Where is summer going?

The summer is going by so fast, I can't even believe it! I'm trying to even remember what all we did last week and it's a blur! I know I had a meeting and ran around on Tuesday...I'm thankful for Bruegger's free wifi and good food and creative inspiration around town. I'm also thankful I didn't drop the caterpillars when moving them into the habitat. I went to work on Wednesday. I'm grateful I got done with inventory and got to chat with friends. I'm also grateful that the car handles well in the rain. I have absolutely no clue what I did on Thursday. I think I cleaned though...so I guess I'm grateful it wasn't too painful. Oh wait!! I did clean...I'm thankful for the Bissel Little Green Spotshot (or something like that). Friday, I was grateful to see a friend's baby doing so well and thankful for spending time with my aunt.

The weekend was crazy busy with family reunion activities and I'm grateful for all of that. Seeing friends and family is wonderful and they are really a good group of people. We had a lot of fun and my tummy hurt from all the good food I ate. I am also grateful that I ended up knowing and attending my friend's belated baby shower. And finally, that all 5 butterflies made it out alive!! =)

Today was a nice day cleaning, computering, making food....I was productive and I'm thankful for that.

Other things I'm grateful for:

Good baseball
"Pre-owned" double strollers and cribs for my brother
Talking til all hours with my cuz!
A layout that turned out well
Reisens....(Favortie candy hands down!)
My hair looking cute after being cut

Now, I just have to go and find a picture from this week to tie in to my 52 inspirations! =) I couldn't do a pic a day, or even a layout a day...but I can do a blog a week and one page to match!! =)

A Creative Title Goes Here

It's funny that one of the things I'm grateful for this week is the time I've had to be creative. =) Apparently, today is not one of those days. I have had a lot of time to scrapbook and work on a few projects this past week, and that's been great. The weather has been a mix of rain and sun, but it looks like today will be a full on summer day with sun and a heat index of 105! I'm grateful that I have the time to prepare for class without having to worry about Ben. (I'm doing such a good job of preparing right now too.....) I'm grateful I have supportive friends who pull together to help each other out. I'm grateful for simple wonders that make my child excited, like our caterpillars that are cocooning and turning into butterflies. Grateful for a nice family. Grateful for Starbucks Doubleshots... I'm excited to start class and go on a trip in a few weeks, but worried the summer is flying by too fast. I always have such big plans for those two months, but I'm not sure where the time all goes. Next week, I hope to be grateful for a great group of students and a clean basement...we'll see how that works out. =)

Lazy Week

I've had a lazy week or so. But I have gotten some things accomplished, though it never seems like I get as much as I'd like to done. Our den is clean and I have a new printer. Father's Day presents have arrived. Birthdays celebrated, some things done at work.... I'm very grateful to have jobs that I enjoy and that I am able to work without worry at this point. I am also grateful to have the creative outlets that I have. (As distracting as they may be sometimes.) Given what's happened with many friends lately, I'm grateful for the health of my family and my son. I have a wonderful cousin who is also a best friend, and I have some happy memories of friends from younger days. I spent a great deal of time the past week or so going down memory lane from junior high and early high school years. Some of those treasured people I miss, but I'm glad I still have remembrances of them to hold on to. I'm also grateful for the summer! Teachers may not get paid a lot, but our summers are certainly nice!!

Two days in a row?!

I know...I'm posting two days in a row. Totally crazy. I just had an enjoyable day. Had my coffee and brooding time in the morning (have I mentioned I'm not really a morning person?) Read a little bit. Then I cleaned my fanny off and my child was pretty good (though a little impatient) during it. Finished a slideshow for a relative and got it burned to DVD, went out to dinner, made cookies with my boy. Some computer time and more reading ahead. All in all, an enjoyable day. The best part is, it's the end of the day and the place is still mostly in the same shape. With the exception of the cookie dishes. =)

Thankfuls

Let's see...I'm thankful for summer. =) I'm thankful for educational activities. Like the butterfly garden and the Brain Quest cards. I'm thankful for days where I enjoy cleaning, cooking, and being an-on-summer-break mom. Thankful for opportunities that are available to me. Good meals and good beverages. Friends to play with and intellectual conversations. I'm thankful for Facebook (hee hee) and connecting with old, good friends. Thankful for memories of my mother. Thankful for good sales that inspire my creativity. Thankful for the nice people in line at the DMV who let me have my spot back when my three-year-old had to go potty after waiting in line for 20 min.

I have taken plenty of pics the last two weeks, but I don't have them uploaded yet. I'll keep updating...after all....it's summer and I've got about 22 layouts to do to keep up with the 52 weeks of Inspiration. =)

Attempt Two for the Video

May 22nd

This was a nice week. My first real week of summer. We had a nice Memorial Day (even though someone may have had one too many cosmos), and I had a nice mix of work (with Karen & at school), alone time, time with Ben (backwards day, buying a butterfly garden), and time with friends (especially on Facebook). I even got some scrapbooking time in. In fact, here is a little video I made for a challenge at Oscraps next week.

Back in the saddle

Well, I'm going to try again. I know I got off. March and April were insane for me. But I'm going to try and catch up on life. I want to get caught up on my 52 Inspirations/Project 365 stuff. I certainly didn't take pictures every day, but I took usually one a week. So I'm combining the 52 Inspirations and P365 stuff. I just need to make sure I blog at least once a week and get what happened that week out. So I'm going to try to get the last two weeks in right now. =)

Week of May 10
Grateful for turning in grades finally! Grateful for people helping me out with parties and the flexibleness of my schedule. Getting done with all the library stuff. Picking up a brand new car. Getting everything I needed for summer for Ben.

Week of May 17
School getting out. Good friends. Not moving rooms. Getting stuff cleaned out. Having a new car when an old one breaks down. Everyone was safe when the old car broke down. Nice weather. Pants that fit in a size down. Pedicures. A fantastic show. Flair is fun. New puppies. A holiday.

Have a great week!!

"Almost" 365

I wasn't very good these last few weeks. But, I think I'll steal a phrase from one of my fellow scrapbookers...I think this is project Almost 365. =) Very brief descriptions, not in any order. =)


Goofy boy! Thought it was hysterical to have his shirt on his head. And made me laugh a lot!

I got Artsy. It's about time. Most of the p365ers have a pic like this. And now I have one too.

Mmmm. Friendship bread.....mmmmmm...

Clean laundry room and new washer/dryer. Awesome!!

Clean bedroom. =)

Fantastic fun playing in the snow!

Last picture and layout for ADSR.


A blizzard, but us warm at home.


The wind blowing through our back door is crazy. I tried to capture how far the rose was blowing just from the wind coming in the crack in the back door. This one is not as far, but it's in focus.

I got a grant! Yay. Soon I'll have more of these at school.

Been a bad bad blogger

I have two weeks to catch up. I apologize for the monster post. But I did take pictures almost everyday during those two weeks. Yay me. =)

My mom bought this puppy. I don't know when and I don't know why for sure. But it makes me happy that Ben plays with it and has been taking him to bed with him lately. I like to tell him that Grandma Wade bought it for him, even before she knew about him.

I made soup that tasted really yummy and was pretty healthy. I didn't have exactly the ingredients that I should have, but it still turned out pretty good, if a bit runny.

Ben just always makes me laugh and smile. His sense of humor and his spirit are (usually) such fun.
We got rear-ended. Not terribly hard, but enough so it scared us both. The car doesn't even have a scratch as far as I can tell, though. That made me awfully happy.

Ben is getting the hang of going poopy in the potty. We are definitely not consistent with it yet, but he loves most of the incentives I've gotten him. Like this $5 puppy from Walgreens.
I finished Adam and Amy's album. The pictures are gorgeous and I really hope that Amy likes it.

I got really sick on Monday. I came home early and slept for almost 3 hours. It took me all week to recover, but I was really glad I was able to come home and sleep on Monday.

Tuesday night, I was feeling a little better, but I wanted something very plain. I made cornflake coated chicken tenders. The smell reminded me so much of my childhood and the chicken my mom made. It was very comforting.

I love Lost. =)
I've lost almost ten pounds. (Being sick this week kind of helped that quite a bit.) I'm excited that I'm doing pretty well. I just need to keep it up.

Thanks to my friend, I've finally got a Wii Fit. And even better, my WiiFit Age was 2 years younger than my real age. =)

Ben came home sick on Friday with a fever. He was fine Saturday and most of the day today, but he started to spike this afternoon. Motrin always seems to take care of his fever and make him feel better.

So, 12/14 days this last round...not too shabby. Now if only I could get these scrapped as well!

Week 3

Some of the pictures this week aren't particularly artistic, but they are representative of the things that made me take pleasure in the week.

Making a menu for the week was wonderful. It was so nice to not have to think about dinner. Now if I could just get my snacking under control....


Since my mother-in-law isnt' reading this, I feel safe in saying that the inauguration gave me chills. I'm thrilled to be living in a time where there is change...peaceful change...excitement, and so many individuals feeling like they can make a difference.


It hit almost 60 (F) on Wed. and Thurs. It was gorgeous. Ben and I went on walk and we grilled out. I didn't think to take a picture until after the grill was put away and the steak and chicken were all eaten. =)


I finished Inkdeath on Friday. It was a satisfying end to the story even though it took while get moving. I listened to the last few bits in my office on my computer.


I know this doesn't look like the cleanest most organized closet in the world, but it's cleaned out from what it was. And it was another step in getting ready to move.


I am going to get us a storage unit and DH is on board with it. I'm going to get one in a few weeks and that way, when we clean out things (like the closet) we can just take boxes there.

We took the rest of the border down. It's been 4 years in the making, but we finally got the rest of the border down. No more teal and rose 80's border. Tonight, some spackle and sanding and we'll be ready to paint!

We are actually getting ready to move...that's the theme for the week. =) See you next week!

Week 2

I missed two days this week, but I did pretty good. =)

Monday it was really awful out. Howling wind, snow, ice...the town almost shut down. But we were nice and snuggly warm inside. I'm very happy that we have heat and a nice place to live. And I'm very happy we all made it home safe.

The next day, however, we got to take joy in the small details of the snowfall. Bunny tracks in the driveway.
Wednesday, I met with my co-teacher and we wrapped up the final details for my college course. We also got to discuss our trip to Chicago in July. Woo-hoo!

On Friday, I got to pick up some books from the library that I'm excited to read. For some reason, I didn't put in that stack the most important book..."Potty Training in Less Than a Day". Ask me about that next weekend!

I know this one is weird, but I wasn't feeling well Saturday. Especially by the time I got home from class. Some Ibuprofen really helped me feel better. The stuff is a wonder!


When Ben found out he was going to the pizza machine, he was very excited to go on the "frog that goes up and down". He had a blast. Seeing his smile and seeing him have fun made my day!

Three weeks down. See you next week!

Project 365

If you haven't heard about Project 365 than you are not a scrapbooker (or photographer). I'm not even sure who started P365 (I'm sure someone that reads this blog does), but the idea is that you take a picture every day of things that make you happy. I've been doing that (although I did fudge a day). And I'm going to try to update my blog once a week with those pictures. I also am tying this in to the "One Little Word" project that Ali Edwards introduced. She's encouraging people to pick a theme for the year. I have been happy in the last several months. Happy with my job, happy with my husband, happy with the direction we are moving, happy with my career prospects. I don't know exactly what it is. I've certainly focused on staying away from negative people and trying to not let myself obsess over things. I think that has helped. I was reading my friends business blog the other day, and I remembered how happy he always has been. His blog and take on business just exude that. I remember how at one point in high school, he said to me, "You're always just so unhappy." That (obviously) stuck with me. I think he would be pleased to read this blog and see how things have been for me. So here's to a year of "happiness" and 365 (and more) things that make me and my family happy.

I have 11 days of photos to post. So bear with me. I'll try to be better from now on. =)

I am grateful for the beautiful items that we have that remind me of Christmas. I am grateful for the memories that they hold and the feelings that they evoke. I always am truly happy putting up the Christmas decorations because it makes me think of home and family.

I am very happy that we are finally getting the ball rolling to move to a new house. I am purging, pricing flooring, and sizing up the stupid teal and rose border that is still hanging over my entryway for removal. The house we are looking at is beautiful and will last us for years and years. I am flat out giddy about it.

I started the "Healthy O's" with my scrapbooking group and am doing a Biggest Loser group at school. I didn't gain weight over Christmas break, so that was great. And I broke out my Dancing with the Stars video again. It's fun, varying ability in the workout, and Maks........yum.


I enjoy spending time with my in-laws. (Focusing on happy remember Tessie...) Scott and Kristy, Adam and Amy, and Ed and Eileen are wonderful people. I married above me. =)

This may seem like a duplicate, since it is Dancing with the Stars on t.v., but my happiness this day was watching my son's carefree attitude. Play with cars one minute, dance the next, color, play video games, snuggle with stuffed animals. I hope that I haven't pigeon-holed him into sports, cars, beat-um-up stuff. I also don't think he's a "sissy" either. I hope that letting him do whatever he wants will encourage him to grow up to be a well-rounded person.

Ahhh....a clean office and a clean desk. My office was a disaster after book fair. And since book fair went right into a sick day for Ben, a snow day, and Christmas break, when I came back from break, I could barely walk or find a clear space. On the inservice day we had, I didn't even have time to clean it. Finally, on Tuesday (the 6th) I got it back in order. I felt like I could breathe again, and then prioritize and get work done.

I also got the kitchen scrubbed and straightened up. (Since my theme is "happy", I won't talk about what Ben did to the living room, while I cleaned the kitchen.) We are digging ourselves out of the holi-daze that we were in.

Joy in the little things. That's what this picture made me think of. A few simple cars can entertain, comfort, and tickle the funny bone. I love his smile and I love his fun spirit.

O.k. I fudged a little here. I forgot to take a picture on Friday. It was snowing, it was a nice cozy night at home....I just forgot. So, here are two pictures from Saturday. I found a Wii. After two weeks of searching and getting alerts on my cell phone. I, on a last ditch effort for the day, ran into Walmart despite the voice telling me, "They won't have one, don't waste your time." Five minutes before I got there, they got a Wii. It was just sitting at the counter, waiting for little old me. Later on, I got Dance Dance Revolution. I have wanted an at home version of DDR for years, years I tell ya! I was thrilled to finally have it in my possession! I spent an hour and a half the next day dancing.

I cleaned up quite a bit on Sunday. (Remember...I'm not talking about what Ben did to the living room while I cleaned the kitchen.) I purged videos and packed up some that we don't often watch. I left out the ones that truly bring Ben happiness, thereby bringing us happiness. Plus, I left out all the cool Disney ones: Toy Story, Little Mermaid, Wall-E, Nemo, etc. They are my favorite too. And I'm so glad that Ben likes them. I even like watching Dora with him on many days.

That's the first 11 days of my HAPPY new year (get it?). 354 more to go!

You're going to get sick of me by then! Have a great week!

Good Days

We've had some good days around her and I'm excited to start a brand new year! I'm looking forward to healthy choices and moving to a new house. (That's the plan right now at least.)

I'm going to attack these and get organized with a plan of what we need to do around here! So I'm grateful for the energy and momentum I have going into the new year.

Sunday 12/28
A good movie, time with my aunt, great pizza, great margaritas, and good family conversation, the game at the pizza place that was inexpensive and Ben loved and wasn't a waste of money.

Monday 12/29
Free wireless at Panera, getting a lot of work accomplished, a good friend to work with, a good dinner.

Tuesday 12/30
A fun day with a friend, cute outfits cheap, the cosmorita, a potential move, Ben going to sleep easily, cuddle time.

12/31
Productive day, a house I love, quiet nights with loved ones, the Oscraps store not having restrictions and letting me download all the stuff I lost on my EHD.

01/01
A new year!, two nice sisters-in-law, a clean room, being prepared for work tomorrow (see, I'm even finding the positive in that!!).

Catch you all later!!

After Christmas Stupor

Well, we had a great couple of days here. Christmas Eve was very nice. Playing games and enjoying good food with family. It was a smaller Christmas Eve for us, but that turned out very nice I think. I was very grateful that earlier in the day, Ben sat on Santa's lap and smiled big. He had kept saying that he wasn't going to, so I wasn't expecting much. When his turn came though, he smiled big and hopped up there, saying "Cheese" twice. Although, there were a few meltdowns during the day (and one big one at night), all ended up well. Christmas was nice and Ben had a lot of fun. Yesterday was a lazy day, but we enjoyed ourselves. Today is a ditto of yesterday. =) Tomorrow, I'm looking forward to seeing a movie and going to a family party.

Grats:
12/24: All my goodies turned out yummy, good pics with Santa, seeing old friends at the store, "expecting" news from a friend, nice family, fun games, putting milk and cookies out for the first time and being Santa for the first time.

12/25:
Good breakfast and relaxing morning, Walgreens being open on Christmas Day, good dinner, Ben having fun with his family, fun presents for Ben, an iPod Touch.

12/26:
52 degree weather, lazy day but getting dishes done, slim hope for my EHD, playing with the iPod touch and having wireless and a Mac Laptop to do it with, a good Dr. appt., watching Wall-E, leftovers, playing games together with Grams and Grandpa.

12/27:
Having another lazy day, scrapbooking, Ben playing games all on his own, leftovers. =)

Shame on me

Again, I have let my blogging slip for a week. I don't know why, but it seems hard to blog everyday. I have no problem posting on my favorite scrapbooking site or doing email, but blogging falls down the list. =)

Here are some things I'm grateful for during the last week:
Warm cars, SUVs, gas for the SUV being lower, wonderful friends at work who make me feel special, people getting their books they ordered, very capable subs and volunteers, snow days, my fun family, helping an aunt, understanding friends, Ben finally falling asleep after tossing and turning with an ear infection, a lazy morning, and opening for a Dr. appt., Christmas Eve with family, Gingerbread lattes (I believe I've been thankful for those before).

I found this interesting post on a blog that I follow. Play along if you'd like! I read it at Stephen Abram's blog, but he got it on Walt Crawfrod's blog - Walt at Random.

THE 99 THINGS MEME

Things you’ve already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37.Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.

Cheeseburgers in Paradise

Quick drive by today. Didn't want to miss more days of blogging. =)

Sunday's grats
Warm tea, that it didn't snow, intellectual stimulation, fun family, a new coat, warm bed.

Monday's grats
Helpful volunteers, good sales resulting in lots of library books, more intellectual stimulation with a friend, an adorable son, generous scrappers.

Tuesday's grats
Helpful and kind co-workers scrapping snow off cars and planning birthday lunches, a warm sweater, dinner with my bestest friend and splitting the perfect amount of food, finding an inexpensive album for my scrapbook contest, driving in the snow storm safely home, sweet goodnight kisses on the cheek.

I'm trying to be very positive this week amid some unpositive feelings. So thank you for the blogging!

Tiaras and Crowns

The girls went out today. Three birthdays and a teacher of the week. We had excellent food, good drinks, fun shopping, and a generally swell time. I really enjoyed it! So that's a big gratitude right there!

Other grats:
Having a successful book fair!, that I have recipes in my mother and grandmother's writing, Matt's good moods, Christmas shopping is almost done (thought it was, but I wasn't, now I'm almost), all my ordered gifts are coming quickly, hot tea, comfy p.j.'s, the prospect of a fun trip in July, good friends at school, Christmas cards are almost done, one week of school left before break, lots of good books to read, and friends at the O who I have a good time with (chatting, forumning, and scrapping).

Awww Man.

Nine days? Nine days?? (Insert Ferris Bueller joke here.) I can't believe I haven't done my grateful blog for 9 days!!!! I'm sorry. I've thought about grateful things a lot. I really have. If you look back at my posts at my digital scrapbook site I hang out at, you'll see I was in a very good mood the last week and two days. =) But here's a run down of some things I was thankful for.

A fun layout that I'm really proud of, my book fair coming and being really prepared for it, my free Shutterfly calendar, playing games with my little boy, a clean bill of heath on his eyes, his smarty-pants answers on the preemie eval, fun new music, the DJ that finally told me the name of the song I've been wanting for a few weeks, my winter coat, Gingerbread lattes, Chicken Fried Chicken, getting all my Christmas shopping done, the really nice people who helped me set up my book fair, the nice people at Mimi's that give you free muffins for teacher events, fun t.v. shows, that my uncle came out of surgery o.k., how cool my photobook turned out, LOSING 3 POUNDS!, and (TMI alert) that my weird cold/allergy thing went away because I really thought my head was going to explode with snot last night.

Whew. There was a lot more in there, but that's what I remember right now. I've got to be a better blogger. I think that if I'm better, than I will continue to be in a good mood and lose weight etc. Focus on the positive and the positive will happen to you, right? (Is that like "The Secret"??)

I'm off to catch up on a few other things. Check back in soon. I promise this time it won't be nine days. =)

The Weekend Edition

I love Christmas. I truly love it. And I'm so very excited it's that time of the year. I had a fantastic day today and I didn't do very much except...enjoy the little things.

Saturday's Gratitudes
Lazy mornings, templates that make gifts easy, comfy sweat suits, my son's laugh, and a nice long talk with my aunt.

Sunday's Gratitudes
Christmas decorations, Christmas carols, snow...everything Christmas, a nice BIL and SIL, my silly son, a comfy couch to use my laptop on.

Tomorrow we go back to school. I hope to remained focused on being grateful for the little things despite the hectic schedule ahead. =)