New Year's Eve + one little word

Here we sit, at home, on what is supposed to be the biggest party night of the year. But I am completely content to be here with Rob and the girls. I'm not really up to going out anyway. I caught Rob's nasty sinus infection/cold/general yuck, and Heidi has it too. Rob's started on Christmas night and Heidi and I started on the 29th. We had planned to have Rob's family and my good friend Melissa, aka George (long story) over, but canceled due to all the sickies. :-(

This is always a good day each year to think about goals for the next year and review what has happened the past year. I love the feeling of having a fresh start. So with that in mind, I've chosen the word "resilience" as my one little word for the year. If you aren't familiar with this concept, check out Ali Edwards' blog.

I chose resilience because someone recently told me that even though I have had lots of ups and downs in the past, I always seem to bounce back and get through. I never thought about myself that way before, and I think it's a really positive way to see things. So every morning, I will have the chance to be resilient, to start over and make each day better than the one before it. There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman called "Next 5 Minutes" that captures this principle beautifully:

I'm livin' the next five minutes,
like these are my last five minutes,
'cause I know the next minutes may be all I have
And if the next five minutes,
turn into the last five minutes,
I'm taking the next five minutes and starting all over again


::2008 Goals::
I am not so good at resolutions, so this year I am making some very general goals, stuff I can do every day that will make things a little better.

Pray often ~ Worship weekly ~ Study God's Word ~ Exercise daily ~ Eat a healthy diet ~ Create ~ Play ~ Listen ~ Learn ~ Connect ~ Reflect ~ Simplify

"They" will tell you that you shouldn't set general goals like this, that you should break them down and make them "measurable". And I will. But I need a list of things that I can accomplish, and not feel like a failure all the time. I figure if I can do at least ONE of these things every day, then I've met my goals. I think that sounds fair.

To hold myself a bit more accountable, I'll expand a bit on each goal:

Pray often: Pray when I'm happy, pray when I'm sad, pray when I'm thankful, pray when I'm frustrated...just talk to God all the time, like He's right there ('cause He is!)

Worship weekly: Make every effort to get to church every week. It's good for the kids, and it's good for me. God gave us the gift of worship and fellowship to strengthen our spirits.

Study God's word: Dust off the Bible and actually READ it.

Exercise daily: Move every day. Even if it's a walk around the block. It's better than nothing.

Eat a healthy diet: No more diets. Just balanced, healthy eating. Fruits and veggies, whole grains, the whole bit. Cooking at home more. Smaller portions. That's it.

Create: Digiscrap, paint, do hybrid project...doesn't matter. Just find something to create.

Play: Play with the girls. Play outside. Play my flute. Sing. Just play.

Listen: Listen more than I talk. 'Nough said.

Learn: Be open to learning new things.

Connect: Keep in touch with friends. Don't take Rob for granted.

Reflect: Think about each day and figure out what I can do better the next day.

Simplify: Get rid of clutter. Don't buy stuff I don't need. Recycle. Give stuff away.

So tomorrow is a fresh start. God is so good, giving us calendars so we can mark beginnings and endings. We humans are so limited that way.

I wish you a very blessed New Year.

Waiting to finish

Yup, I've neglected the blog again. But this time I think I've figured out why keeping this updated seems to be such a problem. I'm always waiting for the next thing to happen before I post...I'll post after our vacation...I'll post when I get a few pages scrapped...I'll post after Dad's surgery...I'll post after Christmas. And guess what? Here we are after Christmas already! So I'm going to try to catch up a month's worth of living in one post. Ready? LOL

::Disney Trip::
We had a fabulous time on our vacation in early December. We took a 4 day cruise on the Disney Wonder and then spent 2 1/2 days in Disney World (Florida). It was my intention to post all about our trip, but since it's been a while and I've run out of steam, I'll just post the pages I have done so far:



I have lots more pages to do, but at least this is a good start. I plan to make a Shutterfly book...it will be my first one. :-)

::Dad's Surgery::
My Dad had open heart surgery on December 14th and came through it with flying colors. They had to replace a heart valve, and the surgeon said it was the worst one he's ever seen. He was in the hospital for 4 days, and to look at him now, you'd never guess he ever had a problem. Modern medicine and God's healing power are truly amazing! Now, we just have to keep him from doing too much. His next big project is going to be remodeling our bathroom!

::Christmas::
We made it through! Unfortunately this year seemed a lot more stressful as far as all the planning goes. I think between our trip, and Dad's surgery, I had less time to get everything ready. Plus there were many changes in the plans for Christmas Day and I just don't deal well with changes like that. It's something I have to work on...being a bit more flexible.

My brother came into town on Saturday, 12/22 and we had our big turkey dinner on Sunday (at his request) at my parent's house. Then we spent Christmas Eve at their house too, opening presents in the early afternoon and having our traditional "snack dinner" afterward. That is a tradition we used to have at my grandparent's house when I was a kid, and Mom agreed to keep it going after they were gone. It's one of those time when it's OKAY to eat snacks for dinner!

There is more to add, but I'm going to end this for now and add more later. :-)

Little Rascals

Yup, that's what the girls are today...to put it lightly. It's not surprising, since they have the power of two! LOL

This morning I got so much done while the girls were in school...just a bunch of errands before we leave on our big trip on Sunday. I always feel so good when I have mornings like this. I feel so productive.

When we got home, I was making lunch and I noticed it was too quiet (always a scary thing!). Heidi was nearby but Gretchen was nowhere to be found, so I started calling for her. No response. I started searching the house, with Heidi by my side being the mini mommy, and we couldn't find her. I finally found her in the basement, hiding underneath the desk, behind a chair, with a box of cereal, munching away. She got a time out, not for eating cereal, but for hiding from me and sneaking around. Sigh. Age appropriate behavior, I guess...

So after lunch I was chatting with a friend on the phone, and once again it was quiet. This time both girls were missing. Heidi came downstairs asking for a cookie, but she had this strange little smile on her face, like she was up to something. I hung up a couple of minutes later and went to investigate. They had swiped a little pack of lemonade mix from the kitchen counter, took it upstairs and made themselves some lemonade in their little tea set in the play room. Most of the lemonade was spilled all over the carpeting. Arrgh!! I made them clean it up with towels and "sentenced" them to quiet time in their bedroom. It doesn't sound too quite right now. I'm not quite sure what to do with them...maybe make them scrub my kitchen floor? LOL Then I'll hear about how I'm the evil stepmother and they are Cinderella!

I think we have everything ready to go for the trip. I still have a lot of laundry to do, but that is always the case! ha ha I'm just hoping we have good weather Sunday morning when we get out of here. Last I heard it might be sleeting/snowing, and that is never good for flying.

Well, gotta get back to my preparations. Next time I post I hope to have lots of photos!

Thanksgiving weekend - we made it!

Yeah, I'm still here. Poor neglected blog! How about if I just throw a few pages on here to summarize what's been going on?

Christmas dresses, courtesy of my mom:

Preschool Thanksgiving Feast:

Preschool trip to the farm:

Interesting find in the ravine:

Halloweekend at Cedar Point, late October:

Thanksgiving dinner at Mom and Dad's house:

And a page about my favorite Christmas movie, White Christmas:


Whew! I shouldn't wait so long in between blog postings next time!

:: Today ::
I had one of those "I'm a complete idiot" days. First of all, I totally flaked on my dear friend Moosie (aka George) on going to a concert she was playing in this afternoon. I wish I could explain why I do things like this, but I really can't. It just didn't work out that way I had hoped. This will be on my list of things to discuss with my shrink on Wednesday (yup, I have one of those now...it's fabulous!!). Sadly, I also flaked on attending a baby shower this afternoon too. So I couldn't have gone to the concert anyway. Duh!!! I get so focused on certain things that I just mess up everything else.

I'm starting over tomorrow. Sigh.

:: This Week ::
It's just 6 days and counting until our big trip. We are taking a Disney cruise with the kids and my parents. Well, I should say they are taking us. It's their 40th anniversary this year and this is how they want to celebrate. You can't knock that!! The girls are really excited and have been counting down the days. I have my to-do list going and I'm trying not to panick...

I'm having a bought of insomnia the past couple of nights. Right now it's 3am and I'm not even close to being tired...

At least I'm being productive (well, sort of...)

:: New Product - Coming Soon to PDW! ::

I've been seeing these 6x12 pages around some blogs and galleries, and I just had to try a set of them. They are really fun! My CT girls went absolutely NUTS with them and made me 8 layouts the first night!! Check it out!




:: Deep thoughts by Mish ::

Today is the first day it really feels like fall here...almost winter, even. It's 40 degrees, windy, and we even saw a few snow flurries on our way to gymnastics! It makes me want to curl up with my favorite blankie and watch TV all day. But we managed to not only do gymnastics, but I took the girls to go vote with me, and then we made a trip to the library to get some Thanksgiving books.

I've been thinking about Thanksgiving a lot this past week, as I put away my Halloween decorations and try to think ahead. It's so easy to grumble about daily annoyances, like...

This leaky kitchen faucet is driving me nuts!

I hate doing laundry!

Ugh, I have to clean out the fridge...again!

Years ago I got an email that I have never forgotten. Every time you find yourself grumbling, find a way to turn it into something to be grateful for. So...

This leaky kitchen faucet is driving me nuts!
Thank you Lord, for providing enough water to make my faucet leak. Please be with those in Georgia, Florida, and other parts of the world who are struggling to find fresh water.

I hate doing laundry!
Thank you Lord, for giving me so many clothes that keep me warm, and thank you for the family who wears these clothes. It's my joy to be able to bless them with clean, folded clothes when they open their drawers in the morning.

Ugh, I have to clean out the fridge...again!
Thank you, Lord, for providing such an abundance of food to nourish our bodies. We are blessed to be able to enjoy a variety of foods, even fresh fruits and vegetables. Help us to use this resource to Your glory.

I know, I know...this is easier said than done. But I find that it's really important, as the weather gets colder and we have less daylight each day, to be purposeful about finding the joy in every little thing. Otherwise, I find myself in dark places and I know I'm not setting a good example for my kids.

:: Layouts ::

Here's a page from the baptism of our new little godson, Zachary. I decided to try a 6x12 size, using my new templates, and it was fun!

Credits


This one is from my Grandma's Halloween party.

Credits


Heidi helped me make this one. She jumped up on my lap while I was making it, and placed the stars, bat, ghost and swirl all by herself. She also gave me all the journaling. It was so cute I had to leave it just the way it was.

Credits

I'm also working on my Christmas gifts already. Mom is getting a CD calendar. I made these templates for the PDW It's a Date: Calendar Creator kit (very cool, BTW). So far I have 6 months done:

Jan-Feb-March

Credits

Oct-Nov-Dec

Credits

Okay well that's all for today. Adios!

Kibbles and Bits

Kibbles and bits, kibbles and bits, I'm gonna get me some Kibbles and Bits. Remember that commercial for dog food? For some reason that came to mind for a title today...lots of random, unrelated stuff.

Let's see...lots of stuff going on. Over the weekend the girls had their first official choir performance at church. I was so proud of them! The both got to stand in the front row and they knew all the words and motions. Yay! Sunday afternoon we tried to pick apples, but they U-pick was already done for the year (duh!). We enjoyed the beautiful fall day anyway. The girls rode ponies, played in the huge straw pile, listened to some music and we bought some cider. Not a total waste. Sunday evening my friend and I visited another friend at the funeral home who lost her dad. It's so sad to think that our parents aren't invincible and won't live forever. After that we got some amazing Indian food. It was my first time eating Indian and I hope it won't be the last!

This week so far we've been to the park, gymnastics, on a "leaf walk" around the neighborhood and I managed to successfully send pumpkin muffins for snack today. Of course I forgot it was brown day today, so the girls wore black and pink instead. Sigh. It was the first color day I've missed in two year of preschool, so I guess it's not so bad! LOL

Tomorrow night we are going to my grandma's place for their annual Halloween party. They love it because they can go door to door inside, so they don't need coats. Grandma lives in an independent retirement place that looks like a luxury hotel (at least to me!). Should be a good time.

A couple of new layouts:

Credits here

Credits here

Credits here

That's all for today - have a good one!

Comparisons can be dangerous

This morning after I dropped the girls off at school, one of the other moms approached me. Here is the conversation that followed.

Her: Are you Heidi and Gretchen's mom?
Me: Yes, that's me!
Her: Does someone else pick them up sometimes?
Me: Oh, you must have seen my mom last week. We were out of town and the girls were staying with she and my dad.
Her: Oh! Okay. I wasn't sure if you were the mom or she was the mom. She looks so young!
Me: Yup, that's my mom! She looks great, doesn't she?
Her: Yes! I can't believe she's the grandma! Oh, but I mean, you look young too, of course...

Well, you get the idea. She went on to invite us to join her family at McDonald's some day after school for lunch. Now, my mom DOES look great. She is 62 years old and people are always saying how young she looks. She's always taken good care of herself and always has her hair done, makeup on, decent looking outfit, jewelry, the whole nine yards. And then there is me, who shows up at school with no makeup, in jeans, a t-shirt and crocs, and my hair may or may not be combed. Sigh. At least one of us looks good!

So here, you be the judge. Do we look like sisters, or mother-daughter?

(and if you don't know me, please don't comment asking which one I am...I might just start crying or something!! LOL)

I should be doing housework but it's just no fun, so I'm goofing off blogging instead. But, now that I've finished this, laundry it is. Ciao!!

Back to Bloggin'

We are back from Orlando! Here are some layouts I've managed to get done so far:

This was the second time we have been to the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. What a treat to be able to sample so many varieties of foods! Here’s what we tried:
Dominican Republic - Monfongo (mashed yucca root topped with grilled shrimp - my favorite!)
Canada - Canadian Cheese Soup, Maple Glazed Salmon with Roasted Corn and Arugula, LaBatt’s
USA/Okalahoma - Seared Buffalo with Scalloped Wild Onions
Japan - Crispy Sukiyaki Beef Roll, Takara Plum Wine
Greece - Spanakopita, Boutari Xin Wine
Mexico - Chilaquiles
New Zealand - Lamb Slider
Germany - Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout, Beck’s Oktoberfest Draft Bier
Sam Adams Beer Seminar,
India - Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Paratha Bread (tied for first as my favorite)
Ireland - Boxty, Honey Wine
We also got to see Sheena Easton and Starship live in concert, who were there for the festival. It felt like the 1980s all over again!


Credits:
Sunrise Lounge by Jennifer Trippetti at Scrapdish
Old Mats by Jessica Bolton
Font: KGD Christy S Script, and Printy



I learned something about myself on our trip; I find it difficult to relax. Now I don’t mean physically, because it’s easy to veg in front of the TV. I’m talking about true relaxation, where you can turn off your mind and just “be”. The afternoon I spent at the Yacht and Beach Club Resort pool was as close to true relaxation as I’ve come in a long time. The atmosphere was gorgeous, the water temperature perfect and I found a spot with just the right combination of sun and shade. While Rob was busy at the conference, I enjoyed the pool, lunch at the snack bar and time to myself.

Word art by Eve Recinella, from Frolic Some
Paper by Traci Reed, from Dare to Be
Font: Angelina

Credits: The Sam Adams beer seminar is a fun part of the Food and Wine Festival. A George
Clooney look-alike helped us sample four different beers. My favorite was the Light beer. I finally understand the difference between the hops and the barley aspects of the beer. Too bad they didn’t give us full glasses!

Template by Andrea Gold
Stitched circle by Karen Hunt
Felix kit by lauraskathi
Pop Top Poppers by Kim Jensen
Font: Angelina

We also took the girls to Cedar Point for one last time over the weekend, but I still have to scrap those pics. They were so spent by Sunday afternoon, and Heidi had a slight fever and some stomach issues. I have to remember how much they love being home and having their little routine. They were delighted to sleep in their own beds again, or I should say Heidi's bed.


That brings me to our latest parenting dilemma. The girls have been insisting on sleeping together in Heidi's bed (a full size bed) for the past several weeks now. I don't really care, and I think it's really sweet that they have a special bond and like being together. However, there was a reason we separated them in the first place. They also need time apart, and space to be alone if they want to. I hesitate to have them share a room, but they are asking for bunk beds for Christmas and want to turn one of the rooms into a play room. Any parents of twins want to weigh in on this one?

Just a quick post

I want to get back into more of a routine with blogging. I was doing so well for a while, and then pooped out, like always. But I do have a recipe to share. We have a family tradition of having breakfast every Saturday morning, and this is one of Rob's favorite pancake recipes. I was fooling around with Smilebox and thought I'd give it a try. Enjoy! :-)

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

Click to play | Make your ow Smilebox

Excuse me while I vacuum

Ha! Yup, that's why I haven't blogged in a while...at least, that's my story. ;-) Last week I got a new vacuum. We went hog wild and bought a Dyson All Floors sweeper. Let me tell you - the hype about this product isn't just hype. It is truly a Cadillac of vacuums! It is pure joy to use. I have vacuumed more in the past week than I did in the whole month before that! So, with all that vacuuming time, who has time to blog? lol

I do have a couple of announcements to make concerning my role in digiland. I decided to leave MDM before the November 1 closing, as I've been invited to sell at another store. I can't say where quite yet...that will be October 1. But I can say that if feels like a homecoming, in a way. :-)

Also, I am now a proud member of Kim Jensen's CT! I've known Kim for a long time now, and have admired her work. She is one of the most technically detailed and thorough designers I've seen. And her stuff is just fun and funky! Check her out at Scrapdish. Here are a few of her newer products:

I use these on almost every page!

This is a GIANT collection!

I am working on a fun little tag album that I hope to have in my store at PDW by Friday.

Okay, back to vacuuming!

Diesel, anyone?

Man, apparently I need to get out more. After I dropped the girls off at school this morning, I stopped for gas. I prepaid and went to lift up the nozzle, and the only price showing up was on the diesel area. I tried this several times, pushing the button for "regular" gas, but the price kept showing up on the diesel. I sure as heck didn't want to end up with diesel in the van, so I go in and ask the lady. She comes out with me and points out that I was using the WRONG NOZZLE. On each pump there is a nozzle for the regular gas, and one for the diesel. Um....DUH!!! I just laughed and laughed. Other customers were looking at me, laughing at myself. Wow, my common sense had left the building! I blamed it on not enough coffee.

Other than that, it was a good day. Got a couple things accomplished this morning, girls stayed for lunch so I had some extra time, and then this afternoon we got all the fall/Halloween decorations out. They get so excited when we do that. And it's fun for me too, to take all the stuff out of the boxes and remember. For some reason, I am very organized when it comes to decorations. Everything is properly labeled it its plastic tub in the attic. Sigh. Why can't I do this in the rest of my house?

Coming out of the black hole

Yup, that is where I've been the past week or so...in a hole, of sorts. It's something I deal with on a regular basis. I could blame it on about 100 different things, but the truth is I don't know why my mind does this to me.

Anyway, it's a few week and another fresh start. It's it amazing that God rewards us with a brand new day, and a chance to start over, every morning? Awesome!

Speaking of mornings, in my quest to gather fresh, unique inspiration, I came across this blog yesterday. You don't have to be a scrapper to appreciate it. It's just two ladies comparing their photos taken each morning. The composition and subject matter are quite appealing...just little snippets of daily life, portrayed in an artistic way.

I made this right after getting our passport photos taken last week. I tell you, there is always an issue doing something like this (see the journaling). Don't get excited...we aren't going on a European tour or anything. We are taking a Disney cruise, compliments of my parents, in December and they recommend getting passports, just to be safe.

Digi Dare #52 - Ink Spotz alpha by Doris Castle, Background paper is construction paper :-)
Photographs word art by Jessica Bolton, Font: KGD Mozer Script

Journaling: Isn’t this the most attractive bunch you’ve ever seen? On the way to the photographer, Gretchen decided she didn’t want to get her picture taken. “I’m not going to smile! When the picture comes out of the camera, I am not going to look at my angry face!” Well, it turns out she was right. You are not allowed to smile for passport photos! They use some kind of face recognition software, and if you smile it messes up the process. So, mug shots it was. 9/7/07


I tried out the "Ali Edwards" philosophy here...don't try to make it perfect, just do it! I just laid out the photos on a piece of construction paper and scanned it. Rather than fooling around with fancy papers and elements, I left it stark looking, to match the serious expressions on our faces.

Now it's time to go attempt to make my day have a purpose. Happy Monday!

Friday Favorites at PDW!

Just a quick post with my Friday Favorite products, on sale for just $2.00 all day today at Plain Digital Wrapper!

Brand new: Square Quickies Power Pack 4


Fun with Five-By-Sevens 2



I also have a collection on my Rectangle Quickies, sets 1-4, available:



Nothing too exciting to report today. I organized my "office" space (a counter in the sunroom) but now all the junk from that area is sitting on my dining room table. Where do I go with it all? LOL

Tonight I'd love to go watch a high school football game, but the mosquitoes have been so bad around here lately that I'm thinking not...we'd be eaten alive! Tomorrow is the annual Black Swamp Festival in Bowling Green, so we might give that a try, depending on the weather.

The NFL Football season started last night, as did the fantasy league Rob convinced me to join. It's his league, just for fun, and this year I have another girl in the league with me - yay Steph!! I did okay last night but Sunday will be a different story. I was, well, a bit happy during the draft and totally botched my picks. Oh well. It will make for an interesting season. :-) At least I'm ahead of Winterstein so far this week!

Okay, off to do some more laundry before the kids get home. TGIF!

It's September

...and it's almost Fall. It can't come too quickly. The feeling of the crisp, cool air and blue skies are always welcome in Ohio this time of year.

We had an interesting weekend. Some out of town friends, who were passing through our city, called at 5pm Friday evening an invited us to meet them for dinner. They gave us one hour notice! Now, I try to be flexible about things like this, but we already had plans to drop the girls off at my parent's house for the night (woohoo), attend an engagement party and then do Rob's fantasy football draft. I didn't feel as though I could say no to them, so we ended up missing the party. I felt bad. It's never easy to make those decisions. We did have a good time though, and the kids had fun too.

Saturday Rob and Dad put some finishing touches on the playground, like a rock climbing wall and a climbing rope. That rope brings back harsh memories of elementary school gym classes. We were supposed to be able to climb that damn thing, all the way up to the ceiling (which was probably at least 20 feet up there!! I never could do it.

Sunday we went to the Fulton Co. fair. Now, THIS is a REAL fair! I'll have some photos later on. We got to see the sheep being sheered and the goats getting their baths, along with the dairy cows and even a demonstration of how sprinklers work in the event of a fire. The girls kept asking to go on the rides, but we don't do fair rides so there was a large amount of whining!! LOL They weren't horribly mistreated, though...they got ice cream, and played a game where they each won a new ball.

Challenge Time
I've decided to take part in the KB and Friends Slice of Life challenge. Things have gotten so negative and destructive in digi-land lately that I had to take a step back and remember why I started scrapping in the first place. I think this is a good way to re-focus on those reasons. I will admit, that I had been reading the "nasty blog", but today I removed it from my Google Reader. Even if there is useful information there, it's not worth it to me to have to read all the other garbage too. Supposedly people have started receiving nasty emails and even phone calls, and one designer who has a popular blog has decided to password protect it for a while. It's sad that things have come to this. It sucks the joy out of a hobby that is supposed to be fun. And there are those for whom it's a business, but they still shouldn't have to deal with personal attacks from anonymous idiots.

I'm just going to keep doing my thing and try to stay out of all the drama and crap.

A Layout

Journaling: Journaling: Heidi, I love watching you play. You go into your own little world and your imagination seems to go into overdrive. I wish I could know what you are thinking.

Credits: Papers and flowers by Laura Alpulche, Frame and ribbon by Lemonaid Lucy, Stitched circle by Karen Hunt, Journaling paper by Meredith Fenwick, Play stamp by Toni Berman

I think I'm going for a walk now. It might be nice to actually move a little!

First Day of School, New Product!

Ah, my girls are growing up so fast. Today was their first day of preschool 4. Now, they did go last year, but still, it's a milestone.

Heidi

Gretchen

Don't you just love those little skirts? Thank you Target! :-)

Random layouts:
This was for Digi Dare #49. Credits here.

I think I'm finally finished with my pages from CHA. Credits here.

This was for the RAKScraps sketch challenge. Thanks for the cool template Robin! Credits here.

I'll save some more for later.

I just released a new product at My Digital Muse: Encyclopedia Style 8.5x11 Templates. I made these to help people out with the Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life challenge going on right now at DST.



Grab this set today for just $2.00!

I've made a couple of pages for the challenge so far:




Okay I better sign off for today. Hope to be more regular on blogging, now that school has started.