Round and Round

Lately, Kyla Mae and I have been going round and round in little mini "battle-of-the-wills" contests. The score is about tied.

I'm not sure what is going on with her. With me. But, we're butting heads pretty regularly and it frustrates the dickens out of me.

Maybe we're a lot more alike than I give her credit for.

Sigh.

She's still pretty cute. I think we'll keep her around.

Shout it from the rooftops!

After 7 days of fever, my girl is finally fever free! PRAISE GOD and AMEN!

Did you read that correctly? SEVEN days. S-E-V-E-N.

I finally brought her to the doctor yesterday. Call me whatever you want... neglectful, irresponsible... but, honestly her main symptom was fever so I didn't feel it was necessary to drag her to the doctor and be exposed to countless other viruses.

But, on Tuesday, she began to develop a cough, and after noticing that her cough was getting worse on Wednesday, we decided to bring her to the doctor on Thursday. They tested her for strep and the flu and BOTH came back negative.

The doctor said, "Let it run it's course" which is what I had originally planned to do and then that pesky cough entered the picture.

Nonetheless... I guess the "course" was 7 days! Seven days and she missed:

• 4 days of school (Monday was a holiday.)
  
• 1 volleyball game
• 1 soccer game
• 2 soccer practices
• 1 volleyball practice

She probably needed the break... Now, it's back to work (and play) for my girl! Yay!

Sickness 2011, Day 6... Oh, and a printable freebie!

So, we're on day 6 of "Sickness 2011".

It's been real, y'all.

I've just given up and decided to join Elisan on the couch for most of today. So far, we've watched "America's Funniest Videos" and the "Behind the Music: Journey the Mystery" on YouTube. Have I mentioned I love Journey? I'm a die-hard Steve Perry fan(atic). It really is a crying shame those guys can't work it out!

The last coupla days have been kinda boring. We've been stuck at home. I've cleaned the house and washed mounds and mounds of laundry. We've watched an insane amount of television and movies. But honestly, there's only so much eBay surfing you can do on the iPod before you end up bidding on something you would not normally buy and/or spend that kind of money on something, no matter how much you think you will like it. I'm just sayin'...

So, I decided to put my time to good use.

I let my creative juices flow this week and put together a printable download freebie. Introducing the "Robot Party Pack." Clever name, right?

Having two girls, I NEVER get to create stuff just for boys. I'm not sure what boys are into these days, but everyone loves a nice Robot, right?

This freebie printable party pack includes:

• Blank Robot Party cards 4x page .pdf format - Suggested Use: Great for thank you cards or digi scrappers DOWNLOAD HERE
• Fill-in Robot Party cards 4x page .pdf format DOWNLOAD HERE
• Full page of circle party tags 20xpage .pdf format - Suggested use: Print on 8.5x11 sticker paper and use them an envelope seals DOWNLOAD HERE
• Fold-over Robot Party Goodie Bag Toppers 3x page .pdf format DOWNLOAD HERE
• 4x6 photo print quality Blank Robot Party card .jpg format DOWNLOAD HERE
• 4x6 photo print quality Fill-In Robot Party card .jpg format DOWNLOAD HERE

Enjoy! And stay tuned... I've got something for little girls too! I'll post another freebie printable party pack next week! Or this week. With my girl still sick, looks like I'll have even more time on my hands.

Stay healthy and for goodness sakes, wash your hands!

Happy President's Day

Sigh... Elisan is sick. She's been sick since Friday. I picked her up from school on Friday and she was complaining that her tummy was upset. Fast forward to Saturday, she began running a fever and is STILL running a fever. Thank goodness the meds have been bringing the temperature down and helping her to feel like her old self, but as soon as the medicine wears off... bam! Fever again.

I'm praying she's the only one who gets sick this week. And thanking God that today is a school holiday anyway! Perhaps she'll miss a nominal amount of school this week.

Meanwhile, Kyla misses her playmate. Elisan will feel well enough to play with her for about an hour, then she's ready to rest on the couch. Poor Kyla.

And me... ugh! I have a running injury! I could kick myself (if only I could raise my leg!) for it too. It all began when I thought I was ready to begin running intervals on the treadmill. An interval is a period of high intensity cardio and with a period of recovery. I was running 1 minute on the treadmill and walking a two minute recovery. I did this for about 45 minutes.

During the intervals I felt great! I was running a great pace and recovering quickly. Yet, as soon as I stepped off the treadmill and began my cool down with stretching, etc., I felt it. The pain in my hip. After doing MUCH research, it seems as if I've strained (hopefully, only a strain) my iliotibial band in my left hip.

So, I'm taking a break from running for now. I'm bummed about this, but hope that with adequate enough rest/recovery, I can get back into running in a couple of weeks.

And, I guess that's about all for now. I suppose I'll do a few things around here and play nurse-maid when needed.

Teacher Appreciation Week

This week our school celebrated our teachers with "Teacher Appreciation Week". To make this week extra fun, I created labels with a "theme" for each day. The picture below is pretty self explanatory.

This was such a fun and easy way to bless our teachers this week!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD the Teacher Appreciation Labels freebie! I printed mine on white cardstock and used a circle punch to cut them out!

I stuffed the goodies into 6x9 clear cello bags (found on eBay). Which, by the way, has been one of the best purchases I've ever made. I use the clear cello bags for everything!

1.) Caution this Bag Contains Energy: I put a mini-diet soda (8 oz), a Caffeinated Crystal Light Drink Mix and a healthy-type bar, like Zone Bars.

2.) Sweets for the Sweet: I used Dark Chocolate Dove candy.  Of course, use your imagination or your teacher's favorite treat!

3.) Emergency Stash: For this bag, I have used multipacks of post-it notes, Sharpies, colored gel pens (red/green), binder clips, highlighters... stuff that teachers seem to always need.

4.) You Were MINT to Teach:  I fill this bag with chewing gum and peppermints.

5.) Orange You Glad You're The Apple of My Eye?:  I use a small mandarin orange and a small apple for this bag.

And there ya go... 5 treat bags for each day of the week.  Plus, this is an easy, cost effective way to bless MORE THAN ONE teacher/staff... especially the teachers/staff members that are often forgotten about - like Librarians, P.E. teachers, School Nurses, Lunchroom Helpers, Specials teachers, etc

Enjoy!

 

The ABSOLUTE easiest craft you will ever do!

One of my favorite craft items to work with is grosgrain ribbon. Since my girls are growing up (sniff) they practically refuse... REFUSE to wear hair bows anymore. It's been hard for me.

But, they still want to wear cute hair accessories... yay me... so, I've had to come up with ways to use cute grosgrain ribbon that is "acceptable" for growing girls.

Elisan loves to wear the non-slip headbands that I began making a while back. But, Kyla doesn't care for the non-slip headband. So, with soccer season coming up (and her bangs in the process of growing out) I decided to make her a headband that will stay in place, keep her bangs back and look cute all at the same time!

I bought 7/8 inch grosgrain ribbon, 7/8 inch "velvet" ribbon and sewed two strips together along the edges (creating a ribbon tube). I then slide a thin headband through the ribbon tube, sewed the edges down and trimmed the ends. I then heat-sealed the ends with a lighter (to prevent fraying). And, there ya go. Is that easy or what?! (Disregard the sloppy sewn ends! Sewing faux pas, I know!)

Hobby Lobby has their ribbon by the roll on sale for 1/2 off nearly every week. You can get some really cute and fun ribbon for super cheap! The headbands I used for the craft came from the dollar tree. 5 headbands for a dollar!

By the way, if anyone wishes to purchase a wide-band non-slip headband (for adults), contact me! They are perfect for exercise as they truly do not slip and they keep the sweat from your hair from running down your face! Ewww, I know!

Anyway, I'm selling them for $6.00/each. Contact me if you would like to purchase one!

Blog Brain Dump

Another installment of "Blog Brain Dump" my favorite style of bloggin'!

Is it my imagination, or are grocery prices going up? I spent over $300 today at the grocery store. I haven't spent over $300 dollars on groceries/household essentials since the holidays! I did buy some extra fruit because Elisan is on a fruits and vegetables strike and I'm trying to get her to eat more produce. Maybe it was the produce I bought. And the mascara. And the three bags of Vday candy. Hmmmm....I wonder.

Sidenote: I know, some of you are choking on that lil' bit of knowledge that we spend that kind of cash at the grocery store, but you have to remember... we eat out ONCE a week. Once people. So, if you think about it... (really, really think about it)... you can see how we spend that kind of dough on food, etc.

• 4 people x 3 meals/day = 12 meals per day
• 12 meals per day x 7 days = 84 meals (or 21 meals/person/week)
• Subtract 4 meals (Saturday night "out to eat" meal)
• GRAND TOTAL of meals our entire family consumes (that have been prepared at home) each week = 80 meals per week

So, I love Craigslist. I think I've mentioned it before, but just in case you have forgotten... I love Craigslist. Since I'm currently in the market to buy a DSLR camera and leather furniture, I've been scouring the CL ads. Just so you know, I've not had much luck on either front, but I wanted to throw this little piece of advice out there for any potential Craiglisters out there.

If you are trying to sell a piece of furniture on Craigslist. It may or may not help to include a picture. Just saying.

Same goes for pretty much anything listed on Craigslist. And let me be clear... the picture of an iPod shuffle (I'm in the market for a backup shuffle) from the Apple website won't cut it. In fact, any website picture of (fill-in-the-blank) item just won't work. I dunno... something about trust. I just don't trust you Craigslist people. I love you... but I don't trust you.

I'll save the post "Attention Craigslist Scammers" for another day. It's lengthy.

But, I wanted to pass along this little nugget of fun, just in case you too are scouring Craigslist for something in particular.

Check this out. You can add CL search to your Google Reader subscriptions. Just type in what you want to search for on CL. Complete your search. Then copy the search results URL string and paste it into the Google Reader feed subscription. There ya go. Up to the minute (sort've) results on your CL searches. I have about 10 searches going at any given time. It's what I do. (Here's a screenshot of the CL search showing up in Google Reader.)


I'm running a 5K race this Saturday with my beautiful friend Kim from MOPS. (No, I don't have a preschooler that I've been keeping on the down-low. I'm a Mentor Mom in MOPS.) But, anyway, back to Kim. Y'all, she seriously is beautiful. I hate her. No, not really. I love her! She's darling and so sweet.

So, anyway, back in January, we started discussing running and she said, "Well, since I turned 30 this year, I wanted to set a goal to run my first 1/2 marathon!" I was like... "Really? That's my goal too. But, I'm not 30. I'm 38. I've got 8 years on your sista." Man, I felt really old at that very moment. But, Kim being the sweetheart that she is said, "You don't look 38! You look like you are in your early 30's." Bless her heart. That's why I love her. She thinks I'm young enough to be her equal... NOT her MENTOR MOM!

So, we're running a 5K this weekend. It's the "Vern's No Frills 5K Run." It's one dollar to register/run. I hope Kim's 30 year old body doesn't school my 38 year old body. Wish me luck that I can keep up! As I (literally) at this moment have an ice pack on my hip that hurts like the dickens from... what? Running. Argh!

Y'all carry on.

Happy Valentine's Day

Sigh...

Hello Blog! I don't think we've met. I'm Erica. I write on you... sometimes.

Sorry I've been MIA. I've been around, but haven't felt like writing.

Last Saturday a.m., we got an email that the girls' school elementary principal/school administrator had died. She passed away in her sleep early Saturday morning. She was 56. If that ain't a kick in the head, I'm not sure what is.

Because of that, I've been in kind of a funk.

We've been sending our girls to their school for 5 years, so I "knew" our principal, but luckily, never had to deal directly with her, since my girls never required principal intervention at school. But, her absence is truly felt at school.

Just last week, in the bitter cold, she was escorting kids to their vehicles. She escorted the girls to my van, said a few sweet words about staying warm and driving home safe. Her last school wide email to us was about canceling school on Friday due to the impending snow.

She said in regard to the decision to close school, "We would prefer you stay home and enjoy the snow with your children."

She wrapped up the email stating, "Thank you and enjoy your SNOW Day and your weekend. I love the way God answers the prayers of children!"

I have no doubt she spent her last day on earth enjoying the presence of her grandchildren and family on her snow day, as well.

Mrs. Owen was such a phenomenal woman, who loved God and children and whose greatest desire was to see children become the best the can be in Christ. In her 25 years of service to our school, her impact has been felt for generations. She will be missed.

Oh My!

TJ enjoyed the sun and warmer temps today (39 degrees)!
I think he'd prefer to be an outside dog.

Okay, seriously...

This "winter blast" 2011 has really cramped some plans!

First of all, school was canceled. I can get with that. A "down day" for all of us is just what the doctor ordered!

Second, Elisan's volleyball game was canceled. It was set for tonight.

Third, the Cupid's Chase 5k Run for Saturday has been canceled as well. I was really looking forward to it! Even with the below freezing early morning temps!

All of this, for about 1/2 inch of snow that is largely in part melted away already.

Really?

Winter Blast 2011 + Saturday 5k = No Bueno

To Whom it May Concern:

Dear Sports Bra Manufacturing Companies (i.e. Nike, Adidas, Athleta, Reebok, etc.)

I am writing this letter in reference to ill-fitting sports bras and/or built-in bra tops that offer no support. Please note... MOST women do NOT look like this. In fact, I'd venture to say, that in my nearly 4 years of working out at a gym that is predominately 85% female population, I have seen maybe 3-4 women who do look like this. I'd have to say, that most 'normal' women will never look like this, no matter how much time, effort, energy one puts into their workouts.

So, my question to you is this... why must you continue to make sports bras and built-in bra tanks for this fictional woman? That offer no support and are low cut?

I mean, honestly, I HATE sporting 3 inches of cleavage while I'm at the gym because my sports bra is too low cut. Why you ask? Well, because I'm there to work out. Working out requires bending, lifting, pushing, pulling and sweating. Whilst I'm working out, I don't want to be concerned with bending and sweating, thus spilling out cleavage everywhere. I just don't. It's not who I am.

And for those companies who do cater to the 'normal' woman... companies like Moving Comfort, etc... why must your high impact bras look like this? I mean, really? A zipper? A zipper at my cleavage? C'mon. Really?

So, mega size sporting gear companies hear me out! This is what I want. I want a sports bra or sports tank that is 'high-impact', cut high enough to not sport cleavage and look decent. I don't want it in a fabric that is floral, geometrical or in crazy colors. Just a plain gray or black... or hey, gray AND black is fine by me too.

Is that so hard?

Signed,
Still a DD

Dog Days

I thought it was time to devote a blog entry to our pup, TJ.

All in all, TJ is a very smart, friendly, fiesty, lovable dog. By day, he loves to play outside, dig in the dirt and chase birds...and nap a time or two. By night, he's 100% lap dog.

My attempts at "training" him to be a fabulous house pet have failed. Not because he isn't smart enough, but because I'm just lazy. So, we're all content to have him be a moderately well-behaved dog.

He doesn't bark, bite, nip clothes or yelp. You would hardly know he is here half the time.

He does however have an incessant paw licking issue that drives me crazy. I can't stand for him to lick his paws while he's sitting on my lap because the entire perimeter around his paw is licked as well. Ugh!

And did I mention digging? Ah, yes. He's a digger. Loves to dig. Loves to dig when the ground is muddy too. See where I'm going with this? He's a white fluffy dog. Mud and white fluffy don't go together... ever.

I definitely have my days when I wish I had listened to the legions of friends tell me to NOT get a dog. And if someone asked me if they should get a dog, I'd give them a resounding no. But, the girls love him and I love him 1/2 of the time... so, he stays.

Honestly, I really have nothing to report

And, that's about all.

Nothing to report...or at least, nothing worth mentioning.

I'm exhausted from running 6 miles today at the gym and I need food. And... the tips of my toes hurt. So, I'm wearing flip flops today OUT.OF.SEASON.

I'm off to eat a bite of food before I pass out.

Valentine's Day Giveaway WINNER!

Yay, Heather (a.k.a. Alex and Autumn)
FYI - Heather I sent you a message via Facebook!

Blog Brain Dump

My first official blog brain dump of 2011! I'm so excited! And you should be too. I have a lot to say on this bright sunny mild Texas winter day! (Hooray for sunshine!)

So, I have 2.5 weeks until my BIG 5K run/race. Y'all this is huge for me for several reasons. Allow me to explain:

a.) I don't like to run. Ask anybody.
b.) I don't like to run long distances, but since my goal this year is to run a 1/2 marathon... I need to change that way of thinking.
c.) And, I swore I'd never run a 5K, 10K or any other kind of race known to man because who in their right mind does that?

Here's the deal... I ran track when I was younger. But, I ran sprints and relay races. Believe it or not, I was pretty good at it too. But anything over a lap on the track was considered long distance to me. But look at me now... 38 years old, busting out 3 mile runs as if it's nuthin'. Well, let me rephrase that... huffing and puffing out 3 miles as if I'm about to die of oxygen starvation.

But wait, there's more. Would you believe that I'm actually enjoying running? It's the strangest thing, but I am actually feeling pretty good about the whole running thing. And, I'm making decent strides in my times. Yesterday, I ran 5K on the treadmill in 28 mins, 15 seconds. Whoohoo!

And allow me to let you in on a little secret that even I was hesitant to believe... But, the secret is in the shoes. I'm dead serious. If you want to take up running... get some decent shoes. Yes, I know, they are very expensive, etc., etc., but it's totally worth it. (I happened to get a great deal on my shoes. I paid $63.00 [shipped] for my Asics Kayano running shoes. Oh, and I also bought some running capri pants which are awesome! But, that's not a necessity, of course.

Enough about running. I don't want this to turn into Blog Brain Dump Snooze Fest 2011.

I'm on the Valentine Party "team" for Kyla's first grade class this year and our job is coordinate food, craft, games, etc. for the hour long party on Feb. 14th. Y'all know me... I love Valentine's Day. But, here's the deal... We have to plan a craft that is for both boys and girls. And it has to be relatively easy and non-messy. I'm all over the girl crafts. LOVE girly crafts! But, I'm stumped as to what a boy would want to do for a craft. I mean... these are 7 year old boys, so give 'em a glue stick and they are good to go. I'll be scouring the wise Internets for some ideas.

Speaking of Valentine's Day. I'm sad to report that we will not be hosting our annual Valentine's Tea Party this year. Since both girls are in indoor soccer this winter, we're totally booked on the weekends. I just don't think I could swing it with everything we have going on. AND... Elisan has decided that she is too old to host a V-day Tea Party for her friends. Sniff. Sad day.

Here's what you do when it's cold/wet and dreary outside. You make fleece headbands.

Randy came home that afternoon and inspected my headband handiwork and announced, "You know, you can buy these things at the store." But, I explained to him that the fleece remnant was a whopping $1.50 at Hobby Lobby as compared to a fleece headband you can buy for a$12-$15.00/each... all for the priviledge of advertising "Nike", "Adidas" or "Underarmour" on the front of your head. No thanks.

Don't forget about my Valentine's Day Photo Greeting Card giveaway. It's not just for locals... I'll mail the cards out to whoever wins! And, tell your friends. But, be sure to click on this link to enter, because I will only draw a name from those comments. (I'm a stickler like that!)

Oh, and by the way... I'm also for hire. I'm "officially" putting my design work out there again. So, if you have a birthday party, baby and/or bridal shower coming up or need a blog design face lift or just some graphic design work, contact me!

That's all. Steady on.

Valentine's Day Giveaway!

Another fun giveaway! I just {heart} V-day!

Because it's never to early...

... to begin thinking about Valentine's Day! Especially if you are like me and love V-day, but also if you have two little girls who love V-Day as much as their mama! Perhaps they learned that from me?

This year's Valentine design inspiration comes from Elisan, my nine year old.

"Mom, I don't want my Valentine cards to be too fancy this year. And, I want them to be black and white." she says.

What?! I was floored. "Why not?!" I insisted?

"I want them to be simple." she explained.

"Oh. Simple? I don't do simple very well, you know that, right?" I say.

But, simple is what she got...with a splash of hot pink! And she loved them. And I hope you will love them too!

Click on image to enlarge.

"You Make My Heart Fly" Postcards (x4/page). Download here.
"You Make My Heart Fly" Mini-Cards (x9/page). Download here.
"You Make My Heart Fly" Goodie-Bag Tags (x3/page). Download here.

Ummm, really? It's been 9 days?

So, I realized moments ago that it's been nine days since my last blog entry. Um, really? Nine days? Where did the time go?

Time doesn't stand still people... Remember that. You heard it here first!

Honestly, I've made for myself a new all-encompassing mega to-do list that has me doing something productive each hour and uh-oh... I didn't place any time in there for blogging. Imagine that! Could it be because it doesn't fall into the "productive" catergory? Could be.

So, an update on my running. I'm up to running 4 miles consecutively without stopping! AND, I can do this in under 40 minutes. I signed up for my very first 5K. It's on February 5th and I've enlisted a fellow mom from school to run with me! I'm excited!

It's official. My dog doesn't like to go outside to pee when it's wet, cold and/or rainy. BUT, he does enjoy waking me up at 4 a.m. to let me know that YES, he has to pee and NO, he will not be going outside to take care of his business.

Joy.

So, the other day... I put him in the garage and told him to get busy in there. After about an HOUR, he finally accomplished his business. Over by Randy's car. Right about where Randy would be placing his feet to get in and out of said car. Needless to say, that particular area on the garage floor is the cleanest it's ever been. Sigh.

TJ's new nickname? Princess. Yep. That's right. Princess.

Elisan told me yesterday that she has become "sensitive" at the ripe ol age of nine and that I need to tread lightly around her new sensitive nature. She also happened to mention that ALL of the girls in 4th grade are sensitive these days. Hmmmm, you don't say. I'm forecasting little girl hormones in my future.

But seriously, it's a strange thing seeing Elisan want to still play with Barbi's and dolls, yet, want to be a big kid all at the same time. She just doesn't know why... Pray for me. That's all I can say.

Well, that's about all I have. I need to get back to my list. I have a few bathrooms that are needing my immediate attention!

Steady on...

This is just for good measure! Love my girls! (Yes, I included TJ in that statement!)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year friends! I hope the beginning 2011 finds you well!

My sweet Elisan told me several days ago that she had "heard" that it was tradition to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve and was wondering why we never enjoyed this tradition at our home. Ah... to be young!

So, the girls were allowed to stay up as long as they wanted last night, but decided around 10:15 that it was late enough and they happily went to bed. I happily joined them. Randy was already in bed. We're such party'ers around here.

I've noticed in the Facebook and blog world people choosing a word for the new year. I camped on this thought for several days and finally, MY word came to me.
This word has many meanings for me.

For one, I will strive to not be full of fear over things I cannot control. This one is a hard one for me. But, honestly, living in fear is paralyzing. I had to come to terms with my fear over the summer when I visited a Christian counselor. He gave me perspective and helped me to come to grips with my irrational fears. I want to keep my fears at bay, and at times, I have harder days than others, but I know, that with Jesus Christ by my side, I will overcome.

Secondly, I want to get over my fears of rejection. I have a list of insecurities that are a mile long. I'm tired of living this way.

Third, I want to get over my fear of trying new things... and failing. Or succeeding... whatever the case may be. I have so many ideas rolling around in my head, but fear keeps me from moving forward. I'm afraid to fail for obvious reasons. Yet, I'm afraid to succeed and inevitably becoming overwhelmed and quitting. (Vicious cycle, I tell you!)

Fourth, I don't want my girls to have a mother who is a chicken. Or a scared'y cat. I want them to see me as a bold, confident woman who loves Jesus Christ with all of her heart who isn't afraid to be the best she can be...with failures along the way.

I've set out a few goals for me this year. If I don't accomplish them I won't chalk it up to defeat, but rather timing.

1.) Run a 1/2 marathon in November - 2011 Rock N Roll Marathon in San Antonio.
2.) Be a better wife and mother.
3.) Get a decent DSLR camera and take a photography class or two. (Or heck, just read the manual and teach myself!)
4.) Dig into the Word again. I mean, really dig and study. Not just read passages of a Bible reading plan.
5.) Renew friendships and make new. Be a better friend.
6.) Be more disciplined at home; Make the MOST of my time while my family is at work/school.
7.) Cultivate my digital design work style.
8.) Volunteer my time/talent in an area that glorifies God.

Fearless.

Post Christmas Wrap

We had such a wonderful Christmas weekend and I'm thankful that our entire family was able to join us, at our home.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

May you find peace and happiness in your world this Christmas!

Without the birth of our savior Jesus Christ,
we would not have a reason to celebrate!

Blogging Challenge! December 24th

Cookie decorating! Our time honored tradition!

This is the part of Christmas vacation that they look forward to the most. We did these all before 9 a.m. I have a house full of early risers!

I use this recipe for Glacé Icing. I love how it dries hard and shiny (and best of all - stackable!)

Check out Elisan's apron.
A present from my MIL the first year Randy and I were married.

Blogging Challenge! December 23rd

This is going to be a mini blog brain dump.

Here goes...

I realized... like reality set in and everything... that my 20 year class reunion is coming up in 2011. How can that be? I don't feel that old. Dang.

I have many, many things I should be doing right now, but can't seem to get my rear in gear to do it all. Nothing like waiting until the last minute... or not at all.

I've added running to my workout regime for the last two weeks. It's not that bad, although I must admit, I've only been running one mile. But, so as not to think I'm a total wimp, I'm running it as fast as I possibly can. Yesterday, I ran one mile in 8 min 33 secs. Not bad for a chick going to her 20th high school reunion soon.

But, the running totally wipes me out. I'm sooo sleepy right now.

This weekend we'll have a house full of folks. I'm looking forward to it and praising God I am not PMS'ing. (TMI, I know.)

My puppy is officially a "teenager" going through a bout of teenage angst. He is dying for a little independence, yet longs for lovin' and holdin'. He can't decide. But, come 7 p.m., he's a total lap dog. Totally.

We're going back to TiVo. I couldn't be happier. Cable DVR is horrible. We've had the cable DVR for a year and I've hated it from the first day we got it. Yay for TiVo!

Did I mention I'm sleepy?

I'm done, done, done with Christmas shopping! Yippee! Now, I just need to clean my "war room" a.k.a. spare bedroom turned into Christmas paper gift wrapping room.

I had a friend post on Facebook about people saying "Happy Holidays" versus "Merry Christmas" and she had such a good point, I felt it was necessary to pass it along.

• Posted on Facebook: "Please be kind to the people who wish you "Happy Holidays" They may prefer to wish you a Happy Kwanzaa or a Happy Hanukkah or a Merry Christmas but they also need to pay bills and feed their families. Just smile and say "Thank you" A snarly response may teach them a lesson but words with honey will make you both feel better."

You know, that's so true. I never thought about it that way... they are probably told by their employer that they must say "Happy Holidays" rather than Merry Christmas. I mean, sure... I prefer Merry Christmas... don't we all? But, yes... paying bills and feeding families is important too. That really made me stop and think. (Thanks Kendi!)

So... I'm off for now. Tomorrow is a big day around here. I'll try to throw up something here that is worthwhile. If not... oh well!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Blogging Challenge! December 22nd

As promised, here are a few of my favorite pictures of the girls from our photo shoot in November!

We had so much fun that day... once the girls loosened up a bit. Most of these pictures were taken in the final 10 minutes of us being out there. Remember... I took about 300 pictures!

But, these are my favorites! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

When did I get a teenager?

This picture of Kyla is so cute! Captures "her".

Have I mentioned how much I love these girls?

And how much they love each other?

Strike a pose!

By far, one of my all time favorite pictures!



This one too!

Just so stinking cute!

Love her!

And love her, too!

Silliness abounds!

Done for the day!

Blogging Challenge! December 21st

This is such a fun idea for inexpensive (less than $5.00!) grandparent gifts! And, it lasts all year long!

A price breakdown:

8x10 photo processing - $2.50 - $2.99 (depending where you go)
Laminating at Fedex Kinkos - $1.99/each

EMAIL ME if you want me to design one for you!

Here's how mine turned out! Very cute!

Here's an example of a two I did for friends!

Blogging Challenge! December 20th

Oh my word! I just realized it's December 20th! Where, oh where, has December gone?!

Thanksgiving weekend I took the girls out to the university near our home for a Christmas card photo shoot. After nearly 300 pictures (thank goodness for digital cameras!) and one hour later, I have to say I captured some of the best pictures of my girls I've ever taken! (I'll show you my favorites this week!)

Once I got home, I got busy editing the pictures with Picnik (an online photo editing software) and I love, love, love how they turned out! Picnik can be a bit overwhelming if you don't know where to begin, so I put together an abbreviated tutorial to help you get started!

Here's my after picture.

Step 1:
Select "Cross Process". Use the slider to adjust the look of your photo.

Step 2:
Select "Orton-ish" for a nice saturated 'glowy' look to your photo.
Use the sliders to adjust the look of your photo.

Step 3:
Select "Lomo-ish" for dramatic vignetting.

Step 4:
Select "Boost" to bring out colors and increase contrast.
Use the sliders to adjust the look of your photo.

Step 5:
Head back over to "Cross Process" and add a smidgen more of this process if desired.

Step 6:
Add text if desired.