Wishing all of you a very blessed Thanksgiving today!
We are having a nice and quiet holiday at home. Mom will come join us, Roger arrived safely after what I hear was a huge dumping of snow in Finland and Mandi and I are both happy and healthy! It feels good to just be quiet.
Let the holiday season begin!
Until next time,
Blessings!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wednesday, November 26th *edited*
Update coming soon...been super busy getting my house decorated and cleaned! All 4 trees are up and decorated....house is all cleaned and it looks like Christmas here!!
more later...off to workout.....
so, yeah...I am DONE!! got everything made for tomorrow and now all I have to do is pop the bird in the oven! I even got inspired this morning and decided to bake a pie for dessert tomorrow (course we are having our ice cream like always...) and so far, it looks yummy (did a chocolate pecan pie, courtesy of Emeril himself!)!! I am so thrilled...this is the first Thanksgiving where I am so far ahead of my game (both Thanksgiving and Christmas)...I won't know what to do with myself tomorrow! LOL I really think that part of it is that I seem to have gotten control over my life and things are now balanced well and I am feeling really contented...such a blessing for me since these past couple years have been kinda chaotic...nuff said! :)
On the scrappy front, still working on some holiday projects, but I did finish the one I showed ya'll a sneak of, so without further adieu, here it is...my "Days 'til Christmas" cookie sheet calendar!!! I had a blast making this. I have wanted to make one of these for a couple years now and this month, at the Scrapfreak, they were selling a kit designed by ChickieShannon and I jumped on it!! We got a cookie sheet, some rubs, some Grungeboard and a few miscellaneous embellies. I added my own additional embellies, patterned paper, paint and chipboard letters to complete it! It is now hanging proudly in my kitchen, anxiously awaiting the first day of December!!
On the fun front..took Miss Mandi to see Twilight this past weekend...OH MY HECK!!! It was so good! I really enjoyed it. Was it as good as the book? Nope! Was the acting kinda cheesy? Yep! but, it was fun and very entertaining! Miss Mandi loved it too!
Everyone is all hot for Edward, and, yep, he is cute and all but I seriously have the hots for James!! Something about a bad boy I guess!! While I wouldn't kick Edward outta my bed, I'd take James first for sure! Either way, I am super excited to hear that they have confirmed they will do a movie version of New Moon! It was kinda up in the air dependent on how Twilight did and I guess it did alright since they announced that they will do the next book!! Yay!!! Too bad it will be at least another years wait...
so, that's it...just hanging, waiting on Roger to get home and working in the sCRAP room on some holiday gifts! I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow!
Until next time,
Blessings!
more later...off to workout.....
so, yeah...I am DONE!! got everything made for tomorrow and now all I have to do is pop the bird in the oven! I even got inspired this morning and decided to bake a pie for dessert tomorrow (course we are having our ice cream like always...) and so far, it looks yummy (did a chocolate pecan pie, courtesy of Emeril himself!)!! I am so thrilled...this is the first Thanksgiving where I am so far ahead of my game (both Thanksgiving and Christmas)...I won't know what to do with myself tomorrow! LOL I really think that part of it is that I seem to have gotten control over my life and things are now balanced well and I am feeling really contented...such a blessing for me since these past couple years have been kinda chaotic...nuff said! :)
On the scrappy front, still working on some holiday projects, but I did finish the one I showed ya'll a sneak of, so without further adieu, here it is...my "Days 'til Christmas" cookie sheet calendar!!! I had a blast making this. I have wanted to make one of these for a couple years now and this month, at the Scrapfreak, they were selling a kit designed by ChickieShannon and I jumped on it!! We got a cookie sheet, some rubs, some Grungeboard and a few miscellaneous embellies. I added my own additional embellies, patterned paper, paint and chipboard letters to complete it! It is now hanging proudly in my kitchen, anxiously awaiting the first day of December!!
On the fun front..took Miss Mandi to see Twilight this past weekend...OH MY HECK!!! It was so good! I really enjoyed it. Was it as good as the book? Nope! Was the acting kinda cheesy? Yep! but, it was fun and very entertaining! Miss Mandi loved it too!
Everyone is all hot for Edward, and, yep, he is cute and all but I seriously have the hots for James!! Something about a bad boy I guess!! While I wouldn't kick Edward outta my bed, I'd take James first for sure! Either way, I am super excited to hear that they have confirmed they will do a movie version of New Moon! It was kinda up in the air dependent on how Twilight did and I guess it did alright since they announced that they will do the next book!! Yay!!! Too bad it will be at least another years wait...
so, that's it...just hanging, waiting on Roger to get home and working in the sCRAP room on some holiday gifts! I hope you all have a very blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow!
Until next time,
Blessings!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Keeping busy....
with this!
LOL, joining the ranks of those who put up sneaks..hee hee!! Once it is totally finished I'll share the whole thing, but for now that is all you get! I really enjoyed working on this particular project and can't wait until it is all done!!
I've also added some of my favorite Christmas tunes to the ol blog again. If you are a Grinch, Scrooge or Bah Humbug type, and don't want to listen (Mary..LOL), all ya have to do is scroll to my playlist and press stop! I have been listening to my holiday tunes for awhile now and loving it! It seems like this holiday is moving way to fast, and will be here and over before we know it, so, I'm gonna enjoy all of it while I can! In fact, the remaining two trees are going up this weekend and then my house should be fully decorated!
On the shopping front, I've got almost all of my shopping done! Score!! Roger, the biggest pain to buy for, is the last man standing for me...anyone got any ideas on what to get the guy who has every gadget known to man? More clothes than his wife? dvd's and cd's up the wazoo?? Seriously, I'm stumped this year and bad!!
So, there ya have it, a little recap of how my holiday is moving along. I'll be spending this weekend in the sCRAP room working on more holiday gifties and fun stuff, with the exception of seeing Twilight with Miss Mandi! Yep, can't wait for that..good times I tell ya, good times!
alright, I hear the Twilight soundtrack blasting from Miss Mandi's room...and it's a Grey's night tonight so I better get a move on....
Until next time,
Blessings!
LOL, joining the ranks of those who put up sneaks..hee hee!! Once it is totally finished I'll share the whole thing, but for now that is all you get! I really enjoyed working on this particular project and can't wait until it is all done!!
I've also added some of my favorite Christmas tunes to the ol blog again. If you are a Grinch, Scrooge or Bah Humbug type, and don't want to listen (Mary..LOL), all ya have to do is scroll to my playlist and press stop! I have been listening to my holiday tunes for awhile now and loving it! It seems like this holiday is moving way to fast, and will be here and over before we know it, so, I'm gonna enjoy all of it while I can! In fact, the remaining two trees are going up this weekend and then my house should be fully decorated!
On the shopping front, I've got almost all of my shopping done! Score!! Roger, the biggest pain to buy for, is the last man standing for me...anyone got any ideas on what to get the guy who has every gadget known to man? More clothes than his wife? dvd's and cd's up the wazoo?? Seriously, I'm stumped this year and bad!!
So, there ya have it, a little recap of how my holiday is moving along. I'll be spending this weekend in the sCRAP room working on more holiday gifties and fun stuff, with the exception of seeing Twilight with Miss Mandi! Yep, can't wait for that..good times I tell ya, good times!
alright, I hear the Twilight soundtrack blasting from Miss Mandi's room...and it's a Grey's night tonight so I better get a move on....
Until next time,
Blessings!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
it's coming!!!!!
I'm just sayin'!! Mandi and I are set to see it!!!! Can't, can't, can't wait!!!!!!!!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Feel good moment...
I love it when life or like I prefer to believe, God, presents you with a moment in time that just feels good. A moment where you are truly happy, where you are completely affected and it's for the better. I had such a moment the other day, it was a blessing for me.
A little back tracking (sorry, this might be a long post!) to this is my experience (which isn't a ton) and my appreciation for people with Special Needs. As a child, I went to an elementary school that was pretty forward in it's thinking (remember, this is back in the 60's..sheesh, here I go admitting my age! LOL) and our mentally challenged students or those that were in Special Education, were actually mainstreamed into our classrooms. Schools back in the day tended to keep those students in separate classrooms, away from the general population I guess you could say. Anyway, our school did not, like I said, they were mainstreamed with all of us. I was in 3rd grade and a boy with special needs, Keith (I'll never forget his name) took a liking to me. In his sweet way of showing me just how much he liked me, he picked me up in the hallway (Keith was a very big boy..big in stature...like a linebacker for the Bears! LOL) and threw me into the wall at the end of said hallway! I was terrified! Not of his disabilities but because some boy had just tossed me into a wall! Everyone (my parents, principal, teacher, Special Education coordinator, and me even) met to explain just why this had happened to me and that it wasn't meant to hurt me, but to show affection towards me. Of course, we were told it would never happen again! It was a most enlightening moment for me, to realize how differently Keith thought, and reacted, and it was the first time I realized that he was "special" (to that point I don't really remember thinking much of the special education kids). I think it was around that time too that I entertained the idea of becoming a Special Education teacher.
My high school did the same thing, mainstreaming of special education students into regular classrooms. However, there were a few students whose needs were so severe that they did remain in a Special Education wing in our school, not getting into the regular population much. As a junior and senior in high school, I volunteered in that wing a couple days a week, helping those students with schoolwork, or just help in any area they needed...tying shoes, holding books, basic life skills as well...again, furthering my desire to work with people of disablilites.
Sadly, I met up with some friends and my plans for life changed. I wanted to do other things and the idea of a teacher kinda went out the window. I have, however, always had an appreciation for individuals that have been handed disabilites that make life a struggle for them. I have the utmost respect for people who devote their lives to working with mentally disabled people, I really believe it takes a very special soul to do that kind of work.
Okay, now for my moment. I hope I'm not building this up too much (hee hee)..I was driving to the store, using what is a very busy road to get there. I mean busy, busy, busy road...always full of traffic, speed limits of between 45 and 50 miles an hour, the road I take everyday to get to the grocery store, Starbucks, Archiver's, the Antique Center, you name it! I was stopped at a red light, surrounded by tons of cars and I looked over to my right. There are the light, waiting to cross this busy street, was a young man I recognized (a man in his mid to late 20's) as the guy who almost always bags my groceries at the store. He is always very pleasant, bags them well (you know, not putting bread on the bottom, not filling them to heavy LOL) and even won a couple medals in our most recent Special Olympics. He was standing at this light with his headphones on, his mp3 player in hand and was singing at the top of his lungs! He was belting out his tunes like he was in a concert arena, every once in a while adding in a little dance move to boot! Watching him, live in the moment, enjoying himself and his music and obviously not caring one bit what anyone thought of him made me smile. It made me smile so that I couldn't stop smiling! I wasn't laughing at him, I was heart warmed by him. He made me feel good. I sat there mesmerized by him, thinking that this is how we all should enjoy the moment. I actually looked around at the neighboring cars to see other peoples reactions to him and sadly, it appeared like no one else even noticed him. Their loss. How can it be that people don't see something as wonderful as this?
The light changed, he walked away and I drove off. I drove off with a smile still on my face and as I type this and remember that moment, I feel the corners of my mouth turning up to a smile.
I thank whatever it was that intervened in my life that day, to show me something sweet and make me feel good. I wish I could have moments like that every day, to remind me just how special life is!
Until next time,
Blessings!
A little back tracking (sorry, this might be a long post!) to this is my experience (which isn't a ton) and my appreciation for people with Special Needs. As a child, I went to an elementary school that was pretty forward in it's thinking (remember, this is back in the 60's..sheesh, here I go admitting my age! LOL) and our mentally challenged students or those that were in Special Education, were actually mainstreamed into our classrooms. Schools back in the day tended to keep those students in separate classrooms, away from the general population I guess you could say. Anyway, our school did not, like I said, they were mainstreamed with all of us. I was in 3rd grade and a boy with special needs, Keith (I'll never forget his name) took a liking to me. In his sweet way of showing me just how much he liked me, he picked me up in the hallway (Keith was a very big boy..big in stature...like a linebacker for the Bears! LOL) and threw me into the wall at the end of said hallway! I was terrified! Not of his disabilities but because some boy had just tossed me into a wall! Everyone (my parents, principal, teacher, Special Education coordinator, and me even) met to explain just why this had happened to me and that it wasn't meant to hurt me, but to show affection towards me. Of course, we were told it would never happen again! It was a most enlightening moment for me, to realize how differently Keith thought, and reacted, and it was the first time I realized that he was "special" (to that point I don't really remember thinking much of the special education kids). I think it was around that time too that I entertained the idea of becoming a Special Education teacher.
My high school did the same thing, mainstreaming of special education students into regular classrooms. However, there were a few students whose needs were so severe that they did remain in a Special Education wing in our school, not getting into the regular population much. As a junior and senior in high school, I volunteered in that wing a couple days a week, helping those students with schoolwork, or just help in any area they needed...tying shoes, holding books, basic life skills as well...again, furthering my desire to work with people of disablilites.
Sadly, I met up with some friends and my plans for life changed. I wanted to do other things and the idea of a teacher kinda went out the window. I have, however, always had an appreciation for individuals that have been handed disabilites that make life a struggle for them. I have the utmost respect for people who devote their lives to working with mentally disabled people, I really believe it takes a very special soul to do that kind of work.
Okay, now for my moment. I hope I'm not building this up too much (hee hee)..I was driving to the store, using what is a very busy road to get there. I mean busy, busy, busy road...always full of traffic, speed limits of between 45 and 50 miles an hour, the road I take everyday to get to the grocery store, Starbucks, Archiver's, the Antique Center, you name it! I was stopped at a red light, surrounded by tons of cars and I looked over to my right. There are the light, waiting to cross this busy street, was a young man I recognized (a man in his mid to late 20's) as the guy who almost always bags my groceries at the store. He is always very pleasant, bags them well (you know, not putting bread on the bottom, not filling them to heavy LOL) and even won a couple medals in our most recent Special Olympics. He was standing at this light with his headphones on, his mp3 player in hand and was singing at the top of his lungs! He was belting out his tunes like he was in a concert arena, every once in a while adding in a little dance move to boot! Watching him, live in the moment, enjoying himself and his music and obviously not caring one bit what anyone thought of him made me smile. It made me smile so that I couldn't stop smiling! I wasn't laughing at him, I was heart warmed by him. He made me feel good. I sat there mesmerized by him, thinking that this is how we all should enjoy the moment. I actually looked around at the neighboring cars to see other peoples reactions to him and sadly, it appeared like no one else even noticed him. Their loss. How can it be that people don't see something as wonderful as this?
The light changed, he walked away and I drove off. I drove off with a smile still on my face and as I type this and remember that moment, I feel the corners of my mouth turning up to a smile.
I thank whatever it was that intervened in my life that day, to show me something sweet and make me feel good. I wish I could have moments like that every day, to remind me just how special life is!
Until next time,
Blessings!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
I caved...
and turned on the Christmas tunes!! I love to listen to my holiday music...just makes a girl smile, ya know? Yesterday I decided that this year I wanted yet another tree in my house...this will make 4 now, and this one is for my kitchen! I went searching for a little one to put up because I don't have a ton of good wall or counter space in there (where a tree would go), and I found a cute one at Target, score!!! As I was driving home, I just couldn't resist and so I turned on the XM holiday station (which is now programmed into the radio) and this will be what plays until Christmas Day is done!!
Got my cute little tree up last night and had it lit! Looks charming I have to say!! I'll take a pic later and share..
Today I started to bring up more Christmas decor and I am in quite the holiday mood! Tomorrow I'm doing some baking (making Christmas cookies for a crop) and I can't wait...my favorite two Christmas cookies will be in DA HOUSE!!!
Alright, just a quick post today...
Until next time,
Blessings!
Got my cute little tree up last night and had it lit! Looks charming I have to say!! I'll take a pic later and share..
Today I started to bring up more Christmas decor and I am in quite the holiday mood! Tomorrow I'm doing some baking (making Christmas cookies for a crop) and I can't wait...my favorite two Christmas cookies will be in DA HOUSE!!!
Alright, just a quick post today...
Until next time,
Blessings!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
SS Reflections
This month marks the fifth year anniversary of S.S. Reflections, an online scrapping and stamping magazine. I can't believe it was five years ago that I was a part of the first launch of this terrific ezine! I was so honored that Dawn asked me to be a part of her "crew" and I remember feeling so nervous when that first issue went live and my first article and designs were up for the world to see! Such a cool experience it was and has continued to be for me. While through these five years I've held different hats with S.S. Reflections, starting out as a member of the Stamping Deck and now a part-time contributor to the Digital Scrapbooking Deck, I am still honored to be a part of it! Dawn contacted me earlier this fall and asked if I would like to be a part of the anniversary celebratory issue and of course I jumped at the chance. Like I said, I'm a part-time contributor to the magazine at this point, and while I don't often contribute new articles, it is nice to know that I'm still "wanted" LOL!! I decided that for this issue I would create a few different pieces of work to reflect on the various decks that I have been a part of through these past years. I created a traditional scrapbook page, a stamped card, and a digital scrapbook layout. Since the ezine went live on November 1st, I am now able to share my designs here!!
For this traditional layout I used some pictures that I had tucked away for quite some time. Roger takes an extensive camping trip with his brother Wayne every few years and these pics are from one of his trips to Wyoming. I love the landscape picture of Roger and thought it would be cool to use! The other three pictures were also in landscape format but I decided to trim them to fit on the other side of the page. I also was able to make use of some Heidi Swapp ghost words that had been sitting in my stash for quite a long time..yay for using up stash!!!
For the card, I used a new set of stamps I recently purchased from Papertrey Ink...I just love the rustic look of this set and thought it would make a nice "fall" card! Papers used are from Stampin' Up.
Lastly, I created a digital layout. I don't do digital work often, but really enjoy creating digital layouts when I have the time! I love the ease of digital scrapbooking....no mess, clicking the undo button when something doesn't look right and my "papers" are never cut incorrectly!! LOL!! I took this picture of Mandi this summer and love it. I'm also a big Barry White fan and thought the title of his song "Your Sweetness is my Weakness" would be a perfect title for this layout. It totally speaks how I feel about my girl!!
In other news...spent last weekend at a scrapbooking retreat and had a BLAST!! I actually got quite a bit done and will share that later...there is seriously nothing like spending an entire weekend with your girlfriends scrapping and chatting...very good for the soul! Now I'm back in reality and ready to start getting the house ready for Christmas!! Got a few gifties I need to get started on, and I'm this close to turning on the holiday cd's!! I'm thinking this Friday, when I bake my first batch of Christmas cookies (to take to a crop this weekend..yay..more scrappy time) that the tunes will be a blasting!! While I hate winter, I love the holidays...so,
Until next time,
Blessings!
For this traditional layout I used some pictures that I had tucked away for quite some time. Roger takes an extensive camping trip with his brother Wayne every few years and these pics are from one of his trips to Wyoming. I love the landscape picture of Roger and thought it would be cool to use! The other three pictures were also in landscape format but I decided to trim them to fit on the other side of the page. I also was able to make use of some Heidi Swapp ghost words that had been sitting in my stash for quite a long time..yay for using up stash!!!
For the card, I used a new set of stamps I recently purchased from Papertrey Ink...I just love the rustic look of this set and thought it would make a nice "fall" card! Papers used are from Stampin' Up.
Lastly, I created a digital layout. I don't do digital work often, but really enjoy creating digital layouts when I have the time! I love the ease of digital scrapbooking....no mess, clicking the undo button when something doesn't look right and my "papers" are never cut incorrectly!! LOL!! I took this picture of Mandi this summer and love it. I'm also a big Barry White fan and thought the title of his song "Your Sweetness is my Weakness" would be a perfect title for this layout. It totally speaks how I feel about my girl!!
In other news...spent last weekend at a scrapbooking retreat and had a BLAST!! I actually got quite a bit done and will share that later...there is seriously nothing like spending an entire weekend with your girlfriends scrapping and chatting...very good for the soul! Now I'm back in reality and ready to start getting the house ready for Christmas!! Got a few gifties I need to get started on, and I'm this close to turning on the holiday cd's!! I'm thinking this Friday, when I bake my first batch of Christmas cookies (to take to a crop this weekend..yay..more scrappy time) that the tunes will be a blasting!! While I hate winter, I love the holidays...so,
Until next time,
Blessings!
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Finally....
I have time to post a new update! The end of October and first few days here in November have been crazy busy! Halloween was nice. I had my very own Michael Meyers (Halloween is my favorite horror flick of all time)and a special little devil to help hand out candy to the trick or treaters!
November came in and I've been busy trying to get things together for a scrapbooking retreat I am going to this weekend. I want to finally scrap our trip to Disney (before we go again LOL) that we took 5 years ago! Yeah, I had over 1250 pictures to sort through, find the ones I thought I'd like to use, then go through those and narrow it done even more while doing some editing to them...you know, color adjustments, cropping, removing the distractions from the background..ugh, such a chore it was! I have to say, I am getting to be a pro at using my Spot Healing Brush and the Clone Stamp!! LOL and, I got them all done...they are now sitting on an SD card ready to be popped into my little printer this weekend and scrapped!! I am almost packed up, just need to pull papers and some embellies and I think, I'll be good to go! I'm really excited to be going this weekend, hanging out with the girls, not having to be "mom" for a couple days!! Hopefully I'll have a lot to share here next week!
Otherwise, life in my world is pretty same ol same ol! Good thing! Just working my way through Christmas shopping and getting things ready for the holiday..hard to believe that it will soon be Thanksgiving!!
Alright, that's about all I have for now...need to get back to packing....
Until next time,
Blessings!
November came in and I've been busy trying to get things together for a scrapbooking retreat I am going to this weekend. I want to finally scrap our trip to Disney (before we go again LOL) that we took 5 years ago! Yeah, I had over 1250 pictures to sort through, find the ones I thought I'd like to use, then go through those and narrow it done even more while doing some editing to them...you know, color adjustments, cropping, removing the distractions from the background..ugh, such a chore it was! I have to say, I am getting to be a pro at using my Spot Healing Brush and the Clone Stamp!! LOL and, I got them all done...they are now sitting on an SD card ready to be popped into my little printer this weekend and scrapped!! I am almost packed up, just need to pull papers and some embellies and I think, I'll be good to go! I'm really excited to be going this weekend, hanging out with the girls, not having to be "mom" for a couple days!! Hopefully I'll have a lot to share here next week!
Otherwise, life in my world is pretty same ol same ol! Good thing! Just working my way through Christmas shopping and getting things ready for the holiday..hard to believe that it will soon be Thanksgiving!!
Alright, that's about all I have for now...need to get back to packing....
Until next time,
Blessings!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)