions in scanning a wedding photo and posting it to the blog. but, the scan came out so poorly that i quickly ditched the effort {was also under the gun to do that and a bit of housework before getting the kids up from naptime}.

it's been 5 years. i know it's not a long time, but it's a milestone just the same. we've had a lot of ups and downs in that time, but we have been greatly blessed in so many ways. i am thankful for that.

...and the winner is...

2009-09-17T12:11:00.000-07:00

well, we picked a faucet. moen's lindley. so far, i love it {i can't speak for my husband - the only think he said is that it's going to take a little getting used to, but i don't necessarily think that's a negative comment}. it's got a higher arch than we're used to, but i kind of like that industrial look {and, in the kitchen that's OK since it's the center of activity in our house and we're constantly cooking or baking something}.

again, in the world of faucets, i can't get too terribly excited {especially when it involves an unplanned expense}. but, this actually made me smile a little when i saw the finished product.

you know what stinks, though? when your 20-month old decides he doesn't want to nap and you still have to get through your daughter's dance class with a non-napping, crazy kid in tow...

...i'm just saying...

it's going to prove an interesting afternoon and evening as my son turns borderline hyper-manic with having had no rest today. no sugar added. =P

the little things...

2009-09-03T17:25:00.001-07:00

so, yes, a half hour of my afternoon during naptime went towards fun cyber-shopping for new kitchen faucets. my husband and i unwhittingly discovered a leak underneath the sink about a month or so ago...could not find the source...and were convinced we had fixed it. that is, until the other day, we discovered what we kept underneath the kitchen sink was soaking through and through. yeah, not so much fixed. the plumber came out, checked it and recommended we replace the faucet entirely. not that anytime is a "good" time to replace kitchen hardware {unless you've got money to burn and are having fun renovating}, but we've had on and off discussions about replacing the faucet. it's white...the sink is white...it's a pain in the butt to keep clean and it always seems to be in need of a good bleaching. the problem is the sink is seemlessly attached to the counter, made of corian...and though we would love a stainless sink...that isn't happening anytime soon as it's not a priority. we still had issues with the white faucet - again, gets so dirty - and we've said how having a stainless faucet would be a nice alternative. so, although it stinks having to replace it now, it's at least a cosmetic "improvement".

on an "up" note, as i was mulling all of this over while changing the bed linens before, i got to use one of my favorite "little things" that makes me happy...

have you ever tried restoration hardware's sheet spray? i would've never thought twice about buying the stuff until a co-worker gave me a bottle of the sweet orange scented spray for bed linens. love it. i am thinking about buying the shore scent just to keep that smell around in the colder weather. it's the best feeling in the world - when my head hits the pillow at night, breathing in the scent of nice, clean sheets - that have a comforting fragrance to them - is just one of the best feelings to temper the sheer exhaustion of the day. in case you're really sensitive to smell, i don't find the sheet spray to be overpowering. trust me - i usually wretch at the slightest whiff of bad perfume {in fact, i don't really wear perfume anymore...i just like clean scents...}.

laundry is calling...

the heck with it.

2009-09-03T11:13:00.000-07:00

i was going to do a little blurb about peaches, how much i've been enjoying them this summer and the rockin' things we've done with them in the kitchen...but, it's been one of those days with the kids and i'm shopping for kitchen faucets right now since ours is nearly kaput. =P

i'm delighted that lowes has apparently over 2400 faucets i can view online {not}. hmmm...scratch those search results...more like 500 kitchen faucets i can view {my bad}. hahaha...here's something new...anyone ever heard of a "biscuit" metal finish? yeah, me neither...
let's see...further narrowed it down to 54 results since i need a 2-hole faucet {faucet openening & soap dispenser opening}...

{isn't this just what you want to be reading...? me...shopping for faucets...}.

seriously, though...hope you're having a great afternoon...

damn fine cherry cobbler

2009-08-17T18:24:00.001-07:00

i've been on a baking frenzy.

every weekend this summer, i've tried to bake things using seasonal produce...and, loving the results.

made this excellent cherry cobbler over the weekend and was very happy with the end product. sad to say that it's all been consumed due to me and my husband {the kiddos are a bit wary of baked fruit desserts}. {btw - isn't the picture on the recipe link the cutest? i originally posted that picture on my blog, but changed it to the one i actually took for this post...not as delish looking, but...you get the point that the subject revolves around cherries...lol...}.

i've been able to make peach and cherry pies this season...as well as some delicious blueberry crumb bars. it's just what i do...pull out a new recipe to bake, hoping it'll be a keeper. my goal is to take the "keeper" recipes and assemble a small binder, organized by specific seasonal items, so when, say, cherries, are in season, i won't have to randomly thumb through old magazines and cookbooks to drum up something to satisfy...

but, i'm pretty sure this is going to be a winter project. i'm a little maxed out on projects and things that need to be done. however, i am looking forward to delving into my recipe box {or stack} and making some sense of it all. next week, peach cobbler...!

today...i know this much is true...

2009-07-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

1. i love grilling food. i wish all of our meals could be grilled.
and if i had a ton of foresight, time & creativity, i would plan out every meal around use of the grill.

2. all meals should come in shish kabob form. it's not only makes meals fun, but two skewars give you the perfect portion of food. and, it doesn't get boring...you can put whatever you want on a shish kabob. {hmmm...contemplating breakfast foods to skewar as i type this...}.

3. i love the summertime. i used to be a fall-fanatic, but this started changing a few years back. i think it's because of the abundance of fresh produce...warmer weather...longer daylight to boost my energy...the ability to take pictures with ease due to the abundance of natural lighting...but, whatever it comes down to, it's just a great time for activities. the kids get outside regularly...there are an abundance of parks and outdoor recreational facilities to visit...it even makes hopping in and out of the car for errands more tolerable in the warm weather versus the cold. the only drag is that i find i have less time for things like blogging...and some other hobbies. i'm even amazed that i pinned down a few minutes to type this.

hope your summer has been a good one so far...go grill! =P

updates soon...sort of...

2009-06-11T19:25:00.000-07:00

i finally realized today that it has been longer than i thought since i've last blogged. but, i do have stuff to chat about. just never the time to put all my thoughts down.

this past month was a whirl but i'm looking forward to some fun stuff coming up...including a Karen Russell class that's starting soon. =)

anyway, hopefully i will have a chance to sit down and process some of these thoughts, type 'em out & share very soon.

icing on the cake.

2009-05-08T19:52:00.000-07:00

so to speak, it's the WORST icing imaginable. so, on top of the craziness with my son's health this week, i found out yesterday my dad has bronchitis. which is bad because he has one lung {the other had been removed in an effort to save him from terminal cancer a few years back}. i also found out today that my credit card number had been swiped at some point and someone had fun charging over $4K to it. {is it wrong of me to hope the person who did this gets nailed by karma BIG TIME?}.

like i said...it kind of tops off my week.

i'm also starting to believe that driver's licenses must be given away in cereal boxes. i thought about it today - quite a few times, actually - as i got behind one BAD driver after another. i thought how this has been happening all week - and, it's a scary trend in my mind. i mean, how do you ride BOTH lanes, not use signal lights when merging or switching lanes and think that it's OK to sit in the middle of an intersection in trying to make it through before the light turns red??? and, amusingly enough {but, not amusing when experiencing it in real time}, why do people act like they don't know how to drive in the rain when it has been raining for the past 8 days?????.

on a positive note, we got the green light for little dude's surgery. his congestion is better. and, now to work on getting him there and through it. what a hurdle.

at wit's end.

2009-05-06T18:18:00.000-07:00

when i say i've been to the pediatrician's 1-2 times a week for the past 1-1/2 to 2 months, rest assured that it's no exaggeration. between amelia's pneumonia and getting her seasonal allergy attacks under control {finally} and james's ear infections and colds i swear the doctor's office has a room reserved for us. and, when i go in and they ask to see the insurance card and a verification on address, all i can do is chuckle {otherwise, i'd lose my mind}.

we have surgery for james scheduled next week. he needs a cyst removed from near the tear duct of his left eye. he also needs tubes at this point - his ears are red and inflammed. the poor kid. the latest and greatest: he's developed head and chest congestion. call it spring allergies...call it the 8 straight freakin' days - and counting - of rain stirring the pot...but we've got an issue on our hands. he's on two meds to try to clear things up and dry things out...otherwise we've got to reschedule the surgery and delay much needed procedures that have us otherwise bouncing in and out of the doctor's office. he goes back for a well-visit tomorrow. if you could just kindly keep him in your thoughts & prayers - hopefully, with any luck, we'll be trending in the right direction and can get the little guy back on track early next week with the procedures that need to be done.

a new kind of yum.

2009-05-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

if you're stopping by for the first time, let me explain: i'm a baker. i've always been a baker. i love to bake - trying new recipes...whipping up the old as well. here's the proof:

so, this recipe was my latest adventure in the world of baking. and, it was very satisfying. =) this household is a huge fan of cupcakes. the kids love them. and, the adults...well...it's like the perfect portion of cake. i made giant vanilla coconut cupcakes for my husband's birthday - just take a peek at the picture on my blog banner.

but, pie has always been a huge favorite here, too. i'm just not the master of pie crust. so, i'm checking out a few options and i'm hoping to hone those skills a bit more. i've heard this recipe provides a no-fail promise to pie crust perfection. i mean...isn't everything better with a little vodka? now i just have to check it out for myself.

valium, wine & weeds.

2009-04-21T19:20:00.000-07:00

my mom recently asked me what i wanted for my birthday in a few weeks.

i chuckled and asked her if she could hook me up with a year's supply of valium. seriously. that would be nice. =)

OR...my own private wine closet...with my favorite stashes from napa and sonoma.

valium and libations aside, these things would be pretty cool:

Canon Normal EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Autofocus Lens - and the sucker is backordered too...most likely because it's so amazing...

that would be a totally amazing surprise...

i could also use a new watch. and, this would be super fun...

and this is very pretty {i have a weakness for anthropologie}.

crazy as it seems, right now, i'd take a landscaping service to come in and do some much needed spring cleaning in my yard...edging, weeding, topsoil and new mulch...tear out some shabby looking shrubs. the flower beds look a bit like something you'd see in Where the Wild Things Are. guess what this girl is going to be working on over the next few days? yep...researching landscaping services and calling in for estimates. =)

here are a few quick layouts i put together recently:

and...

this past week was pretty crazy. amelia had some respiratory relapses with her allergies. looks like the nebulizer is here to stay for awhile, along with some allergy meds to use during the rough seasons. james got yet another ear infection. we're looking at tubes next month, during the same time his cyst will be removed from near his eye.

i think the best birthday gift right now would be everything settling down a bit. happy & healthy. yes...that would be good, indeed.

argh.

2009-04-21T13:17:00.000-07:00

originally, i wanted to title this post, "about ready to lose my freakin' mind", but i decided not to.

still doesn't change how i feel today.

got a lot of things going on lately and all the health stuff going on with my kids has me a bit overloaded. i need things to level off a bit.

on the upside, my daughter is feeling loads better and recovering from the pneumonia. we don't know if she has asthma and we won't know that for awhile. what we DO know is that when she gets a cold, her respiratory gets nailed. for whatever reason, it's her achilles heel. so, what she doesn't seem to have in cold and allergies right now, she makes up with a bit of spunk and defiance. "no...i don't want to" and "no...YOU do it..." has me gritting my teeth with this new test of wills.
my latest and greatest news is how we have been practicing how to draw circles. and, while we haven't worked on it in a few days, apparently she has worked on it all by herself...by using a pen on the comforter cover in our guest room. so, i'm currently washing that, muttering sweet nothings under my breath.

some headway was made for "little boy". =)

his surgery has been scheduled for his eye and ears. BUT, i found out today that his iron levels just won't get to where they should be with normal iron supplements, so ferinsol three times a day is the next step. that and lean red meat {okay...we can do this} and leafy green vegetables {ha. say that to a 15 month old who is a carb and meat fanatic}. good times ahead. hemoglobin still low thanks to the beta thalassemia trait he got from me. i hate feeling like i gave my kid bad genes, so i've been beating myself up a bit this afternoon. at least, as my husband points out, he's a happy kid, and we're working on fixing the other stuff. and that, i am thankful for.

on the upside...it's a gorgeous day out. i think we're going to go outside and enjoy it a bit - and forget all these other things right now. tomorrow promises to be nice too, so maybe i'll get a chance to take some photos of new layouts and post them.

if you knew the half of it...

2009-04-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

you'd understand why i haven't posted in awhile.

here's a quick breeze-thru:

daughter's allergies turned into pneumonia...

son ran through an MRI and is prepping for surgery for a cyst near his eye and possible tubes in his ears...(and caught sis's cold...)...

lots of crazy nights with kids up, crying...

cold, dreary, rainy weather wiping everyone out...

*sigh*

i think everyone can use a break about now.

here's a semi-recent layout i finished for the SC blog. it was another rainy, icky day here when i took the photos and i've since brightened it up now that i'm fumbling my way through learning photoshop...

and i'm happy to say i have two other layouts to photograph and post. now...to find the time...

hope everyone is having a stellar weekend...!

the truth about bangs...

2009-02-26T10:59:00.000-08:00

the other day i mentioned to my husband about needing to get my hair cut. nothing dramatic, but a good, old face-frame since it's getting too long and hanging in my face. he suggested bangs. i looked at him and said, matter-of-factly, "i have a theory about bangs."

it's true.

and it's simple - on me, bangs are better in theory than in actuality. they look perfectly awesome on other people and i think, "bangs would be good. very good. the hair won't hang in my face, it'll look cute with a headband..." and then i get bangs.

and i.hate.them.on.me.

they hang in my face anyway, when i work out. i can't style them right because my hair either frizzes in the summer or flattens completely in the winter. in short: bangs look stupid on me. and my love of bangs goes away instantly. over time, as my hair grows out, i forget how frustrated i get with bangs because, when my hair gets super-long again, i start thinking, "bangs would be a good idea."

NO. no, no, no! they never are.

of course, my husband looked at me like i was insane as i pontificated my theory.

and perhaps i am. but, then again, he knew i had a little crazy in me anyway, when he married me. right, honey?

tick tock tick tock tick tock...

2009-02-20T11:58:00.000-08:00

...just waiting out this wretched cold. the kids have it and now i have it as well.

is it too early for spring?

two quick layouts:

and some details:

i received a bunch of tags from facebook friends about listing 25 random things on yourself. so, instead of replying to everyone, i thought it would be fun to post it here instead. =)

1. i love to bake. cooking is OK, but i love to bake.
2. becoming more savvy with photoshop is on my list of things to accomplish this year.
3. jeans, khakis and plain tshirts are a way of life for me.
4. pjs are the other way of life for me. =P
5. have become accustomed to drinking cold coffee {i can never seem to grab a chance to drink it down while it's still hot}...and rather enjoy it.
6. i love bbq sauce.
7. i love dipping french fries in bbq sauce.
8. enjoyed the story of edgar sawtelle for book club more than i thought i would.
9. really enjoyed reading twilight. was a bit disappointed in the movie.
10. feel that starbuck's peppermint mocha is one of the few things about winter i enjoy.
11. enjoy apple picking if only for my daughter's sheer enthusiasm for it {and, yes, we end up buying more than is intended}.
12. not too thrilled to be turning 31 this year.\
13. enjoy a good glass of wine with my meal.
14. miss getting a good 8 hours of sleep a night.
15. have been enjoying wearing grays & pinks a lot more lately...
16. would like to learn how to bake bread from scratch.
17. love the dimple that shows up in my son's right cheek whenever he smiles.
18. think cinnamon teddy grahams are the best flavor.
19. have a wicked addiction to cheetos.
20. feel better whenever i look at fresh flowers.
21. would like to be a better photographer.
22. love the beach and exploring coastal towns.
23. tired of the bite in the winter air and the constant colds.
24. really horrible at picking out paint colors for rooms.
25. looking forward to the spring.

fly by...

2009-02-17T17:55:00.000-08:00

i've got about a ba-zillion things i want to chat about: valentines, more layouts, crazy happenings here...but, i'm just too dang tired right now and am thinking bed is the place i want to be. we're all under the weather. these poor kids have certainly been through their fair share this cold season. my 3 year-old daughter passed out at 6.30 this evening - unheard of around here! i'm even getting the sniffles.

hope you're feeling a bit healthier. =)

i've been slacking.....

2009-02-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

sometimes when it comes to putting aside the time to take photos of my layouts, uploading them, and editing them into photoshop, i slack big time.

it's not intentional, but it's a process - and i'd rather work on a new layout.

here are just a couple of newbies. i'll hopefully post more stuff by the end of the week...

and some details...

the stitching i did in the argyle wasn't as labor-intensive as i thought it would be, though it did take awhile - it was rather fun!

this next one i did for a challenge on studio calico's board. there's a new challenge every week to create a layout inspired by the layouts of a specific design team member. last week was tina aszmus, whose work is always amazing, each month. {truthfully, every design team member is a genius in their own right...}. i love the way tina sneaks in the details on each layout...it makes it so much fun to try to drum up something entirely new. of course, the challenge was eagerly received by all and a bunch of ladies posted some amazing lifts. this was mine:

and a little close-up:

for the record, i wish i were better at taking photos of my layouts. i always feel like the layouts were too crooked on the floor...or i was too crooked in angling the camera and discover this when i'm cropping down the photos in PSE. if anyone has any recommendations on how to improve this process, please pass them along. i would love the tips!

yesterday i went to see he's not that into you with one of my friends. not a bad movie - not the greatest movie either. i thought the ending was cute. i'm not going to blow cover on anything in case you haven't seen it. all i will say is that while it's nice to have a happy ending, it's nice when a little reality is thrown into the mix and things aren't all super-duper, everyone-gets-what-they-want. i feel like the ending was a mix of both. oh well - that's hollywood for you. ;-)

this is it.

2009-01-29T19:26:00.001-08:00

This picture pretty much summarizes winter and snow for us...

The temperature never gets truly cold until sometime in January - though freakish warm fronts have been known to occur this time of year. We never get any, truly, big accumulations. I think the first year we were in our house, we got a few inches of snow. Followed with some ice. And, that was "bad".

Truth be told, I don't mind the snow - but, I like it best around the holidays. But, it isn't until January that we see much - if any - of it; and, at that point, I can do without. When we've hit a third day in a row 0f 20-degree weather, I'm ready to wash my hands clean of the nonsense. Because, at the end of the day, 45-degrees for a daytime high in January isn't bad...and I can always wear my cute, puffer vest. ;-)

I am hoping to take those layout photos tomorrow. The weather promises for some sun {unless there's been a change in forecast from this morning - love that natural light for photos versus a flash!}. I'll hopefully be clicking and uploading away!

right now i'm...

2009-01-25T18:32:00.000-08:00

trying to upload and organize quite a few photos that have been building up in my camera {does this process take anyone else forever and a day?}...

trying {and not doing too terribly well} to balance my book-club reading for the month and read the third installment of the Twilight series, Eclipse...

itching at my eyes {time to take the old contacts out and put on the glasses}...

thinking of the layouts i've been neglecting to take photos of and post...

making a mental list of what i need to pick up at Target this week {that list better make it to paper quick as i'm bound to lose it locked up in my scatter-brain}...

mad that i haven't finished wrapping up the care package i have to mail to a friend...

and, taking out a piece of paper because my to-do list just got too terribly long for me to remember...

Colds & books.

2009-01-14T17:07:00.001-08:00

Two entirely unrelated topics, mind you, but pertinent to my life right now.

I will say I was amply forewarned during my second pregnancy that siblings will, without fail, pass colds back and forth. Holy smokes, no kidding.
I feel like my house has been riddled with runny noses, scratchy throats, sneezes, fevers, etc. since the start of preschool {i.e. the petrie dish}. Baby boy has been having a rough time with ear infections and the pain of teething. It's been interesting. We're all a bit tired and run-down. It's one of those times I wish I were super-human and able to be immune to these ailments, able to go non-stop and keep the house continually lysol-ed to immaculate perfection. But, nighttime falls and......so. do. I.

I also wish that it were about 75 degrees, sunny, humidity-free......because in the back of my mind, I'm not thinking about germs and colds when I think of those pleasant days. But, that's not going to happen either. For a while, at least.

And, now I get the scratchy throat. and the glassy eyes. Joy.

Now that you've gotten a picture of how life has been the past couple of months, on to the happier part - books!

I read as I have time - well, make time. Which I haven't really been doing with much success until a few months ago. I volunteered to head up the Book Club for my local Mom's Club. It eventually became an activity that is now outside my Mom's Club and I have a few regular members, which makes me happy. Happy because people are okay with getting together once every six weeks to discuss something we've read and enjoying themselves. Sure, we'll digress from the book and onto a topic loosely related to what we were talking about moments before......I mean, it's typical female ADD. We're mixing up the book genres a bit - and stories as well. A little fiction, sometimes serious subject matter, and occasional chick-lit thrown in for good measure.

Our next book is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. I will admit that it's not a book I would've picked out - which is another reason why I like Book Club. It makes me go out on a limb and try something different. Everyone gets to offer their own book selections - and that's how we end up with a little from Column A, a little from Column B, so-to-speak.

Twilight, Pilot's Wife, and Water for Elephants are our next planned readings and in that order.

And, we're always looking for good suggestions. Any recommendations?
Pass them along......

I'm off to read a little, myself.

what is that......?

2009-01-07T11:12:00.000-08:00

addictive quality to cheetos or cheese twists? i seriously have no will-power when it comes to those things.

potato chips - no problem. can limit myself to a couple.

french fries - can stop eating them in seconds flat, especially when they get cold.

but cheese twists? must forget the cheese twists. i have to hide those suckers and try to forget they exist in the pantry. =)

happy birthday to.....

2009-01-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

my friend, lauren!
she's the ONLY one who still checks out this old blog every once and awhile and gave me kudos the other day for finally updating it after six months {*insert blush*}.
lauren - i hope you have a wonderful year full of success at your job and fun outside of worklife. may you balance it all! =)

happy + new

2009-01-01T20:22:00.000-08:00

Happy 2009 to all!

The holidays always fly by so quickly. Is it horrible of me to say that I already miss the Christmas music and the happy glow of lights twinkling on the tree? I find this time a year a bit of a struggle. Case-in-point: My daughter cried when we explained to her that the Christmas tree had to come down today. At bedtime she begged, "Please bring my Christmas tree back!" {Although, 4 weeks out from purchasing a real evergreen, it had alread stopped taking in water and was starting to brown, lose needles and sag. How do you explain that to a toddler?}. We tried to explain as best as possible that the tree only stayed inside the house during the holidays; it had to go back outside to live, where it would get water and sunshine so we could bring it back inside next Christmas. Not really sure how convincing our argument was; but, it seemed to appease her - at least for the evening.

The holidays were good. Crazy busy, as most people experience, but good. I know I have fallen off the blogging bandwagon. The last half of the year was jammed with all sorts of good, new things and memorable events as well as some difficult, family passings that made the holidays a little sad this year.

On a more upbeat note, I am hoping, in this new year, to take some time to periodically update the blog - maybe give some new life to its current style. I still haven't figured out to magically tack on five hours to each day, so my blogging goals may be slow-going. I am still debating on making my blog a private one and may ultimately end up doing so.

Well, there will be more debating on that one.

Thanks for dropping by - hope you have a great, new year!

been a little preoccupied.....

2008-06-17T17:32:00.001-07:00

and not really devoting much attention to my blog. it's what happens....blogging ends up being low-man on the totem poll.

rest assured though, the time has been well spent in other areas - except for the past week. i'm getting over a cold that has me literally croaking out words like a frog. it's been a tough cold to get rid of too.

i've also spent a lot of time exercising during some of the "free" time i get...do not get me wrong - it has been great. i am using this video series i got last month for my birthday and i am loving the results i am seeing so far...my baby love handles are actually disappearing!

sometimes i wish i could spend part of that learning to use photoshop better....scrapbooking, etc. but, this is a good goal for me to have right now.

that's not to say i haven't been able to scrapbook. here are a couple of things i've done recently...i uploaded more in my 2peas gallery:

other things really keeping me busy are just the normal day-to-day things: cleaning, keeping the kids busy and happy, dealing with the terrible-twos, looking for new activities for the kids, working on the house and landscaping...just a rush of things, but definitely loving the burst of warm spring/early summer weather.

bought my husband the transformers movie for father's day. {yes, actually, i AM looking forward to seeing it}. sadly, it must wait for this weekend before we can watch it...but, getting to the movies doesn't really happen here...over the past month a few movies i've wanted to see have finally come out on DVD and i've been enjoying them. thought 27 dresses was cute and national treasure 2 was also enjoyable, like the first. i'm hoping to get out and see a few summer flicks, but we'll play that by ear.

seen any good movies lately? have you been able to work on any goals or hobbies you have? fill me in!

long day.

2008-03-31T19:32:00.000-07:00

just a quick post.

today was just one of those days that seemed longer than normal.

have had a lot going on here, including a nice round of head colds. my dad had a heart attack 2 weeks ago, which put us all in a state of frenzy. he's doing much better but we are still taking it one day at a time. time has flown ever since.

before i leave, here's a layout i recently put together. i uploaded more to my 2 peas page.

i want spring weather to be here in the worst way. can you tell i'm reminiscing previous springs in my layout? haha.

have a great evening. =)

headed for the weekend.

2008-03-14T18:17:00.001-07:00

well, i'm pretty fried. busy week and a busy weekend coming up. next week is Easter. it's so hard to believe! i have no pictures. i am still organizing and want to update you all on the excitement that is straightening the files, making sense of scrapbooking supplies, straightening drawers and pantries, etc. is it spring yet?

i am relishing the daylight savings. it sucks to lose the hour of sleep, but i feel like i make it up because my daughter actually sleeps a little longer in the morning. i swear she wakes up as soon as a speck of light filters through her window - she knows it's time to get up and have fun - and before i know it, i hear the singing and chatting coming through the monitor. also love the fact that a 6 p.m., it's still light out. can't beat that as the weeks progress into spring and summer!
other stuff...brought baby boy for his 2 month appt. today {can't believe it has been 2 months already!!!}. he's doing VERY well. freaked a little when the doctor said he has a slight heart murmur. the doctor didn't seem concerned, but i'm still a bit freaked. we'll be paying close watch.

had a member of my father's family pass away this week. it was a pretty tough pill to swallow for us. my dad had a bought with terminal lung cancer almost three years ago. had his left lung removed, etc. with the expectation that it would extend his life another two years. the good thing is that he has passed the two year mark as of last october. he goes to his specialists every 3-4 months and they are estatic that he's surpassed his expectations {and making a little history for the illness he had and the type of operation performed}. on the flip side, he has seen another close family member diagnosed with a serious illness, a good friend passed away in a freak work accident, and, now two familiy members pass on - all within about a six month timeframe. hard stuff. i can't help but be thankful of how far he's come, health-wise. i realize that i am pretty lucky to have known what it's like to have a dad for almost 30 years...and hopefully, i'll get more time.

on a lighter note...busy scrapbooking. just finished a layout. i haven't had time to take a picture of it, crop it and do other photoshop stuff with it. just having a blast with seeing everything come to life as i put together the supplies and start assembling.

trying to make plans to see the other boleyn girl {lauren, if you read this i am trying to work out the details of our plans}. read the book a few years ago and thought it was really good. can't wait to see what it's like in a hollywood-scripted form. almost wish i still had the book and had the time to read it before seeing the movie, just so i could monitor the differences, book versus hollywood's take.

have some baking to do too - rice pudding and scones. and a coffee cake for playgroup early next week. looks like i'll be doing that inbetween everything else...

happy weekend! =)

making sense of the mess.

2008-03-04T12:52:00.000-08:00

maybe because it's still the beginning of the year.

or maybe because spring is around the corner.

i was reminded yesterday of some organizational problem-areas in the house. OK, more like whenever i go down to the basement to run or retrieve scrapping supplies, i am constantly reminded that i have boxes to dig through, files to set up and papers to toss. when i turn to the house, as a whole, i can visualize projects i want to engage. it can be overwhelming because my natural tendency is to address these things all at once.

not in this lifetime.

so, i am getting serious now. i'm going to do some de-cluttering. i know when my husband reads this, he's going to be super-psyched too. ;-)
i've already started with my scraproom and the paperwork. i'm making it a point to take a small part of every-other day and work on each. no major time commitments because things are hectic here; but, a half hour here and there goes by fast and it's amazing what can be done in that time when you're focused!
anyway, here's what i have to work with...{please note the lovely paneling on the walls, circa 1970's/80's....and, yes, that is a cake stand on the top of the cabinet shown...i literally have no place to put it where i store all my baking pans...yes...there's a shelving unit that holds ALL of them...hehe}.

i have two problem areas to organize. 1. i need to figure out how i want to organize my patterned paper. by manufacturer? by color? i would love to hear what has worked best for you! 2. i need to figure out how to store my leftover scraps of patterned paper. my solution right now is to toss it all into a container and make a mental note to look through it whenever i'm getting ready to start a new layout. if you have a solution that has worked for you, please pass it along! i will keep you guys posted on my progress with updated pics, etc. that way, i stay motivated too.

so...in all this clutter i still scrap. actually, i scrap in my bedroom. my dresser is literally covered in what i use for my newest layout. it's been the best place for me to scrap right now...not because of the mess issue in the basement, but because i'm feeling the basement is such a remote place. i'm sure i will get past it and i'm hoping the reorg will help. our goal is to get the basement to be a playroom/craft area...so, until it gets there, it feels a bit empty and not really welcoming.

btw - my most recent layout....feels like it took me forever to post...

the topic is "tough day", which i thought was appropriate given the pictures. i had taken my daughter to see her cousins. it was a fairly long car ride, but when we got there, the kids played...we took a nice walk to the park and enjoyed the day. not really a hard day, but it humored me to see her yawning and sucking her thumb, which she did at the time when she got tired. the journaling is to that effect.

okay - on a completely different topic...have you seen this? i read this book a few years ago and thought it was pretty different. also thought it would make for an interesting movie {i always love to see how writers take a book and create a movie script...}. so, i am completely psyched that this movie is coming out. i have already started soliciting my friends to go see it! if you haven't read the book, give it a try. like i said, weird concept and not the most light-hearted of novels; but, if you're OK with that, this may be a good new read for you to try.

on the baking front...i tried this recipe last weekend. it's really a good, fall/winter crisp and i highly recommend it. hubby asked for rice pudding this weekend, so i will be whipping up that...wish me luck - i've never made rice pudding before! i also have to make my mother-in-law's birthday cake as we are celebrating the occasion this weekend. it seems to have become a tradition that i make her birthday cake...i guess because of the baking-thing. it's really very fun to pick out a recipe, plan it all out and see it come to life. so, i'm thinking about trying this recipe.

looks like it's already shaping up to be a busy weekend. ;-)

potty tales.

2008-02-24T17:05:00.000-08:00

week's been a little crazy on top of the "normal" crazy. i started potty training my 2.5-year-old this week. well, i started in the fall to see if it would take, but there were signs that she wasn't ready. and, we didn't want to train her too close to her brother being born for fear of total regression. so, we decided to take a break and start fresh in the new year.

which brings us to now. the peeing in the potty is going well and we seem to have progress on that front. like, she doesn't pee on the floor and makes it a point to hold it and then use the potty - a complete reverse from when i tried originally this past fall. woo hoo! progress {and less carpet cleaning}. pooping is an entirely different story. she seems to have an aversion to pooping in the potty and would rather do it on the floor if she doesn't have a diaper on. yes, gross. we acquired a potty chart, which is a little fun reward system with stickers and stuff -she's been pretty into that. we're just trying to beef up the reward for pooping in the right place. if anyone has done this before and can share some advice, i would really appreciate hearing your personal experience.

on the scrapping front - i threw this together recently:

can i just say that i love, LOVE prima's stuff. i used the clearly IOD tape on some of the "frame" and love the end result. the photo was taken on our honeymoon. one of our napa-stops was the french laundry. what a great experience. it's been fun scrapping some honeymoon pictures. it's like reliving a wonderful experience...

'til next time! =)

no pain, no ?!?*!?%$#!!

2008-02-20T12:12:00.000-08:00

...which is pretty much what went through my head as i stepped onto the treadmill this afternoon. UGH! got the 6-week post-partum green light from my doctor that i could start exercising again, and i didn't really waste much time. but, ouch!
i'm literally cursing every holiday cookie i consumed because i'm pretty sure some of it took up residence from the waist down. not to mention the complete loss of muscle tone. so, here's to getting things back to better, as i am going to say as i approach this whole weight-loss, tone-up goal i have in mind.

will have to balance that time with my free scrapping time, which i have not been able to do the past couple of days. maybe tonight? on the upside...i started uploading my pages onto 2peas. it's taken me about 3 years to do this, so i've starting showing my more recent things. haha. no one wants to see the 1st scrapbooking attempts here on my end. =)

mid-winter itch.

2008-02-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

this is the time of year that sort-of gets to me. i call it the mid-winter itch.
hard to believe, too, that spring is next month; but, it feels like an eternity away.
it can be a bummer feeling trapped inside the house. can't really go outside for walks because it's either cold or rainy {snow is a rare sight this season}. i feel that between the pregnancy and winter-eating i'm lugging around extra pounds. this time of year is just no good for me.

funny because i used to swear up and down that fall was the season for me. i've come to the conclusion that it was the baker in me talking...i mean, almost every piece of fresh produce i love is in season - pumpkins, squash, apples. as soon as september hits, i've got thoughts of cinnamon and nutmeg running through my head. so, it's more like, fall is my favorite time of year to bake.

lately, i've been loving the summertime. fresh herbs. perfect time of year to make quick foods with ultra-fresh produce like corn and tomatoes. {love tomato and mozzarella salad}. strawberries are in season and i can throw them in my cereal. meals tend to be tastier because they can be grilled. the days are longer. you can run and walk outside without having to throw on 10 layers of clothing. evenings are perfect for walks or sitting outside, listening to crickets, watching lightning bugs and sipping wine. go to the shore, check out the local shops and breathe in the ocean air. it's really just perfect {minus 90+ degree-stagnant-with-humidity weather}.

but, one thing i will say for the winter: what a great time to scrapbook. i've been fitting it in here and there and it's really just a great feeling to see a page come to life. so, in the end, maybe the winter is good for something other than gaining weight, getting sick and staying indoors.

so, back to my last post - i was able to make valentine's day dessert. molten chocolate cakes came out good. i do swear by this recipe and will make one note - if you use a ramekin bigger than the one called for, decrease your baking time in order to ensure that the centers are soft. i didn't make a sauce but dusted the cakes with confectioners' sugar. i can promise you the end result is just as satisfying.

as for valentine's day gifts - my husband and i "gave" each other a new heating unit for the house, a couple of weeks ago. i know, it's terribly romantic. what can i say? it's the gift that keeps on giving.......heat.

mmm...chocolate.

2008-02-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

trying to figure out how i'm going to make freshly prepared molten chocolate cakes with tonight's dinner. and be prepared to breastfeed at a moment's notice. and make sure the two year old is OK with all of this activity and no time to play dress up.
and i have a wicked craving for chocolate right now.
happy valentine's day!
{must go play dress up now and make sure the rice hasn't burned.}

catching up.

2008-02-12T18:18:00.000-08:00

losing track of my days here. i know it's been a few weeks since i've last blogged, but the days are meshing together lately.
i've got quite a few layouts to post, i just haven't had the chance to upload. love getting back into scrapbooking - i've been doing mostly pages, which is fine, but i'm itching to branch out into other things like altered projects. {breathe, breathe...one thing at a time}.
everything is just dandy though. we've been going through a rough streak of crappy things happening. here are just a few examples:

1. convection toaster oven bit the dust. this had been a wedding gift so, in theory, the darn thing wasn't that old.
2. thought we had to replace the refrigerator because it wasn't staying cold. turned out that we *thankfully* only had to have the fan reattached to the freezer - it had somehow fallen off.
3. water-main break in the street, right in front of our house. long story short, when the water went back on, our first load of laundry happened to be my daughter's new sheets which now are bespecked with rust stains. lovely...
4. heater completely tanked. long story short - we had to replace it entirely. boo hoo...untimely occurance, but it's done and is one less thing we'll have to update on the house in a couple of years. still stinks that it happened...

on the upside...you must try this recipe...it is wonderful and is the easiest appetizer in the world.

pere jeanty

2008-01-30T17:27:00.001-08:00

a little over three years of marriage and two children later, i have FINALLY finished my very first honeymoon layout. it's dedicated to my hubs as he's been making not-so-subtle comments about starting to scrap something from our wonderful trip out to napa and san fran back in 2004. sure, i guess it's high time, but it's not like i've been idle, sitting on the couch, eating bon-bons all day...{though, i wish i had...it would explain the winter fat that's appearing on me}.

just a bit of background...this LO is about one of the many wonderful places we ate out at on our honeymoon - pere jeanty in yountville, ca. it's no longer in business - can't imagine why as the food was truly wonderful. but, it's "big sister" restaurant, bistro jeanty, is still around.

i wanted the layout to have a vintage country french feel to it...loved the lace for that reason. i made the heart embellishment with cardboard, patterned paper and a bit of stitching. and, as always, i try to incorporate stamping of some sort {love my stamps}.

and some journaling...

and more stamping...

{one day i'll learn how to create one of those cool picture collages in photoshop so i can just upload one document to blogger...}.

it's been such a long day already here...i love this movie and i think i'm going to pop it in this afternoon. maybe shut my eyes for a few minutes if i can get both of the kiddos to nap at the same time...i hope, i hope, i hope...

the blahs.

2008-01-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

it could be the result of sleep deprivation due to having a newborn. it could be the seriously crummy weather we tend to have. it could also be that i haven't really been out of the house very much in the past several weeks. whatever the cause may be, all i know is that i definitely have a major case of the blahs.

on the upside i finished another layout the other day. woo hoo! i'll have to post it here, maybe tomorrow. again, crummy weather, bad natural light - and, i don't like to use the flash unless i have to.

one thing that totally lifted my spirits today was baking cookies with my girl. she was totally obsessed with sticking M&M's {or as she calls them, "ma-nem-in-nems"} in the sugar cookies. {as you can see, she put only a couple in each cookie...ha}.

her interest in baking is starting to intensify. whenever i'm in the kitchen, putting some treat together, she comes in and insists on moving a chair over to the counter to watch and help me mix the batter/dough/concoction. on the upside of this new interest, she's not as petrified of the hand mixer.

anyways...speaking of baking...and food...i've developed a renewed interest in the FoodTV network. seems like the TV is permanently stuck to the channel. saw this recipe for scones that i have to try. always wanted to make scones. even have a scone pan sitting on a shelf in the basement. ask me if i've used it - ever. no. i may need to break it in now though. this looked pretty darn good too as i watched it being put together. may have to try to make both this weekend, but time is a precious commodity these days.

hope your day is a little less "blah" then mine. thanks for dropping by!

new year = new layout

2008-01-03T13:32:00.001-08:00

just a really quick post here. if you receive my newsletter, i've included a photo of my most recent layout below. it's very simple - i had so many photos to work with. sometimes i feel like the more photos i want to include, the more challenging the layout - and i'm not the biggest fan of 2-page layouts. all the more reason to challenge myself with doing more, right?

although, i have to admit the button frame was really fun to make.

this layout features a mish-mosh of fun accents, like faux stitching:

faux buttons:

and edge distressing:

so, while it may not be the world's most complicated layout...it was really fun to play! =)

on to the next layout! i've got a big week coming up, so this may be my last post for a little bit. definitely keep checking back for bits and pieces of crafty goodness and other stuff. thanks for stopping by!

merry & bright.

2007-12-21T10:58:00.000-08:00

isn't she wonderful?

this is my newest addition to our ecclectic ornament collection. we picked her up while we were in naples, florida over the summer. i just love her glittery ice skates...
it makes me want to experiment with glitter in my crafts...

anyway, i realize that i am one of the worst bloggers out there. a few of my friends have teased me about this. i'm doing well - just extremely busy. our family is in the midst of getting ready for its newest member. so, spare time is limited. i always admire the dedicated bloggers who post, without fail, no matter how many kids they have or hours they work...

also wanted to post one of my newer layouts. i've been trying to do a little scrapbooking every day. this one was fun, and i really enjoyed putting the extra details together...

this weekend has a ton of cookie-baking in store, as we rapidly get closer to christmas. there's a plan in place, which dough to make when...what day to make this cookie or the other cookie in order to ensure maximum freshness...i hope i have the energy to get me there! we have creme de menthe brownies, snickers cookies and chewy chocolate gingerbread cookies on the roster of what we're bringing to our holiday hosts. for home, i am hoping to make some oreo cookie bark, chocolate-mint cookie crinkles and sugar cookies. the last three are lofty goals for me. maybe i'll get a boost of nesting energy. ;-)

i doubt i'll post before, but i wish everyone a happy holiday. may your peppermint mochas be extra rich...and, i hope you're days are merry & bright. thanks for dropping by...

faux buttons.

2007-12-16T13:02:00.000-08:00

hey all!

i promised i would post this little technique with step-by-step instructions and photos so you, too, can make your own faux buttons.

again, this is so super easy...and fun! you'll love the final product in order to pretty up your pages!

faux buttons

what you'll need:

Window Charms Circles - Close to My Heart
Patterned paper or cardstock
1/16" hole punch

what's involved:

1. attach a window charms circle to a piece of patterned paper or cardstock.

2. punch two button holes in the window charms circle with a small hole punch.

3. trim paper around the window charm circle to complete and - viola! - you now have a cute faux button to adorn your project!

attach to your final project and enjoy! i mixed in some faux with real buttons on this little frame i'll use to enclose the title on a page i'm currently finishing.

note that you can try this technique with window charms squares to make your own different shape buttons!

hope you'll give it a try - let me know if you have any questions....AND have fun!

quick blip.

2007-07-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

hi to all.

i know i've turned into the world's worst blogger, but there's been some stuff going on here.

i've actually been very sick since my last post. {yeah, scroll down and see...it's been awhile}. the good news is that i've been slowly rebounding over the past few weeks.

this wasn't intended to be a long post going over all the intimate details, but i just wanted to drop a note and say that things are okay. i'll try to get to my blog a little more frequently than every two months. ;-) now that i'm doing a bit better, i'm just trying to catch up around the house and get back into the swing of things - family is my priority.

a quick word of thanks to my friends who have been so understanding and patient with me through this time. no roll calls - you know who you are. =) i know i had dropped off the face of the earth, falling behind on my correspondence, etc. i appreciate your prayers and your "just-checking-in-to-say-hi" emails or phone calls. i know i haven't gone into many details to explain, but you've been kind enough to understand. it's such an incredibly good feeling to know that there are people out there like you. again, thank you bunches!

good night & good dreams. =)

dress up.

2007-05-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

it's not everyday we have a reason to get dressed up. it's usually tees and jeans/shorts around here.

so, when my husband told me we were going to his 15-year high school reunion dinner, i knew, this time, i really had to go out and find something to wear. as you know, dress shopping can be either productive or completely bust, depending on what is in the stores, what you like, what you feel motivated to try on, how expensive, etc.

i found this little combination and i'm happy with the end result:

a sweet little strapless sundress with a fun orange & white mushroom pattern throughout...

and this amazing side-tie jacket that i completely love...

even better...i didn't pay full price for these items.

we will have a late-summer baptism to attend, so i'm thrilled i get to wear this little number more than once this year. {the beauty of the jacket is that i can wear it with anything...it dresses up and down to casual so easily...}.

now...i need to dig through my closet to find a purse and shoes that'll go with it. since i know my husband will read my post, i know how eager he'll be to help me go through my section of the closet and help me put the finishing touches on this outfit. =) {thanks in advance, hon!}. =)

pretty.

2007-05-02T18:37:00.000-07:00

wow. i can't believe that, for the 2 hours of toiling at the computer last week to figure out the blog banner thing, it took me less than an hour tonight to slam it all together. maybe i work better at this stuff at night, when i'm tired. hmmm.

learning PSE definitely takes some work and i'd like to practice some more at some point, but i'm happy with doing the basics for right now, this evening, and...yippee! i've got a new banner!

my creative outlet may not be digital layouts and banners...yet...but, when it comes to, say, baking...i feel my creativity flow big time and i can whip out some kind of confectionary delight from a complicated recipe or from the top of my head, like these yummy cupcakes...

i'm very into cupcakes lately. they're cute...and sweet {no pun intended}. you can decorate them in so many ways. it's like the perfect portion of dessert. and...i love icing...so much. i love to make a little extra and pile some extra height to the tops of my cupcakes. these were made with no recipe. just felt inspired by the prettiness of spring...and, they taste pretty yummy too!

decisions.

2007-04-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

those of you who know me well, know i can be horribly indecisive.
a good example of this would be when it's time to choose a paint color.

in january i started renovating our dining room. the renovations involved tearing down wallpaper, wiping down the walls, spackling and sanding. and, i'm proud to say that i think the walls are ready to be primed and painted {i may have to do one more wall-washing.}

so, onto the fun part, right?

not so fast. there's the paint color. i'm down to two...i think.

i'm really into benjamin moore paint color lately. i don't know why. it might be that i'm completely smitten with the town where the closest benjamin moore store to me can be found.

in any case...i'm trying to choose between barley and cornsilk. barley was featured in pottery barn during fall 2006. cornsilk during spring 2007. i often use the catalogs as inspiration...the colors have such a clean, fresh look. the dining room gets a decent amount of light, especially in the afternoon...so i don't want it to be exceedingly bright. any thoughts...anyone? {i realize the picture isn't the best...sorry...!}

pse hell.

2007-04-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

well...i've been away and busy. i know i've become a bad blogger. i've actually been trying to pretty-up my blog, but it's not going too well, as you can see!!! i spent two hours in photoshop...trying to figure out layers, etc. and...ACK! my head is swimming.

if anyone can recommend some excellent resources, i'd greatly appreciate it. i attempted to google some information, but couldn't find the kind of help i'm looking for.

i've been trying to get rid of the title page element {which seems to be making my banner wider}, and i can't do that. i also tried {and couldn't figure out} how to add digital patterned paper to the blank banner i started in photoshop. it's all so frustrating and i wish i had the extra time to spend in order to figure it all out!

anyway...hopefully i will be back soon with either a better banner or a random post. =)

friends.

2007-04-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

today i feel compelled to write about something that has been on my mind, troubling me since earlier this week. a very, close friend of mine finally connected with me after months of little to no communication. she and i met when we were six or seven years old, and it took until high school before we really bonded and became good friends. we graduated high school, and our paths separated as we went to different colleges. and, in the years since, we've moved many times, changed phone numbers, made new friends, married...but, we've always stayed connected. i am so honored to have this person in my life, as she is one of the sweetest and most unselfish individuals you'd ever meet. needless to say, i consider her one of my best friends and even more priveleged that she is my daughter's God-Mother. it's not unusual that a month will pass by and we won't talk over the phone or even correspond via email. more often than anything, we exchange voicemails. but, the scarcity of those voicemails...and phone calls...and emails...even around the holidays...had me really worried since last fall.

when my phone rang on monday, i debated on letting it go...after all, i had errands to run and that precious window of time get the to-do's done before lunch and my daughter's nap. but, i felt compelled to pick it up and i'm so grateful i did.
i spent the next sixty-plus minutes on the phone with her, listening to rather upsetting news as she informed me of why she hadn't called and what was going on in her life. needless to say, it felt like i needed to board a plane...

my heart really goes out to her right now. i obviously cannot disclose the nature of her situation or the details of what she's enduring right now; however, i am so thankful that her health is okay. however, i am shocked, upset and have been very worried ever since our conversation, and it's hard to have faith enough to let go and trust that, somehow, she'll find her way and things will work out for her.

i don't normally chat about religion. i find that it's a bone of contention with many people. everyone has their own walk, their own faith. and, that's cool. growing up, i went to a non-denominational private school. i went to church. prayed before i went to bed. read the Bible. participated in youth groups. went to christian roller skating night at a roller rink a few towns away from mine. i probably am not as devout as i once was and ought to be {i say shamefully}. i am finding my way back though. the point of all of this is...there is a song that i remember from those times...and the lyrics popped into my head after i spoke with my dear friend. and these lyrics have been there ever since. the song is "friends" by michael w. smith. and, well, i've reprinted the lyrics because they pretty much sum up how i feel about the few, tight, "best" friends i have and the relationship i have with them.

it takes a lot of faith to let go and trust that even when your paths depart, you'll stay close. even when you get those phone calls with really bad news. good OR bad...there is something amazing about the impact a good friend has on your life. a simple phone call or email does wonders, even when your friend can only listen to your troubles, because, sometimes, no advice can be given. it's also an amazing thing to be able to do the same for them.

you may be seeing some good friends this weekend. or next week. whenever you do, hold them dear. listen to their thoughts...idle cares or serious troubles. let them know you're there foro them. just be you. it goes a long way...

friends

lyrics by deborah d. smith
music by michael w. smith

Packing up the dreams God planted,
In the fertile soil of you,
Can't believe the hopes he's granted,
Means a chapter in your life is through,
But we'll keep you close as always,
It won't even seem you've gone,
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways,
Will keep the love that keeps us strong.

And friends are friends forever,
If the Lord's the Lord of them.
And a friend will not say never,
'Cause the welcome will not end.
Though it's hard to let you go,
In the Father's hands we know,
That a lifetime's not too long,
To live as friends.

With the faith and love God's given,
Springing from the hope we know,
We will pray the joy you'll live in,
Is the strength that you now show,
But we'll keep you close as always,
It won't even seem you've gone,
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways,
Will keep the love that keeps us strong.

on a side note...just a quick thanks to all those who stop by my blog and read my ramblings and leave a nice comment. i really appreciate your creativity, your uniqueness...i hope you all have a great weekend.

'til next time. =)

frozen eggs.

2007-04-09T12:13:00.000-07:00

i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend {even if you don't celebrate Easter!}.

if the Easter bunny came through our area, he would've frozen his little cottontail off. it was mighty cold this weekend and left me wondering...where is spring?
all the signs are there...budding trees...daffodils...hyacinths...blooming cherries, plums, dogwoods & magnolias...but, now many of these pretties are bitterly clinging on as the chilly winds bring a reminder that winter did not end very long ago. ironically, it was colder on Easter than it was here on Christmas day. and, there were plenty of snow showers here on saturday and sunday. guess it's a good thing i left a few sweaters folded up in the closet...

despite the cold temps, we had a very nice Easter. we have made it a tradition to join in on the Easter festivities at my husband's aunt's home. she throws a ridiculously delicious brunch full of rich foods that i can't even being to describe. {my personal favorite is the mouth-watering french toast she makes with thick slices of sweet, raisin bread...yummy!}. we have such a great time visiting with family...

we had a little trouble getting our daughter to adjust to the crowd yesterday. hubby's aunt lives in a small cape cod...and everyone arrived at the same time, so it was a bit of an overload. but...she eventually warmed up and was playing with plastic eggs in no time. the easter egg hunt...well, it didn't last too long. like i said...it has been pretty cold here! so...no outdoor pictures of the Easter egg hunt...{i'm so upset by this too...my daughter was still in shell-shock over the number of people at Easter brunch and wasn't too into the egg hunt at that point}.

on monday i went through a bit of de-tox from sunday's sumptuous foods. water...plenty of water...and light on everything. was it worth it? absolutely. and, that's why that type of brunch only comes once a year.

did i mention how much i adore my daughter's Easter dress? pretty shades of green and pink blended into a fun, summery plaid. we actually bought it last year, on sale, from janie and jack...we don't shop there normally as the prices are a bit steep...but we timed it right last year, saw the dress and picked it up for her with the intent that she wear it this summer. when i started going through her closet a few weeks ago, packing away clothing she had outgrown and getting her springy stuff out, i saw the dress and didn't think one second about using it for Easter until my hubby mentioned it to me. perfect! i love the fact that i know she'll be able to wear it again too...that's such a bonus.

i confess we forgot to bring our camera with us yesterday. so, i snapped some pictures when we came home. my daughter isn't one to stay still {like her mommy}, but i did my best.

i really didn't want to cut my daughter's hair, but i'm thinking she may need bangs. barrettes aren't working anymore and she's too active to keep them in {as well as mischievious...she gives me this wicked smile and pulls them out right afterward}. i know i'm going to cry when she does get her hair cut...

on a completely unrelated note, i'm off this afternoon to go picking through garbage.

yes...i do this for pure, unaldulterated fun.

*ah-hem*

seriously though...i'm pretty sure my daughter threw out a piece of her toy {she's fascinated with the garbage and the concept of throwing things in there without fully grasping that once it's in there, it's meant to stay...}.

so, i'm going to go pull on some plastic gloves and hold my breath.

i'd rather be running...

hope you have a great week!

and, p.s., another CTMH peakie for you below:

reading.

2007-04-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

reading is something i love to do...when i have the time to do it. i used to voraciously read when i was a teen. especially history. i've never been a big fan of mathematics, but put on a documentary about the revolutionary or civil war and i'm there {...yep, i know some of you are snoring now...}. i guess since college, reading has fallen to the wayside...big time...

but i try to make it a point to read one or two news articles on the web.
and this is an interesting read...i'm halfway through it too.

here's some other fun stuff i dipped into the past few days.

and here's what i'm going to browse through next:

i LOVE bon appetit...it's one of my current subscriptions. {yay! it's still in its wrapper}. gourmet is another one i subscribe to, but i think i don't think i'll renew...just a lot of travel, arts and leisure thrown into a ton of exotic cooking that...well...i just don't have time for. and...let's face it...my days of extensive, international traveling are on hold until the college tuition{s} are paid up. {*gulp*...so, what DO you think college will cost in 15 years...???}. actually...i've never been overseas. something i'd love to do someday, but...for now...

in other news...yes, you DID see correctly...a new CTMH Idea Book has been issued brimming with all the goodness of summer and more! i've got a few pics here of some fabulous new stamps, embellishments and chipboard that are just hot...i can't wait to try some of these out!

wow...so much fun...!
there's just sooo much more that i want to post, but it's too late here. i think i'll post some more pictures in another post in a few days...

in the meantime...sweet dreams to all...i'm off to read...
=)

p.s. by the way...never did get that chipwich...!
p.p.s. i hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

chipwich

2007-04-04T10:45:00.000-07:00

mmmm...hi all....

very short blog today...

i'm craving one of these right now.
it's rainy and yucky outside so we're house-bound...and i think i'm off to go work on the dining room reno.

hope it's sunny where you are! =)

ramblings.

2007-03-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-03-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

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!}

2007-03-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-03-08T11:16:00.000-08:00

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. =)

slowly....slowly....

2007-02-24T18:32:00.000-08:00

just like the new year can start off slowly, so can projects. for anyone who's been following my blog, i started to renovate my dining room in january. here's just an update of the project. it's been a steady process filled with *sick* and *busy* breaks inbetween. but, it's getting done...slowly. and, it's been frustrating me recently because i want to see the finished project. there's just so much to do.

i have started taking down the lower portion of wallpaper though. hubs removed the chair-rail, which allowed me to start taking down the rest of the paper...but there's a sticky, gluey residue on the wall when the wallpaper comes off. UGH! so, i have to wash down the walls as well. {hmmm...maybe this will help me tone my upper arms for the summer...}. still have to spackle and sand after the wallpaper is off. and possibly re-prime. i really wanted to do this project, start to finish, by myself, but it's just taking too long. so, i've enlisted hubby's help. probably not this weekend, but hopefully the following weekend, the two of us can work on it a bit. in the meantime, i'll plod along with the remaining wallpaper.

in other news, i've been planning my next layout. not scrapping as much as i should be, but tonight i'll give it a shot. i think the title of it will be "little you". here's just a sneak of the things i've thrown together in preparation:

what really takes me the longest time in completing a layout is positioning the paper. some people breeze right through this. i just play around. it's sometimes a tough call because there are so many possibilities.
so, i'll be spending the last february evening of 2007 scrapbooking - with any luck or energy. hooray! tomorrow is march and we're that much closer to spring, cherry blossoms and things getting GREENER!

in anticipation of warmer weather {which is still a bit away}, i picked up this cute little outfit for my daughter at babygap.

i love babygap sales. =) i think it'll look cute. i don't know why but i have so much more fun shopping for my daughter than for myself. probably because the clothing is cuter. i mean, c'mon, who wouldn't want butterfly applique on their capris? =) if i had the extra time {insert laugh}, i'd love to learn how to make my own clothing, drapes, etc. i think it'd be so fun to make whatever you wanted to wear or do something decorative for the home from scratch. since that's not going to happen anytime soon, i guess that means i'll just have to be fairly dedicated in shopping the sales like everyone else.

cheers!

good things.

2007-02-19T11:11:00.000-08:00

{nope, this isn't an excerpt from martha stewart living}.

just a rash of good things lately that have me, as my daughter would say, "happy, happy, happy!". i'm not a positive person, by nature. and, the past year has been a difficult one for us {so, it didn't do much to help me in my pursuit of being more positive about things}. we FINALLY sold our townhome. it's been on the market for almost a year. a very hot real estate market went cold on us just as we relocated to a new part of the state and moved into a new home. it meant 6 months of footing two mortgages. lots of fights. lots of tears. lots of frustration. we got the good news last weekend and locked things up early last week. yesterday we came out of attorney review. and, we will close in march. ::sigh:: my husband and i are exhausted from this experience. i think if we can avoid moving - EVER - again, we'll try.

i also received a lovely surprise on friday from friend, jillian, who sent me the sweetest valentine's care package. it was filled with hand-crafted goodies, yummy ribbons and even a "bitty bag o'fun", like stamps, pearl string, more ribbon and flowers.
here's a little piece of the fun:

a huge thanks to jillian for putting this package together. it was the last thing i expected, especially at the end of a long, drawn-out, emotional week. what a pick-me-up!

now that things are leveling off a bit, i want to dip back into scrapbooking. i've been experiencing this wave of exhaustion now that a huge stress has been lifted off our shoulders. i made some valentine's day cards last week...does that count? the picture on the top of this post is a quick shot of the detailing on one of my cards.

it's been fantastically warm today with temps in the 50's. love it! i'm sure we have more cold and snow in store before i can officially break out short-sleeve shirts and flip-flops, but i'll take what i can get now. all these thoughts of spring have me thinking of a swap i'd like to do towards the end of next month. anyone interested? it'll be themed...and fun. more details later.

oh, and happy chinese new year to all {which was officially sunday}. i have a feeling it's going to be a good year. or, is that just the luck 'o the pig talking? =)

sweet.

2007-02-13T12:40:00.000-08:00

hi, all. i've been bad at blogging lately. there's just been so much going on. some good. some that has me in a funk. most importantly, though, the family is getting better. we were all sick...yes, again...last week; but, hubs and daughter had it the worst. DH was diagnosed with bronchitis last week and is getting better. DD had something similar, plus an ear infection, so she finished up the antibiotics today. it's so good to see them on the mend...
i participated in a fun ribbon, buttons & flower swap through the poppy ink boards and got my swap stuff yesterday. it was really a nice pick-me-up too. my swap "partner" was sarah rice and she was terrific at it. my swap package came all nicely organized in a little case with divided sections. sarah - what a terrific idea you've given me for future RAKs and swaps...

i felt badly that i didn't have a load of flowers to pass on her way, but oddly enough, it's like she knew that and i received a plethora of them.
when you get a chance, stop by sarah's blog. she's also a DT member for eye candy kits. so, stop by there, too, and check out her awesome layouts in the eye candy gallery.
anyway, sarah, thank you, again. this was such a sweet surprise. =)

cherish.

2007-02-02T19:28:00.000-08:00

well, part of this post relates to the title and part of it doesn't.
what a weekend! my family has been hit by, as i have dubbed it, "the plague".
hubs came home on friday, complaining about the nausea he had all day at work. i manifested his symptoms and then some, so by saturday morning, the bathroom became my closest companion. fortunately, our relationship was short-lived...by saturday afternoon, we started parting ways.

amelia's been haunted by head and chest congestion and we took her to the doctor this morning after about a week of monitoring it all. turns out that she has a slight ear infection in one ear, so we'll be giving her amoxicillan for the next 10 days. hopefully, that'll help with the chronic coughing and congestion issues too.

even though he did get the stomach bug to full-blown proportions, hubs still has a body-rattling cough. if he reads this, i hope he has called the doctor's office like he said he would. =)

yuk...i really hate the winter. and its germs.

on a lighter note, i finished my latest layout. whew! this one took some work. i used the basic sketch from basic grey's january 2007 newsletter.

journaling reads:

"Moments, like the one in this picture, are meant to cherish. We went to meet your cousin, Sam, and we were all having such a nice time with all the family around...you were lying on Pop-Pop's tummy...and at 6 months, your hair still had a red tint to it. I love everything about this picture...your big, blue eyes...your sweet, paisley shirt...and, yes, the crazy, chicken fuzz strawberry blonde hair."

lots of work - stitching and the closest encounter of the exacto-kind.

i was on the fence about stitching around every circle, but i *think* i'm content with the end result - it's more freestyle for me this way.

thanks for dropping by!

the groundhog.

2007-02-02T10:26:00.000-08:00

happy february! looks like the groundhog is giving us a reprieve from winter this yea by giving us a warming prediction of an early spring.
speaking of groundhogs, i may have to watch groundhog's day this afternoon. if you've never seen, it's a hoot.

yesterday was super-busy. cleaned, did laundry, baked banana bread, made chicken parmesan for dinner and somehow managed to find the time to start taking down the bottom half of the wallpaper in the dining room. sometimes my daughter's nap-time becomes the other extension of my day - i run around some days trying to cram as much as possible into a 2-3 hour window. today's been a bit different. winter colds have become a nemesis around here. after the stomach bug on monday/tuesday, amelia's now dealing with head and chest congestion. does it ever end? apparently not. poor thing. she was up so many times last night and she's been so needy today that i really don't have a prayer of doing more than holding her or playing games with her when she's up. thank goodness we're having leftovers tonight. i seriously do not thing i'd be able to get a meal together from scratch otherwise! i guess i'm counting on Punxsutawney Phil's prediction of an early spring. actually, i'm way past spring. i want summer. flip flops and tank tops. walks in the park. putting amelia on the swing. an evening dinner outside with a glass of wine. yeah...i'm definitely not cut out for winter weather or chilly temperatures.

on a completely different note...i'm trying to work on my next layout. did a bit of it on wednesday night. all the elements are there. now i need to piece it together...and do a bit of stitching. i thought i'd give ya a sneak peak:

i was inspired by basic grey's january newsletter and the layout sketch provided in it.

my scrapdesk is such a mess. once and awhile i think about the basement in our house. unchartered territory - it's basically housing boxes we didn't unpack from our move, a barely-used treadmill {*blush*}, a utility room and another storage room. lots of that lovely, dark, 70's paneling on the walls. i'm looking forward to the day when we can turn that area into something more - a rec/entertainment room and maybe make a craft room off to the side by putting up another wall. yeah - that'd be great...some room to sprawl. and maybe a nice block table in the middle for scrapping with friends.

i'll post my new layout as soon as it's finished! i've got ideas for my next one, thanks to the scrapjacked crew and ali e.
i thought i had at least through this weekend for the entry, but that's OK. i'm super-excited about a side title and some extensive journaling i'd like to do on it.

well, off to enjoy groundhog's day. =)

RAK Journal Winner

2007-01-31T18:32:00.000-08:00

...and the winner is nicole!

nicole, please send me your email. i will send this journal off to you as soon as i can get to the post office.

ladies, thank you for participating. i'll be trying to do a RAK every other month or so. in any event, please stop by the blog anytime! =)

tagged.

2007-01-30T18:20:00.001-08:00

alrighty then...this was a bit delayed...the family got sick after the weekend activities and we're just starting to recover from a wicked case of the stomach bug...

i was tagged by jillian to list 6 weird or quirky things about myself. i actually had to enlist my husband's help, because i couldn't think of 6. {and, here i was thinking i wasn't so weird...}.

1. {according to hubs} i refuse to answer questions by giving an answer not related to the question. {please keep in mind, he's an attorney - so, he's always thinking along the lines of "yes/no", and, in my mind, things aren't always so black & white...and i disagree with his opinion - sort of}.

2. {also according to hubs} i incessantly apologize for things that don't warrant an apology; but, i don't apologize for things that should receive an apology. {and, i feel like i'm always apologizing, warranted or not}.

3. i eat fast food french fries are with a non-ketchup condiment. {e.g. mcdonald's french fries must be dipped in sweet and sour sauce; wendy's french fries must be accompanied by bbq sauce. if we travel long distances on the road, we'll hit either of these places - mostly the latter of the two...so, if you're wondering what i get at BK...the answer is, "i don't visit BK". ::smile:: and for the record, in & out burger is the best!}.

4. i love ketchup. french fries {at home or in restaurants} and other foods generally serve as a vehicle to consume ketchup. i don't know why i like it so much and i don't have it often. which may explain why i feel the need to make up for "lost" ketchup consumption. =)

5. {according to hubs} i don't mind vacuuming or dusting {well, the jury's still out on dusting...}, but i can't stand washing the kitchen floor. i don't know why - it's just not a preferable house chore.

6. i can't stand sink clutter, so i don't like to leave dishes in the sink.

i don't know a ton of people with blogs, so i feel the need to tag some people who threw their hat into the RAK ring from Tuesday's post, and some other PI folks. I hope you ladies will take a minute and list out some of your quirks! So, Cathy, Celeste and Susannah - you ladies have been tagged!

on a completely unrelated note, i'll be posting the chandelier journal RAK winner sometime tomorrow. i also hope to post another layout later this week.

thanks for stopping by! =)

love & adore

2007-01-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

okay, okay...so, here is my newest layout, using the picture i mentioned in a post earlier this week.

my layouts are really simple at this point. i'm working on mixing more paper, but i find i like really simple and clean looking layouts, in general. it's freestyle and it's the one i always keep coming back to. maybe that'll change. i'm really a newbie with PSE, so if anyone can give me any pointers to where to take pictures of your layouts and against what kind of backdrop to get better results, i'd appreciate the tip{s}.

so, here it is...

most of the materials are from the PI january kit...minus the cardstock layering the gold ric rac and the fibers i threaded through the stamp {which are from basic grey's blush line...love basic grey...}. journaling reads, "i love and adore your wide-eyed expressions - it's the look of pure sweetness. love, mommy. amelia ~ 9 months. may 2006."

funny, when i first saw this paper in the store, i knew i wanted to exacto out some of these awesome branches...and then it was in january's PI kit!

well, it's my first posted layout. might not seem like a major accomplishment, but it's a big one to me...especially, since i don't have a ton of fancy equipment at home.

thanks for looking. =)

i'll be posting 6 quirky & weird things about me later...

frigid.

2007-01-26T10:56:00.000-08:00

i just went outside to get the mail and almost froze my tookus off. holy moly! it's about 23 degrees and really windy. i guess after walking around for the past month, marveling at the 60 degree temps and wondering aloud, "where is winter?", it's finally here.

so happy that i just finished the last bit of wallpapering that will not require the legerdemain of an exacto-knife. which leaves the bottom portion of wallpaper and the wallpaper surrounding the central air controls. i'm hoping that hubs will help with that tomorrow.

okay, so what's with the crazy word and the link to webster's online? i was reading my friend, jillian's, blog and discovered that she, like me, is one for vocabulary and learning new words...this is just the thing i was made fun of for in middle and high school. so, i think i'm going to challenge myself to get back into this habit and work on adding to my vocab. i usually do much better with this when it involves words that have a tangible meaning to something in my life - or something i already know. we'll see how it goes.

i've also started to read more since the new year. something else that fell to the wayside...i used to always, ALWAYS read books...voraciously - one after the other. for some reason it stopped - and this is long before i had a child. i actually just finished a book entitled One True Thing by Anna Quindlen. it was such a well-written, loving, yet sad book. i will have to make a mental note to read more from this author.

hubby is always reading. just like his dad. reads books, reads the paper. always knows what's going on in current events. and, meanwhile, i'd just like to figure out how to tack on about 5 extra hours to my day. ::sigh:: i guess i do a fair bit of reading with my daughter, who just adores her books. so, does that count towards reading more?

well, i'm off. i started working on my new layout of amelia {see yesterday's post} and i'm stumped! i thought i knew where i was going and even sketched out the page. wouldn't you know it? i'm stuck! i exacto-knifed some flowers, branches and the little birdie from basic grey's cherish paper and positioned it around the photo...and now i'm running into creative issues. too hard to describe. i think one of my downfalls is that i don't enjoy the creative process of scrapbooking as much as i should. i hyper-scrutinize everything i do, partly because of the overwhelming talent i see everywhere. so, i really should just take a deep breath, and a step back, and lighten up a bit, right? let's see if it works...

i'll be back later and probably post tomorrow...we have a few things going on this weekend, which i'll talk about later. plus, i've been tagged by jillian to list 6 quirky things about myself. i'm actually going to enlist my husband's help - not that i can't list 6 by myself - but, it'll be more for his amusement and i'm sure to get a good wisecrack or two. =)

inspiration.

2007-01-25T10:27:00.000-08:00

whew! what a day. not one of my daughter's best either. today she's been bratty and moody, which frightens me that it starts this young with little girls. hopefully, it'll blow over and she'll be back to her sweet self. we met a friend and her daughter for some browsing, shopping and lunch and survived the experience! i think we'll both be putting our feet up this afternoon.

i'm going to do a little scrapbooking after i post this. and i hope i have this picture on hand. this photo of amelia at 9 months will be my inspiration piece for my next layout:

i took a bajillion photos that day of her. the trouble is that i have all of those photos to scrap, and i would like to keep just this photo on one layout...all by itself. so, i have to think about how i want to compile some of those other photos.
looking at this picture, it's so hard to think of her in any way other than sweet. but, i guess we girls all have our days!

i found some other inspiring items for the home. these darling candlestick holders are my inspiration piece for possibly having pineapple accents to the dining room.

and now that the holidays are over, i'm on the hunt for a new decorative plaque for the front steps to the house. not sure if this will be too hidden with the holly shrubs nearby, but i thought it was cute.

our house has hardwood floors throughout, though some of it is still carpeted - like the family room and most of the upstairs bedrooms {ack! there's pink carpeting in our bedroom that i'm itching to tear up!}. i thought these rugs looked fresh and crisp...but i'm not ready to buy area rugs yet...

and, last, but not least, my favorite new accessory pieces:

i just think these vases are just so pretty. i could see them filled with shells, pinecones, etc.

well, enough daydreaming. off to do some work!

brrrrr...

2007-01-24T11:37:00.000-08:00

well, this was the view outside of my house on monday morning...

of course, now it's wednesday and there are only tiny patches of snow hiding in the cool shadows...but still, it was a very, chilly and wintery greeting...once again reminding me that the warmer months are still far enough away. guess i should get around to taking the last holiday decoration down. i don't know why i haven't - probably because it's outside and i don't see it constantly. until i leave the house or pull up the drive.

amelia seemed nonplussed over the snow. she was much more intrigued with the glass pieces i have temporarily on the bay-window. she sprouted upward recently in a bit of a growth spurt and can reach more things. better move them out of her grasp.

of course, she flashed me an innocent, "ma, i PROMISE to be totally carefully with your crystal bowl" look.

i have all my cute valentine's decor up already. i don't have a lot of it and just started collecting some pretties this year. but, there are adorable, little felt hearts adorning some of the cabinets in the kitchen, a "sweetheart" of a welcome sign in the foyer and a budding, pink heart wreath perched above the bed in the master bedroom. i find i like to slowly acquire my decorations for the holidays…each new year brings with it a host of new decorations…eye-pleasing color combinations. i like my collection to be a mish-mosh of favorites, coordinated accordingly and placed in different areas of the house. it’s nice to look back and say, “i remember i got that the year…” and have some memories associated with that inanimate item.
in other news…dining room is coming along slowly. hubby pulled the chair-rail this weekend to expose the wallpaper underneath and i have taken those remains down. my husband’s eager handiwork left some nice gashes in the wall, but nothing that a little spackle and sanding can’t remedy.

there are a few tricky areas i have to tackle next, and they’ll probably have to wait until my husband’s around, which means mustering up some patience for either this weekend or next weekend {we have some family obligations this weekend, which may mean it gets put off….ho hum…}. we have to take down the control box to the central air and take down the wallpaper around that {weird, huh?}; and, we have to exacto-knife the second pattern of wallpaper that goes from where the chair-rail used to be {about mid-way on the wall}, down to the floor where there’s another chair-rail molding that runs along where the floor and wall meet. Since the wallpaper runs behind that molding as well {ugh}, the exacto-knife will be used to cut the wallpaper neatly along the rail since we’d like to keep that up and not tear it down. but, after that, i can run to the paint store for the fun part…getting the paint! more to come in the next few days...

RAK This Way...

2007-01-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

hi & welcome to my little corner of the world...
this is my first, ever RAK. i stumbled across these at old navy the other day and thought they were super cute, especially after the chandelier hubbub that was taking place over at poppy ink in december.

very cute for jotting down your thoughts, making a laundry-list of stuff to do or for sketching out your next scrapbook layout...very compact, so it can fit in most purses or tote bags...sweet black & white plaid interior lining. And did i mention super cute?
i have one of these journals to give away...so, if you would like me to enter your name in my *RAK* drawing, please drop me a little note. {i like little notes and nice visitors}.
i hope to make continual improvements on my blog, making it a fun place to stop on by for a quick read or some inspiration. please feel free to drop by for a visit...whenever!
i will make the drawing announcement for, say, next tuesday? good luck!

out with the old...in with the...

2007-01-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

new mantra for the new year. for me, the new year means the start of fun, new stuff by establishing some personal "challenges".
so, personal challenge #1: dining room makeover. we moved to our new home in july, 2006. it's a little over 30 years old and, while the former owners too good care of the place and made some updates, some updating still remains and - er - some of their updates are not our taste.
this applies to the pinky-peach floral dining room wallpaper. so, out with the old wallpaper scheme....in with something a little new...a little fresh. take down the chair rail. prime and paint the walls.
it's slowly coming along and i usually work on it an hour here and there when the kiddo is taking her nap.
i picked out the paint color already. "barley" by benjamin moore. i loved the fact that it was a feature color in the pottery barn mags during the fall and early winter seasons.

we are without a dining room set right now and it'll probably be another year or two until we buy the one we've already picked out {yay! one income joys!}. but, a girl can dream...and plan...so, i think i'd like to throw up some silk drapes on the windows... and i'd like to do pineapple or starfish accents.

i know the accents might sound bizzare, but i've started planning it in my head, and it's not {that} hideous.
my primary hope is that i like the color after it's up on the walls. we did a little sample swatch of this color...benjamin moore sells little jars that you can test the color prior to buying loads of paint. i wish i were a little braver with color instead of always going with the subdued look. but, i will look to punch things up a bit with accent pieces. fortunately, this is a step-by-step process, which means: i still have plenty of time to plan. and, i'm only starting with the walls...

anyway...gotta run and take down some more wallpaper!

poppy ink's qotd {01.16.07}

2007-01-16T09:35:00.001-08:00

Name: Nicole
Hometown: Flemington, NJ
Number of candles that appeared on your last birthday cake? 28
Married/Single/Partners/Other? Married
Children?: Yes. One.
Why did you start scrapbooking? Innocently enough, to compile my recipes in a fun and unique way - other than the card indexes used by my grandmother and mother. then i went to photos.
How long have you been scrapbooking/stamping/etc.? 6 years or so.
What is your favorite type of adhesive; ie, Tape runner, photo splits, mono adhesive or glue? seems i turn to mono adhesive for most things.
What size are your albums, 12x12, 8.5x11 or other? 12x12
Navy or Baby Blue? Red or Pink? navy & pink
Do you journal on all or most of your pages? in some way, shape or form......
How do you do most of your journaling, hand written or computer? a mix.
Do you use stickers or die cuts, or both? both.
Do you like to experiment or stick to what you know best? experiment. otherwise, i fear getting into a rut with scrapbooking - and it's too creative for that.
What type of lettering do you use for most of your titles, sticker letters, die letters or self lettering for titles? a mix of all these things, plus others.
What is your favorite embellishment? love ribbons, love buttons. i'm just starting to get into rub-ons. would like to try chipboard. and acrylic paint. ugh. the list goes on.
"Know the date..." or "What's the date? for your pics? sometimes i'm better at it then others. if i don't write it down, i tend to forget.
Do you redo a “bad page” or just “let it be”? redo.
What is your perfect scrapbooking atmosphere? (Quiet or music, snack or starve?) i just go with the moment. sometimes my husband watching the football game is my background noise.
Scrap for hours or scrap when you have a spare moment? spare moment.
What memorabilia do you include in your scrapbooks, if any?
i haven't been including a lot of memorabilia as of late.
What types of albums have you worked on or do you plan to do that you are excited about? i would like to work with a 7 gypsies notebook and do an altered project that involves the holidays. stay tuned......
What do you like best about scrapbooking? it's a creative outlet for me. on the flip side, i'm my own worst critic.
Have you done any swaps that you’d like to tell us about or do you plan to host any fun swaps in the future? i would LOVE to host a swap and stumbled across a great one on a fun-looking blog that i just may have to add to my fun & inspiring section...
Do you have a favorite product? why limit it to one? American Crafts, Close To My Heart, Basic Grey, KI Memories are just a couple of the many...
Do you have any helpful hints you’d like to share? i use tweezers to place my titles. it helps me be more precise with the alignment.
If someone gave you $100.00 to spend on scrapbooking, what would you buy? ha - where do i start?
What is the scrapbooking resource (book, magazine etc) that you repeatedly go back to for inspiration? some of my autumn leaves idea books. poppy ink. scrapbooking mags.
How much time per week do you spend at scrap sites (not shopping sites)? too much. i need to spend more of that time working on some of my projects - scrapbooking & non-scrapbooking.
What is your favorite scrapbook supply place? (It can be online, store or catalog). i go wherever i can find the product{s} i am looking for at that moment.
How would you best describe your scrapbooking style? freestyle. i am still developing my style and i hope to post some of my LO's to my blog soon....

august & everything after...

2007-01-15T13:22:00.000-08:00

so, a little bit more about me and the reason behind the name of this blog {does there need to be a reason?}.
i'm still in my twenties, but some days i can't believe how i'm creeping closer and closer to the big 3-0. i guess i've built it up in my mind - i have no idea why.
the past few years have been a whirlwind to me. but, i feel like a huge mile-marker was established after the birth of our daughter last august. {hence..."august & everything after"...and here you might've been thinking i was a die-hard counting crows fan.}
i'm including a pic of me and my hubby. it's from our honeymoon in 2004. we went to napa and SF and spent 10 glorious days soaking up the ways and weather of the west coast. {as huge "foodies" and lovers of cooking, we proceeded to eat our way through the trip - hey if you can't work out like a fiend and drop the weight before the wedding, what's the point of a little self-indulgence for the big celebration afterwards?}. if it weren't so expensive and it didn't mean moving away from family, i'd seriously contemplate the move. well, it's not like the NE is that much less expensive, but you get the idea.
in this photo, we're standing outside the martini house in napa - er - st.helena. {i highly recommend the kobe beef burger and sitting outside under the lovely pomegranate trees, near the tiny coi pond}.
yikes! this feels like ages ago. we had such a great time then. but, august & everything after's been pretty unbelievable too.
hopefully, in the next couple of days i'll be able to put together some pics of my latest project, which involves renovating the dining room {tearing down wallpaper and chair-rail to get it all ready for a fresh coat of paint}. also, i hope to be announcing my first RAK by the end of the week. thanks for stopping by...

here goes.....

2007-01-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

{hi, welcome & happy new year.}

geez. i have no idea where to begin. i am posting my very first blog "blip" after spending an hour tearing wallpaper down in my dining room. i am now enjoying the little bit of "down time" i have left be for my daughter wakes up from her much needed afternoon nap.
so, why did i start my blog?
this is a question i have been asking myself lately, as, by no means, do i have the time to kill and was eagerly looking for something else to do.
but.....i guess i am eagerly looking for ways to branch out in 2007.....creative ways.....
i started my new years with a new goal {oh, okay, resolution....} to complete one scrapbook page every 1-2 weeks and have been doing just that {haha, with only 2 weeks into the new year.....i'll pat myself on the back for lasting this long.......}.
seriously, i've been feeling a little left behind in the creative realm. i spent enough of 2006 poking around, visiting other blogs, seeing super-fantastic talent everywhere.....and i would actually like to be a part of it all.
so, i want to be more creative. that's my goal.....er......resolution for this year.
i'm getting off to a slow start, but i'm starting.....
...with renovating the dining room {and committing to a color i want to paint it}.
...with finishing a LO last weekend and starting plans for my next.
...and with posting my first blog.
not much, but a start.
see, i have this fear that my daughter will know more about computers and technology and have more digital where-with-all by the age of 10 then i will have now at 28. i marvel at how much people know in this area.
now that i've done a couple of little, creative things, i want to pick it up a bit. try photoshop. embellish. so, as i do these things and others, i'll be posting them and sharing...hoping i can inspire others like i've been inspired by so many...and hoping that a year later i can look back and say - "wow.....look what i can do now...."
{n}