Everything Except The Grill

Happy 4th of July 2010

2010-07-02T15:11:00.003-05:00

Do something fun this weekend!

Make cute flags from popsicle sticks!

Decorate your toes!

Shop for some Scentsy wickless candles!

Eat yummy cake!

On the Bookshelf

2010-05-16T22:29:00.009-05:00

A friend recently gave me a book she recommended titled A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel. She thought I would enjoy it since I had recently read The Glass Castle for MOPS book club and Half Broke Horses that was recommended by Charla, both by Jeannette Walls.
I will be starting it tonight- has anyone else read this one?

I just finished Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner this morning. I usually love the Jennifer Weiner books, but this one was not one of my favorites of hers.

Our next MOPS book club selection is The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. I'm looking forward to it as well because two of the girls in book club have already read it and loved it! Have you read it?

Last but not least... I finished I Will Carry You by Angie Smith a while ago. I had preordered this as soon as it was available and started in the day I got it. Loved every minute of her story as well as her blog. A total tear jearker... she is such an amazing person with a love for the Lord that is contagious.

A few recent cakes

2010-05-03T22:07:00.005-05:00

I recently helped a MOPS friend with some of her cake decorating skills. She had some of the basic cake decorating tools and the Wilton decorating books but had asked me for some help on a few things such. I spent a few hours helping her to the best of my abilities and she finished with a really good looking Batman cake for her son's birthday. This pic was taken with my cell phone so it isn't the best. I'm looking forward to seeing what Shari does with her future cakes and hope she sends me some pics- she is moving to Australia soon!

I tell you I get some strange requests for cakes. I had one for a Medicare card for a man turning 65.

This flower one was for confirmation last Sunday. Their mom had their memory verses printed out and was going to stick them onto this one.

I can't remember if I posted this little one but it was a USA cake. They preschoolers at my house have been learning about the USA at school. This little one wanted USA on his.

Book Update- Kindle vs. Nook

2010-05-03T21:30:00.003-05:00

Recently I posted about reading The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls for my MOPS book club. One of my blog world friends posted a comment that I should also read another Jeannette Walls book called Half Broke Horses.

I enjoyed Half Broke Horses but think I liked Glass Castle a little more. It was neat to see how they connected however. Thanks for the recommendation Charla!

Last night I started Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner. I have read and enjoyed several Jennifer Weiner books so I'm really thinking I will probably love this one as well.

Another thing about Charla is that she got a Kindle for Christmas. I have really been thinking a lot about getting one of these fancy pants reading devices. Hubby said I can use some of our tax money to get one for myself because he knows how much I love to read.

So, recently I have been looking into the differences between an Amazon Kindle and a Barnes and Noble Nook.

I have read articles comparing / contrasting the two, looked through reviews, and thought and thought about them.

The thing is... I don't purchase books very often. Usually, I get my books at the local library. I also look for several books at garage sales.

The last two books I got from the library- Half Broke Horses & Best Friends Forever are each $10 each in e-book form. That is $20 I could save instead of buying the books.

So now I am torn...I really want one, but don't want to spend the money on the books because I would buy books all the time!

Do you have an eReader? Which one do you have? What do you think of it?

5 Question Friday

2010-04-30T00:19:00.005-05:00

I am going to participate in Five Question Friday from My Little Life. I found this last week and was couldn't wait til Friday so I could join in.

Here are the questions for today:

1. If you could, would you go back to high school?

Heck no. I hated high school and in fact I graduated a year early. I was only 16 and it was one of the best decisions I have made.

2. If a genie appeared and granted you two wishes, what would they be? (And, no saying "more wishes".)

My first wish would be for a baby, but I think I actually would rather have a uterus again so I could have the fun of getting pregnant, taking a test, telling my husband, and experiencing pregnancy again. So...the first wish is a uterus. Isn't that funny!

My second wish would be a winning lottery ticket. They say money can't buy love, but I do think it could buy me a lot of things I would like...new cars for both of us, a bigger house, student loans paid off, a motorcycle for Matt, a fancy pants camperk endless trips to Target...... I could go on and on....

3. What kids show do you secretly like?

Lets see.... that really is all I watch each day, but I can't say I really "watch" any of them. I might go with Handy Manny. He is just a nice guy.

4. What is your beverage of choice?

Right now I am on my second glass of wine but it might be a close tie with Diet Coke. Depends on the time of day.

5. What is something that you would change about yourself (or are working to change in yourself)?

You know what I really want to change? I would like to fix my feet. I am really self consious about my feet. They are so dry and ugly and I can't find anything to make them nice and soft. Hubby has very soft feet- totally jealous.

Top 2 Tuesday-

2010-04-27T09:00:00.002-05:00

The Undomestic Momma has asked us for our favorite things about summer. Even though I don't like the hot hot days that we have in the midwest here, there are lots of things I do like about summer.

1. My birthday is in June and I love to start counting down about 6-8 months early. I love having a birthday get-together with friends. This summer I will be 32. Last year we had only been in our house for about 3 weeks and I actually don't remember what we did! For my 30th birthday, we got together with several friends and couples at a local winery. It was such a great night!

2. I also love spending time outside with friends for dinner and/ or drinks. Grilling out is one of my favorites for summer food! We are working on our (little) backyard a bit at a time to get it into a cute little spot for hanging out.

A few other things I love about summer are:

Garage Sales
Flip Flops
Camping
Pool Time
Gardening
Thunderstorms
Iowa State Fair

Be sure to check out The Undomestic Momma for more summer favorites!

ebook for Mother's Day

2010-04-26T21:37:00.004-05:00

Favorite Crafts Blog has published one of my projects in their Mother's Day eBook. You can download the eBook for free and it is filled with easy peasy ideas that you can make for some great gifts.

One of the great things about this is that it features 20 different crafty bloggers. What a great way to check out some new blogs while looking for some ideas for mom.

Chelsey Hill of Pretty My Drink
Pat Sloan of Pat Sloan
Fawnda Norman of Fireflies and Jellybeans
Terri Ricioli of Terri Ricioli Designs
Sarah Surface of householder/surface
Vanessa Valencia of A Fanciful Twist
Little Birdie Secrets
Joan Gorman of Nini Makes
Molly Kozera of Bit O’Shine
Terri O. of Super Simple Crafts
Jennifer Juniper of Hope Studios
Alla Koval of My Little City Girl
Amber Dyer of Everything Except the Grill
Amy Anderson of Mod Podge Rocks!
Becky Kazana of The Fab Miss B
Betz White of Betz White
Rachel of La Fuji Mama
Niki Meiners of Niki Meiners
Cristin Frank of The Eve of Reduction
Vicki O’Dell of Creative Goddess

Bookshelf

2010-04-12T22:36:00.004-05:00

I just finished The Glass Castle- a memoir by Jeannette Walls. This was a selection for our MOPS book club. I loved it. The author tells the story of growing up with her family. I thought it was so easy to read and get in to. I did however not like that it really was a memoir and that Ms. Walls went through some of the things she did growing up. It made me sad.

Tonight I am starting a book that I saw in a catalog at my grandma's house. Being the spoiled one that I am, gram ordered it right up for me. It is called Service Included by Phoebe Damrosch.

The Harper Collins site has this to say:

Warning: May contain material offensive to vegans, pharmaceutical lobbyists, and those on a low-sodium diet. Animals were harmed during the writing of this book.

While Phoebe Damrosch was waiting for life to happen, she supported herself by working as a waitress. Before long she was the only female captain at the four-star New York City restaurant Per Se during its first year. Service Included is the story of her obsession with food, her love affair with a sommelier, and her amusing, eye-opening, and sometimes shocking experiences in the fascinating, frenetic, highly competitive world of fine dining.

Sitting down at a restaurant table will never be the same.

And tonight B got to read his new book (also from the book catalog at Grams) William and the Magic Ring by Laura Robinson.

How fun was this- it comes with a flashlight and is called a shadow casting bedtime story. You flip the pages and use the flashlight to create the images on the wall as you read each page.

Page 1... William goes to bed...he hears a noise and looks at his bedroom window (not quoted)

He sees a crow with a magic ring outside his window....

A jackel wants to steal the magic ring from the crow...so he can be king!

What are you reading?

My Man Tag

2010-04-12T12:52:00.004-05:00

The Undomestic Momma has a fun game of tag for us today- Enjoy my answers and then TAG- YOU'RE IT!

*our happily ever after badges at WDW- So happy to be wearing them ;)

The Game of Tag about your MAN:

Who is your man? Matt

How long have you been together? married 7 years this summer

How long did you date? about 8 months

How old is your man? 34

Who eats more? That's a close one- LOL!

Who said "I love you" first? he did - I'm stubborn like that

Who is taller? me by about an inch

Who sings better? he can put on a better karaoke show than me...

Who is smarter? I am... and I'm always right!

Whose temper is worse? his- he gets way crabby too!

Who does the laundry? me

Who takes out the garbage? we both do

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Well, what is the right side? If you are laying in bed... he sleeps on the right. If you are standing at the foot of the bed facing it...then I am on the right.

Who pays the bills? he does- once a month -after payday

Who is better with the computer? probaly about the same

Who mows the lawn? he loves to!

Who cooks dinner? both- but I hate to!

Who drives when you are together? he always does

Who pays when you go out? him

Who is most stubborn? um...probably gonna have to say me.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me?

Whose parents do you see the most? mine, but we are lucky to have most of our family close.

Who asked who out? He had gotten my number from a friend and called and left me a message on my machine.. I wondered what he was calling about - did he want to go out with her???

Who proposed? him

Who wears the pants in the family? I do ;)

Prayers for Hogan

2010-04-09T22:36:00.002-05:00

A few days ago I started following this blog- Hogan is a week old today and was born with Trisomy 18. I encourage you to stop over and leave a few prayers for their family.

Top 2 Tuesday- Favorite Magazines

2010-04-06T09:09:00.003-05:00

Today on The Undomestic Momma we have been asked to post our favorite magazines.

My top favorite is People magazine. I love that it comes out each week and the stories they feature. It is not all gossip stories and hollywood news... it also features stories on everyday people and top news stories. Whenever I am going out of town or on a trip, I always pick up the latest issue of People to keep me busy!

My second favorite is probably Family Fun magazine. I love the ideas in it for creative ideas for kids and families. I always find something in each issue to make or do or a new tradition or idea to try out or start.

What are your favorite glossy reads? Check out others at the Undomestic Momma!

April Fool's Day menu

2010-03-31T14:51:00.000-05:00

On the Menu: Chicken drumsticks, peas & carrots, mashed potatoes, and a cupcake for dessert!

One of my daycare mommas brought this trick in for us today. I was so amazed all day and how fun these were!

Lovin' Lisa Leonard designs

2010-03-31T14:47:00.000-05:00

Okay ladies...another sweet giveaway on the market today for Giveaway Wednesday- another Lisa Leonard designs gift certificate. You can head over to The Undomestic Momma to enter to win a $50 gift certificate. Undomestic Momma is the same fun blog where the Top 2 Tuesday fun is! I'm so happy to have recently added it to my subscriber list!

In my last post I showed you some of my favorites (which I don't know how I could ever choose just one) that I want for myself. This one is called the friendship necklace. I have several besties who I would LOVE to give this to BUT... honestly, I tell you what.... If I was to win, I'm getting something for me so, sorry girls! Go enter for yourself!

Top Two Tuesday

2010-03-30T23:05:00.002-05:00

I did the Top 2 Tuesday a few weeks ago and then I forgot about it the next couple times! Darn it- and I missed some good ones too!

The Undomestic Momma is asking us today for 2 random things about ourselves.

hmmm... let's see....

1. I have never had a broken bone! As much as I want a cast so bad when I was in elementary and thought it would be so cool, I never had one. (fortunately!) A bad bad sprain when I was a freshman in HS was the closest I have come.

2. One of the many things I have always dreamed of was owning a small children's book store. (Like Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail). I have an addiction to children's books and could spend all day working with them, helping kids find the right books, and doing programs and activities for kids with books!

On the Bookshelf

2010-03-30T23:00:00.005-05:00

Last week I finished The Pact by Jodi Picoult. I am a big fan of Jodi Picoult books, even though they are usually so sad. This book made me feel very sad for the young couple in the story. The pressure they are under from their family and the issue of teen suicide. One of the hardest JP books for me to have read. Did like the book, as much as you can say that about a book that makes your heart hurt.

Next up for our MOPS book club is The Glass Castle. I am looking forward to reading this memoir on our upcoming trip to Florida.

What's on your bookshelf?

Ya'll wanna know what I want to win?

2010-03-30T22:49:00.004-05:00

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to win a $75 Lisa Leonard gift certificate. Would you? You can enter to win at a new blog discovery MommySnacks.net

Lisa Leonard has the most beautiful personalized jewelry. I have longed for several pieces for a long, long while now. If my hubby read my blog- maybe he would surprise me with a piece someday- but, he doesn't so that just means I need to win one!

Some of my favorites are:

Family Tree

Heart strings

Sweetheart

Family Crest

If I win, I would need help to pick- they are all so awesome!

Roll Call!!!

2010-03-28T00:30:00.002-05:00

Do you ever feel like there is no one out there in your blog world? I basically have two or three people who frequently comment but don't know who else reads my posts. I don't think I have a "focus" here- I write about a variety of things. I have two private blogs (one about our family and one about my daycare) that I write on more often. What do you want to see here? If we are friends or I know you and that you are not a creep, let me know and I can send you the private blog invite.

So- if you read this blog... leave me a comment here on this post to let me know that more than Krystal, Naomi, and Hollie read what I post ;) (Not that I don't love them!)

Selah in concert- Angie Smith speaking = Girls Night Fun!

2010-03-27T23:42:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday I had another amazing opportunity to see Selah in concert and hear Angie Smith speak in person. One amazing group and one amazing person- wow! There were 7 of us girls from my MOPS group that went and we all had a great time. They all have an amazing voice and Alan sure can play!

Angie is the most inspirational person for me- her faith is so amazing and I wish I could have even half of it.

This video is from October when Avalon and Selah came to LaVista. Don't forget to mute the music on the blog (if there is any currently) and enjoy the last song of the night with Selah and Avalon together.

Easter Crafty fun

2010-03-27T23:27:00.002-05:00

I put together a simple Easter party for our MOPS group today. I forgot my camera at home so I only have pictures of some of the finished projects we did.

Easter card station- we have used this a few times over the years at our Easter parties. Kiddos use their finger tip to make prints with ink or finger paint to be the eggs then decorate the rest of the basket.

Tissue paper carrots with paper grass tops

Marbled paper Easter eggs using the shaving cream technique. This was not one of the prettiest ones, but the only one we made it home with. So many people were impressed with this and thought it was so cool- it is SO simple and easy to do and the results are always beautiful! You can click here to see the ones we made for Valentine's Day. I also found some felt crosses to marker color. These had a magnet on the back already and looked like pretty stained glass.

This picture is not nearly as cute as these carrots are. I love this idea from The Moody Fashionista ( a new blog I just subscribed to- check it out!). Kids get so much candy, it is nice to hand out a half-way healthy snack. I plan on making these for the daycare tots for Easter. Her pictures are better and I tried to find green rick rack at our hobby store, but they didn't have any in green so I had to go with a few green and white ribbons. I love how bright her rick rack is on the top of the carrots.

On the Bookshelf

2010-03-24T18:02:00.004-05:00

Tonight is our MOPS book club meeting. We have about 6 who attend regularly. We meet once every other month and the hostess gets to choose the book we read to discuss. Our hostess Krytal choose The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I liked the book, but didn't love it. It wasn't hard for me to get through or anything, just won't be going on my top faves list- (sorry Krystal!)

After I finished reading The Bean Trees last week I needed another book. I had been discussing several Jodi Picoult books with some friends on Sunday and mentioned that I have The Pact at home but have not read it. My friend Christie said it was good so I started in on that.

This one is difficult for me to read, but not because I am not "liking" it. It is about a alleged teen suicide pact between a young couple. It is just making me sad reading it.

I have always enjoyed Jodi Picoult's books- which ones of hers are your favorites? I have a few others in my pile of books that I haven't read yet.

So far I have read: Picture Perfect, My Sister's Keeper, Nineteen Minutes, & Change of Heart.

I am also looking forward to her newest book: House Rules

There was a story on Jodi Picoult in our Sunday paper last week. One thing that surprised me was that she says she answers every email or letter she gets from her fans. Maybe I will have to write her sometime and tell her that I enjoy her books!

Celebrating Spring!

2010-03-22T21:25:00.003-05:00

All traces of snow are nearly gone and we celebrated the arrival of spring this weekend with a Robin's nest picture. The kids used watercolor paints for the eggs and then glued pieces of twine into a general nest shape that I drew for an outline for them. The preschoolers wrote Happy Spring on the top! I love how one little girl put her eggs on top of the nest like you are looking into it from the top.

In other news.... I made this beach themed cake for the weekend for a Hawaiian themed beach party

Midwest Weather

2010-03-17T22:40:00.001-05:00

Great... 64 tomorrow and snow on Friday. Gotta love the midwest. Luckily, we leave for Disney 2 weeks from today!

ugh. boring ol' blog layout

2010-03-16T22:35:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to say that I am tired of the look of my blog lately. I have tried several backgrounds for a few days here or there but don't really feel any of them. Does anyone have any suggestions for any sites I might not have heard of to check for some free ones?

USA freezer paper shirt

2010-03-16T18:27:00.000-05:00

Our daycare had another little boy turn 5 last week. Last year all of the kids got a dvd for their birthday from me. I have always been stressed in previous years trying to find similar price items that the kids would like, so it works better for me to just pick a theme for the year and stick with it.

B really loves his freezer paper shirts I have made him so I thought it was a good idea. You can see some of those here, here, or here.

At the boys' preschool, they have been making maps and learning about the continents and states. I had given this boy several ideas for what he might want for a shirt but the kids were talking and came back to me with a United States shirt.

Sorry this picture is sideways.... I am having computer issues again!!!

So that is what we did! I also did the cake to match with a quick USA on it.

Little Leprechauns hard at work

2010-03-16T13:51:00.005-05:00

Leprechauns love to count their gold, so why not have a golden snack... We used tiny scoops to fill up our Leprechaun pots. If we used the big scoops, it only took 3 scoops...if we used the tiny ones, it took about 16! What a delicious pot of gold! (Pops Cereal & muffin tin liners)

I did this Fruit Loops rainbow a few years ago and loved the way it turned out. Now the little ones get their turn to make a rainbow!

First, I start each row with the correct color and then they finish coloring in the rainbow.

Once it is all colored, I put glue on one row at a time. They do such a good job sorting out the colors that they need. This year I also added the sparkly black felt for the pot and we used dot markers to make the gold coins. I added gold glitter over the coins to make they extra sparkly!

Shamrock Shakers- Each child can cut/ glue on pieces to form a shamrock. We then added stickers and yellow dot markers for the gold coins. Fill with beans or dried pasta and staple shut. An instant instrument!

The Shamrock Shake:
"Hokey-Pokey" tune

You put your shamrock in
You put your shamrock out
You put your shamrock in and you shake it all about.
You do the shamrock circle and you turn yourself around-
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

You shake your shamrock high
You shake your low
You shake your shamrock fast
and then you shake it ssllooww
You do the shamrock circle and you turn yourself around-
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

You shake your shamrock left,
You shake your shamrock right,
You shake your soft, then sake with all your might
You do the shamrock circle and you turn yourself around-
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Omaha Zoo

2010-03-16T11:11:00.005-05:00

We have one of the best zoo's around in Omaha. The Henry Doorly Zoo is hard to beat. We have such a fun time everytime we go. The best days are the cool and dreary days of spring and fall because you pretty much have the place to yourself- along with the animals of course! The kids get such good opportunities to look at everything without "big people" in their way and we can take our time and look closer at whatever they are interested in that day.

The rainforest had several babies for us to see...

Rope bridge in the rainforest- The monkeys were so loud this morning! They are always hoopin' and hollarin' in the mornings!

Love hippos!

B always use to call the peacocks "hehocks". Now he has adjusted that word to calling them peahocks... well, is is 1/2 way there!

Letter of the Week J & K

2010-03-16T11:03:00.003-05:00

We have been trying to catch up on our letter series. We recently did J for Jewels and K for keys.

Everyone had a neclace of keys to wear on K day!

Dr. Seuss Fun

2010-03-16T10:35:00.005-05:00

We celebrated the birthday of Dr. Suess on March 1 & 2. We had several activities during the days.

We went outside to "Hop on Pop"

You have to have "Green Eggs & Ham" for lunch of course!

We put together take home books on some of the different books we read:

"The Foot Book"

"One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish"

"10 Apples Up on Top"

"Green Eggs and Ham"

The cover of our books~

We also had our Seuss decorations all over the house that I had used in my classroom and enjoyed birthday cake for snack!

Top Two Tuesday

2010-03-09T21:31:00.003-06:00

One of the blogs I really enjoy reading is Katie's When Hello Means Goodbye. I have enjoyed several things on her blog. Today she participated in Top Two Tuesday on The Undomestic Momma.

I quickly added this new blog to my google reader and will give Top Two Tuesday a try myself!

Today the topic was baby names! Hard for me to settle on just two to give ya though! Since I don't see any babies in our near future I will go along the path of Katie and give you the names I thought I wanted before I had children.

Boy- I loved the name Rylan. I thought I made it up because I had never heard any one by that name. I'm pretty sure I have come across one or two now however.

Girl- I also thought I wanted to name my girl Mallory. Don't care for it now as much but at the time I thought it was such a pretty name. I know, I know... you are all thinking Family Ties.

It sure is funny how our tastes change!

Check out The Undomestic Momma for more names!

On the Bookshelf

2010-03-09T20:36:00.005-06:00

I recently finished two books. The first one was The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond. This had been on my reading list since last spring. While we were in Des Moines a few back, I purchased this book for about $10 at Target to read in the hotel. I rarely purchase a book anywhere other than a garage sale, but $10 wasn't too bad.

It wasn't as great as I had expected it to be considering all of the different reading lists I saw it on, but I did enjoy it.

One of my friends in MOPS asked me to go see the "Dear John" movie that is based on the Dear John novel by Nicholas Sparks. I'm wierd like that that I like to read a book before I see the movie.

I happened to already have it in my "box of books to read" that I have picked up at several garage sales or other random places. I got to it as quick as I could so we could see the movie while it was in the theater.

I didn't really know what it was about and hadn't seen any of the previews for the movie. It only took me a few days to finish it because yesterday afternoon and night I read the last half. I couldn't put it down and wanted to see how it ended up. I was totally crying as I laid in bed reading it.

As I was looking up the trailer to link up, I just watched it and I am going to cry, cry, cry at the movie!!!

The only other Nicholas Sparks book I have read is Three Weeks With My Brother. I enjoyed that one as well. That book was chosen by my friend Krystal for our book club meeting about a year ago.

She happens to be hosting our book club next week again. This time she has chosen for us The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I have never read any of her books but have heard about her. I am looking forward to it because I know it is a favorite of hers.

Tuesday's are just terrific with...

2010-02-16T23:04:00.003-06:00

Two things to look forward to on Tuesdays:

The Bachelor post on Mama's Losin' It- even though I haven't watched the show for a few seasons now, I really look forward to reading Mama Kat's post on it. They just might even be better than watching the show.

and

Project 52 Date night reviews on Simply Modern Mom- I just recently fell in love with this blog and want to start my own version of the Project 52 date night challenge with my hubby. Each Tuesday they post a he said/ she said review of their date. I love getting new ideas on things we could do together!

Love List

2010-02-14T23:05:00.008-06:00

I love Charla's post idea (that she took from a friend of her's) on a Love List. In honor of the last few minutes of Valentine's Day- here is mine!

My boys- the loves of my life..nothing makes me happier!

Our house full of pets

Diet Coke

our close family

being a home owner

blog reading

falling in love

Jimmy John's

traveling to new places

Sex and the City

New York City

sweet memories

naps

Spaghetti Works

weddings

my pocket size digital camera

pretty woman

reading

planting flowers

my MOPS group

dreaming

new furniture

having a dishwasher

the sound of the birds in the morning

making a snowman

my new glasses

Barnes and Noble

the beach

wine by the bottle

pictures

snuggling with B

mascara

quiet

getting the mail

Friday nights

Cuckoo Clocks

our backyard

Blueberry Muffin Cheesecake by Scentsy

our wedding

my college degree

long trips to Target

personalized jewelry (like Lisa Leonard)

my cozy bed

pink- the color and the singer

fresh notebooks

storage tubs

having hope

glue guns

garage sales

white roses

taking classes

Valentine's Day -10

2010-02-07T17:43:00.003-06:00

This week we did a few things to get ready for Valentine's Day. I had seen Love Bugs on several blogs, but wanted to incorporate the marble paper technique with shaving cream. I love the results you get with this!

After we did the shaving cream marbling, we painted glue around each section of the wings. The kids each had a variety of Valentine confetti to choose from to sprinkle into the glue. Next was the glitter- I just love projects with glitter! It really makes them pop! We finished the love bugs off with google eyes, heart mouth, and sparkly antenas.

**If you are not familiar with the shaving cream technique... you have been missing out! It is so much fun. We use a large baking sheet and fill it with the cheapest foam shaving cream. Next, we drop our selected colors randomly over the shaving cream with liquid food coloring. We gently swirl the colors and then lay our paper down on top face down. Tap the paper into the shaving cream, making sure that all of it gets covered. Last, scrape off the shaving cream and enjoy your beautiful marble creation!

Meal Time Monday

2010-01-25T22:12:00.008-06:00

One of my favorite easy recipes to make for dinner is Enchilada Casserole. I have made it for years and love it just as much for leftovers too.

I use a round casserole dish and bake it at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger

30 oz. enchilada sauce

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
5-7 tortilla shells

Directions:

Brown 1 lb. of hamburger and drain.

Mix hamburger together with 30 oz. of enchilada sauce.

Add about 1/2 cup of the meat/ sauce mixture to the bottom of dish.

Alternate layers of tortilla shells with a scoop of the meat/ sauce mix (enough to cover the shell) and a handful of shredded cheddar cheese.

Bake in oven and let set for about 5 minutes before serving.

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We served ours with mexican rice and a salad. Enjoy!

Snowman Fun

2010-01-17T18:08:00.005-06:00

Hooray! The snow was perfect today for snowman building!

Mommy snowman with a warm heart and glasses!

Tuff guy daddy snowman with the wild and crazy hair!

Little snowman for B! He got a super cute snowman kit from his grandma for his birthday. It looks so cool lit up at night!

Snowman Art

2010-01-17T17:47:00.003-06:00

This past week we made some snowman art. We have so much snow on the ground but it has not been "right" for snowman making outside so we decided to make them inside!

We used three sections of a Styrofoam cup for our circles dipped in white paint.
Next we sprinkled white glitter on the wet paint.

After they were dry we used twine for the arms, foam shapes for the buttons, eyes, and nose, felt for the scarf and hat.

Why I love Book Club

2010-01-10T22:52:00.003-06:00

The book club I am part of stems from our local MOPS group. We have been meeting for about a year and a half now. We meet every other month and I have been lucky enough to make each meeting. We also take turns hosting and the hostess chooses the book we read. One of our guidelines we try to go with is that we try not choose books that are super new because many of us like to get the books from our local library vs. purchasing them new in hardback. Our library usually only has one copy that we take turns with and some of the ladies have also purchased their books online at used prices.

One of my favorite things about the book club is that I have read some books I would never have picked for myself. Some of them I have really enjoyed ( The Good Earth, Three Weeks With My Brother, & The Notebook) and only one or two did I dislike (The Red Tent). It forces me out of my usual genre (Good in Bed, Something Borrowed, Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, Yada Yada Prayer Group, Stephanie Plum Novels.

We are meeting at my house in a few weeks to discuss the book Icy Sparks by Gwyn Hyman Rubio. I had found this book at a garage sale a year or so ago and needed to make a decision one night on what our next selection was going to be. I grabbed this one out of my overflowing book box of "books to read". I really enjoyed it. It was full of sadness with some humor and love mixed in.

I am currenty reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck. This was not a book club selection by two of the gals in BC say it is their top favorite, so I thought I would give it a try. It is HUGE and for the first week or so I swear I was not even making a dent in it. Now I am over half way done and pick it up any time I can. I am really enjoying it. It is so interesting. Full of twists and turns with all of the characters.

I have looked at the new techie items out there for the digital reading of books...the e-reader thing-a-ma-jigs. There is the Amazon Kindle, which I first heard about when I saw Oprah giving them away on one of her shows, and the Nook by Barnes and Noble which I heard about at the stores while shopping one day. A Cowgirl at Heart just got one (Kindle) for Christmas and I can't wait to hear more about how much she loves hers as she breaks it in a bit. There are others I'm sure, but these are the only two I have really heard about.

One of the things I would have liked one of these for is that I heard that while you are reading if you come across a word that you would like to look up, you can just push a button. My lazy butt is not getting out of bed to go get a dictionary so I think I would use this feature. Right now I rely on my "context clues" from good ol' 4th grade to help me.

Okay that is just a lame reason for why I would like one...I really just think they would be cool to have and have basically a bookstore at your fingertips. Prices are generally lower on purchasing e books as well.

Freezer Paper Shirts

2010-01-06T16:39:00.002-06:00

I have been having so much fun again making freezer paper stencil shirts. You can check out my first ones I did here.

The first one I did recently was a "Max" from Where the Wild Things Are. I made one for B to wear when we went to see the movie at the IMAX. He ran into one of his buddies from preschool while we were there!

He loves his Wild Things shirt!

The next one we worked on was the Alivin shirt to wear to the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. He is totally the cutest kid in the theater when he has his theme shirt!

I know I have already posted this picture, but the third freezer paper shirts we made were our shirts for NYE. B had 2010, mom sported 20, and dad wore 10! How cute R we?

If you have not tried freezer paper stenciling yet, it is so easy! You can do it on shirts, bags, pillowcases...endless possibilities. Let me know if you decide to try it.

Happy New Year! Welcome 2010

2010-01-06T10:54:00.008-06:00

Our New Year's Eve was full of lots of fun this year. We attended a party at the Children's Museum.

I just love the way our shirts turned out for us to wear out! I think they were adorable!

This event was called the "First Night of Play". It was our first year to purchase tickets. When we arrived we were handed tickets for dinner and a gift bag. The line looked a little long so we went ahead and waited for the pizza before the line got any longer. After dinner we hunted down the gift bag station since we had seen several people carrying theirs around and it looked like it was full of fun goodies!

The canvas bag consisted on bubble wrap paper to be used later on for the countdown at 8 PM, party hats, horns, 2010 glasses, bouncy balls, stickers, tattoos, glow sticks, bubbles and some more little stuff. Perfect stuff for a party!

We played around in the different areas of the museum.

While we were playing upstairs in the "Garden of Gizmos" exhibit, we were able to watch the fireworks in downtown Omaha out the windows. It was nice to be able to see them from the cozy inside!

B enjoyed the face painting station and also made a glow bug (you can see it sitting on the table by him)

Our play time went fast and it was time to get our party stuff out because the countdown was about to begin. Everyone stopped playing and starting marking their spot on the floor for their bubble wrap.

10...9...8....7....

Happy New Year!!!

*****************************************

We arrived home about 9 PM and had a babysitter at the house for B to stay with while we attended a grown-up party.

Mom and Dad had lots of fun at their party welcoming in the New Year at 12 again! (Instead of 8 this time!)

Getting ready for the party!

2009-12-31T15:13:00.007-06:00

Tonight we are going to the Omaha Children's Museum for the First Night of Play: Glow in the Garden party. I have wanted to take B for the past few years, but I think he will really enjoy it this year. The website describes it as:

"Families will ring in 2010 at this early New Year's Eve Celebration that leaves time for mom and dad to celebrate afterward. A night of fun complete with a countdown and bubble wrap stomp, gift bag, activities throughout the museum and pizza dinner!"

Following the Children's party, hubby and I are attending a party in town. B will be staying home with a babysitter, which he is so excited about!

As we go out to enjoy the festivities, we will be sporting some 2010 attire to welcome in the new year. I just got my new camera yesterday and the memory card today, so you can be sure I will be snappin' away tonight of all of the fun!

These were done with the freezer paper stencil method. I've really been into doing shirts lately. I have a couple more I will post about this next week.

*******

The kids also tried out our fairly new paint bellows I purchased from the Let's Explore Shop. We used some cardstock to make a reverse stencil and then they used pink, blue, and red to spray the design. I love the way they look!

*****

Have a happy & safe New Years's!

See you in 2010~

2009, Year In Review!

2009-12-31T12:48:00.016-06:00

Our 2009 Year In Review!!! The good, the bad, the smelly, the travels, the friends, the family, the new, and the old!

VACATION TIME

Got free tickets to the Iowa Cubs game!

Go Cubs!

"Here mom, catch this ball!"

Spent some time at Adventureland. B rode his first roller coaster- The Dragon!

We went to Lincoln, NE to see Thomas- Live on Stage.

TIME WITH FRIENDS

Kim and Amber

Wendeline, Amber, and Hollie

Hubby, B, and "Uncle" Terry back from Okinawa, Japan and the USAF.

B with his buddy C.

ALL THINGS NEW

We bought our first house! We have been having lots of fun with that.

We got a new yellow lab puppie! Oh, puppies are so much fun!! ;) She is such a sweetie though!

Hubby's team wrestled in the brand new high school gym!

We got a new cat named Russel from our friends Benn and Amy.

Our neice Keagan was born!

Amber started selling Scentsy Wickless candles. Click here for more info on a "scentsational" product!!
It had been nice to have something to get out of the house that makes me a little money!

I could also be found still making cakes as time allows.

Matt enjoyed his officiating crew for football again this year. He also still works for the funeral home on the side as well. Busy, Busy!

Memorable Moments

Block building

Leprechaun hunting on St. Patty's.

Visiting the chicks at Tractor Supply.

Happy Easter!

Another black eye!

Future Wrestler!

Amber and B traveled for some "girl party" time to Fremont, NE.

First Fish!

Happy Mother's Day!

#8 on the baseball team. We tried soccer the year before, but I think he enjoyed baseball more.

Now rides with NO training wheels!

Hanging at the pool!

Daddy and Uncle Jeff with Keagan.

Petting our friend's calf.

Independance Day parade

4th of July at the River

Kenefik Park

The visit with the Rescue squad!

Josie had her brother Charles over for a visit for 2 days while his mom and dad were out of town.

Celebrating Matt's birthday- okay, and a wedding too.

Crossing the Bob Kerry Bridge..Travelin' with the Trib!

Apple Orchard visit

Trick or Treat with buddy Pierce

The beautiful mums at our new house

B finished his world map at school.

Looking for pumpkins at the patch for our MOPS family party.

Hunting with dad.

Holiday Lights Festival

Visiting with Santa for the Tot Spot Christmas party.

Ugly sweater party attire!

Blizzard #2 of 2009!

Good-Byes

We had lunch and said farewell to our good friend Krista who was moving another 2 hours away (on top of the already 2 hours!)

Our "new" friends moved back closer to family...we would have loved to have hung out with you longer- we had so much fun!

The Stinky

Who could forget the rotten eggs of 2009?

Holla if ya' happy!

2009-12-29T17:57:00.002-06:00

HOLLA!!! I 'm so happy that my current camera is STILL covered under the extended warranty we purchased. Just not too happy about the fact that this is the THIRD time I have had to take advantage of the warranty. Not pleased with the performance of the Canon camera. And not happy with it breaking on Christmas Eve, just before we started our family Christmas... so- no pics for me Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning, or Christmas Day. Bummer.

So, going in for repairs (and hopefully replaced this time, not just fixed!) is the Canon S5 IS

But, in the meantime... Mrs. Claus decided that I need to go ahead and use the Christmas money on a pocket camera for myself. I have wanted one for a long time, liked the ones I have seen friends/ family have, and think it will be just great~

After looking at several (and not wanting to get another Canon) and the recommendation of a friend, I settled on the Sony Cybershot DSC-W290. Holla!!!!

I think it should arrive tomorrow- WHOOT WHOOT!

serious poop

2009-12-24T19:50:00.002-06:00

My camera broke tonight at my MIL's. Now I will not have one to take Christmas shots!! Aarrgh! Let's just hope it is still covered under the extended warranty we purchased with it.

You can bet I am heading out the day after Christmas to purchase myself a small pocket size one to put in my purse.

But wait, we are in the middle of a blizzard and I will probably be stuck here!!!!!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T23:54:00.003-06:00

The Christmas season is here and the new year is around the corner....

May your holiday be full of friends, family, food & fun with wonderful memories to last a lifetime...

...and wishing you FUN in 2010!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Christmas Spirit

2009-12-23T10:51:00.000-06:00

5 Years Ago Tonight...

2009-12-14T23:52:00.003-06:00

I didn't know just how wonderful life could be...

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

2009-11-22T18:06:00.002-06:00

Here is our winner of the $10 Target gift card and the Scentsy car candle. Thanks again to everyone who played along with session 3!

Please email me your mailing address and I will get it right out to you!

* Hopefully this video works...It was my first time trying to upload a video to the blog. I'm not as funny as Mama Kat, but hopefully I can participate in some of her video blogs now that I have my fancy new Flip camera that I won on her blog!!

Friday Shot of the Day

2009-11-20T20:36:00.003-06:00

Thank you to everyone who participated in the My Life. In Pictures. challenge this week. I always enjoy looking at what everyone shares.

The winner of the Friday Shot of the Day is ..... Kristie at Kristie's Notes. Her husband gave her some beautiful roses that used to show us the sense of "smell". Great job, Kristie and Happy Anniversary!

I will tally up all of the entries and announce our winner tomorrow! I have to work up the nerve to use my new Flip camera to post the winner with a video for ya'll!

Two side notes.... Curly Muse commented yesterday that all of our winners were pictures of/ with children- I had not noticed that- how interesting!

And ...this week Dorinda showed us her beautiful yellow frilled canary and I commented about our bird.... and our poor Henry bird died this afternoon. So sad... we had had him for over 2 years. boohoo.

My Life. In Pictures. Session 3/ Day 5

2009-11-20T09:07:00.004-06:00

Our Shot of the Day winner from "taste" on Thursday is Krystal. She showed us a beautiful picture (even though her hubby took it) of her and the boys enjoying a snack after a hike.

Our final day of the My Life. In Pictures. Session 3 challenge is focusing on the sense of smell.

A few months ago I signed up with a company called Scentsy. Scentsy offers safe, clean, wickless candles, room sprays, travel tins, and car candles. I can do home parties in open house or presentation style, basket parties, or fairs and events.

I really have been enjoying my new little "job" because it gives me something to look forward to doing on my own with "grown-ups" in the evenings or weekends. I can set whatever schedule I want so I only have to do as much or as little as I would like as well. I enjoy putting on nice clothes, make up, and doing my hair when I have a party to go to. It's quite different from the day to day daycare routine!

Every few days I receive a shipment of boxes that customers have ordered. The first thing I do is take everything out and label it with my name and contact info on stickers. My husband and son have been helping me with getting the stickers put on each item.

As soon as we open one of the boxes, the smell fills the room from all of the Scentsy bars in the box. When we were working on this latest shipment, I thought that this would be a great picture for the sense of smell day!

If you haven't heard of Scentsy products, be sure to check out my website and take a look around!

I am also going to include a free car candle with the winner of our $10 gift card!

My Life. In Pictures. Session 3/ Day 4

2009-11-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

Our Wednesday Shot of the Day goes to Patti. She was the first one to enter for Wed. and I loved the picture right away! It goes perfect with the sense of touch. I also love the shadow and sunlight in the picture. Great job- and you earned an extra entry for the Target gift card!

Can I also tell you that all of you who participate make it very difficult for me to pick one photo for the Shot of the Day. Several times during these last three sessions of My Life. In Pictures I have had to narrow it down and call in my hubby for back up to make the decision. It is so fun to get a peak into each one of your lives.

For Thursday, the challenge is "taste". I'm really stretching here on this one... but I didn't just want to take a picture of something I was eating today!

Here is my turkey... ready for Thanksgiving- made out of M & M's. We are potty training here at the daycare and these are used for "potty treats" so we have a huge bag of M & M's.

The picture is nothing special and I was feeling like a big dork as I sat at the table trying to make a turkey out of candies. I went a little wack-o on the editing, using my favorite site Picnik.

Who doesn't love the taste of plain ol' M & M's?

Tomorrow is our last day for the Session 3 of the My Life. In Pictures. challenge. Stop back and check out what everyone has for "smell" on Friday and this weekend I will give it a shot to use my Flip camera to let you know who are winner is!

Yea!

Tuesday's Shot of the Day & a few reminders

2009-11-18T14:06:00.003-06:00

The Shot of the Day for Tuesday goes to Giggly Girls. If you have not checked out this picture- make sure you stop over and look at it. It makes me laugh (or should I say giggle?) because it is always funny to see someone else's kid screaming or throwing a fit. All of us that are parents have all been there and it makes us feel a little better to see that everyone else has kids that act up too (you do, right??? It's not just me is it???)

With a very active almost 5 year old and a house full of daycare kids- this is actually exactly what I picture when you ask me what do I think of when I think of "hearing". It is always so loud here at my house!

Great job, Giggly Girls- you have earned an extra entry for our Target gift card!

I also wanted to give you a few reminders as well:

Please be sure that when you are linking your post up to Mr. Linky that you use the URL to your entry POST, not the URL to your blog. Here is what the difference looks like:

my blog URL:
http://www.everythingexceptthegrill.blogspot.com/

and here is the URL to an exact post: ( you can find this by clicking on the title of the post you want to link up and then highlighting everything that is in your browser)
http://everythingexceptthegrill.blogspot.com/2009/11/my-life-in-pictures-session-3-day-1.html

That way when people want to click to see your pictures, they will be directed right to the entry for that day and don't have to search through your whole blog.

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Speaking of visiting other blogs.... be sure to visit the blogs of those who are playing along and leave them some comment love on their pictures they are submitting to My Life. In Pictures- everyone wants to be loved.

That's it- enjoy the rest of your day and don't forget to link up your picture for TOUCH!

My Life. In Pictures. Session 3/ Day 3

2009-11-18T01:08:00.004-06:00

The challenge for Wednesday is to show something that represents the sense of "touch". I knew right away what I wanted to show for this. Last week, I went to a craft fair in Omaha. I fell in love with one of the booths, Bebe Bella Designs. They had the cutest things in the minky chenille material.... so soft to touch. If I had a girl, I could have easily got several things for her. But, since I don't- I had to settle for finding something for myself. I was torn between the scarf (oh, you know how I love scarves) and the pillowcase. We walked around a bit and I decided to go with the pillowcase. There was only 3 or 4 colors to choose from at the booth, and none of them really matched my bedroom, so I went with baby pink of course! So girly! And all for me! I didn't plan on sharing!

It is so soft. I love the lay my cheek on it when I am going to bed. It feels like sleeping on velvety bubble wrap. I know you are probably thinking that sleeping on all of those little bumps would not be great- but I love it!

Which, speaking of my pillow.... What the heck! It is after 1 AM and I need to get to bed! I am telling myself it is okay to not post the SOTD right now for Tuesday. I will do it first thing in the am!

Goodnight, don't be jealous that I get to go sleep on that soft, cozy, pink pillow now you hear?

My Life In Pictures- Session 3/ Day 2

2009-11-17T00:01:00.000-06:00

Our SHOT OF THE DAY....goes to....Annie! I love the detail of the photo of her son watching the rocket lift off... how many of you noticed the reflection in his eye when you first looked at the photo?

Congrats Annie- you earned an extra entry for our drawing on Friday!!! Everyone who enters gets one entry per day that they enter and our SOTD winner will get an extra entry for a chance to win a $10 gift card to Target. (whoa, hold back the excitement...a big 10 bucks, but hey, it's all I got!)

Today we are looking at pictures from our life that show us the sense of "hearing". As I am putting this post together for Tuesday (Monday night) I was sitting in the kitchen listening to the sounds I heard around me. I decided to go with the sound I hear from B's room as he is trying to go to sleep. He is listening to the cd from bible school this summer on a cd player/ clock radio that sits on his dresser. It has a cool blue glow to it. The time however is not 2:2o. It happens to get unpluged frequently, so the time is usually not set correctly. The picture showes up much cooler if I took it with no flash so you could see the glow of the light. When I took the photo with the flash, it looked like an ordinary cd player on top of a dresser owned by a 4 year old.

When we lived in our old house, B used to listen to the music in his room almost every night. He would holler for us when the cd would get finished and we would have to go in and start it again for him. He hasn't had a cd player in his room for a while now, but this October we purchased a KidsBop Halloween cd that we played (a little too) frequently out in our kitchen on this cd player. All the daycare kids would jam out to dancing and singing to songs like the witch doctor and monster mash....about a million and seven times a day. When Halloween has happily over I packed the cd away until the torture I will put myself through next year and moved the cd player into B's room. He has been enjoying music again at bedtime since then again.

Monday night at book club at a friends house, I listened to the crackling of the fireplace and the wind and rain on the windows while we were warm and cozy inside. I heard the sounds of our three doggies barking and rolling around with each other all day. Earlier, there was cartoons and laughter while the house was full of daycare kids (but not much tattling today) I heard water dripping in the shower stall in the basement when I went in to put in a load of laundry....our senses are always busy.... but how often do we take the time to realize what we are surrounded by?

Join us as we look at:
Wednesday- touch
Thursday- taste
Friday- smell

My Life. In Pictures. Session 3/ Day 1

2009-11-16T00:01:00.001-06:00

This week in the My Life. In Pictures. photo challenge we are looking at "The 5 Senses". You are welcome to join in all 5 days or just one of them- click here for more info on this challenge! We are looking forward to what you can show us about your life!

Today the challenge is "Sight". One of the great things about the midwest is all of the beautiful trees we have in the fall that change color and drop their leaves. This is our first fall in our new house and our neighbors had some beautiful colored leaves that were so pretty to see. If you remember from our first photo challenge, I really enjoy looking out our front doors at the world.

The schedule for the week is:

Monday: Sight

Tuesday: Hearing

Wednesday: Touch

Thursday: Taste

Friday: Smell

* Be sure to use Mr. Linky to visit the blogs of all the others and take a peek at their life!

Our neighbor directly east across from our house had two full trees that filled his yard with beautiful yellow leaves. I know that tons of leaves in a yard like this are sort of a pain, but when I see a yard blanketed in leaves, it just looks so full of possibility. Leaf fights, leaf piles to jump in, and leaves to kick with your feet as you walk through them.

I enjoyed looking our our front door and living room windows each day at the colors right in front of me!

My Life. In Pictures- Session 3

2009-11-13T13:38:00.004-06:00

The purpose of this photo challenge project is to encourage you to pick up your camera and start capturing details of your life. This project should also serve as a way to look at what others are finding to shoot and will hopefully keep you inspired to look for more moments in your life you wouldn't always think to capture with your camera.

My Life. In Pictures #3 challenge will start on November 16 and run through November 20.

The assignment will be: The five senses!

Thanks to Naomi at Delhi Bound for suggesting it. I have been so busy and didn’t feel the energy to come up with some great topics. If you have not been to her blog, please take some time to check it out. She has the coolest experiences and I love reading about her life in India. I think we can have so much with this! It will be fun to see how everyone interprets this and what you find to share.

Monday: Sight
Tuesday: Hearing
Wednesday: Touch
Thursday: Taste
Friday: Smell

New on Challenge #3… I’m trying to mix it up a little bit here, and will be giving away a prize at then end of the week. Now, I’m not rich- so it’s not much! I just wanted to be able to make it fun and have a little incentive for playing along with us. Each day you enter I will count as one entry. At the end of the week I will count all of our entries and choose a random winner for a $10 gift card to Target- my other love.

The other day I won a flip camera on Mama Kat’s blog. I don’t know how long it will take me to get the camera in the mail, but if I have it by then, I might even get the nerve to break it in and create my first vlog entry when announcing the winner!!! How fun would that be???

The point is... be creative! You can interpret these "assignments" any way that works with you! I want you to have fun and enjoy looking at Your Life. In Pictures.

Here are a few details, but please feel free to email me with any more questions you might have!

* How does the challenge work?
I will post the challenge "assignments" for the week and you pick up your camera to capture a photo that meets the assignment. Post the picture on your blog (or Flikr) . You are welcome to write a story with your photo or just include the photo if you would like. There will be a Mr. Linky for you to to fill out with your name and the URL from that assignment's post. (Mr. Linky is a link hosting program for websites. It allows blogs to host all of the links to participants in the challenge. Your job is to sign the Mr. Linky each day you participate so we can all view your post and photo. )

* Who can participate?
Everyone! You can be a beginner or a professional. It will be interesting to see all the different styles of photography.

* Do I have to have a blog to participate?
No. You can use your Flickr account and post a link to a picture from your account. Remember- you can get a Flickr account for free!

* Do I have to participate every day of the week?
No. You can participate all 5 days or just one. It is up to you.

* Does my photo have to be edited?
No, but you are welcome to edit it if you like. If you are interested in some free editing sites, check out Picasa or Picnik. They are lots of fun to play around with your photos, and did I mention FREE?

* Can I link to your blog?
Yes- please do! If you are participating in My Life. In Pictures. please help us spread the word. The more people who know about this and participate, the more photos we will have to inspire us and the more fun it will be for all of us! You can place the button in your side bar or post it in your blog. Share the love!

* What next?
You are encouraged to use the Mr. Linky and visit the blogs of all the participants and see Their Life- In Pictures!

Be sure to check back through the label archives to see how much fun we had with Challenge 1 & 2!

See you Monday!!!

My Life In Pictures- Session 3

2009-11-07T21:25:00.005-06:00

Apparently I said that we were going to do round 3 of My Life. In Pictures. in October. Well here it is November and I am a little late.

So without further ado......next week...starting Monday November 16-20 we will run My Life. In Pictures. Photo Challenge!!!

Check back this week for a list of what the catergories will be (and this time leave a comment on this post if you have any suggestions for a catergory!)

HOORAY!! We always have so much fun!

Feel free to use the button if you are going to play and invite your friends along.

Are you in?

Selah & Stalker Sunday!!!

2009-11-07T17:50:00.007-06:00

Last month, on a Sunday afternoon, I wasn't feeling to well. I was sitting in the chair thinking about calling off work the next day. I had not taken a shower all day, just laid on the couch due to not feeling well.

B was in his room taking a nap.

Hubby was at practice.

My friend Ashley called and told me about a tweet she had just recieved.

Selah was going to be in concert in LaVista which was only about 25 minutes away. Avalon was going to be performing with them.

Todd Smith, husband of Angie Smith happens to be a vocalist with Selah.

Angie was going to be at the show.

Yeah, seriously.

Holy wow!

2 problems. Show was in 45 minutes and I wasn't feeling well.

Problem solved: throw a little hairspray, perfume, and make-up- ready to go in 20 minutes & suck it up- how could I have lived with missing the chance!

Ashley picks me up and we bust it to LaVista. Tickets were only $15 and online it told us that tickets should be available at the door. We arrive only about 5 minutes late and as we drive by the doors I notice the signs hanging on the door.

sold.

out.

um...that was not going to work for us. not. one. bit.

We turn back around and the parking lot security guy asks us if he can help us...

I launch into sob story mode and tell him....

we just found out about the concert...

we busted our behinds to get here...

I was sick all day...

I didn't even shower...

we live in Iowa....

the computer said tickets should be available at doors....

we don't have any tickets...

we have to get in....

and on and on

he was so nice and told us that they had a few tickets left of some no shows and that we should go in and ask.

I jumped out of Ashley's burb and continue the sob story inside that WE NEED two tickets and $30 later they magically appear.

Holy yeah, baby.

We were going to see Selah, Todd Smith, Avalon, and ANGIE SMITH.

The show was awesome and the church was a beautiful location for the concert. Very intimate. The sound was amazing. Shortly after we sat in our seats (great seats by the way) Todd introduced his wife who was sitting in the audience.

During the intermission we went stalker mode and made a beeline against the traffic for our chance of a lifetime to meet Angie.

And we did.

And she had her own little line waitng to see her.

A whole little group of Sundays.

It was awesome.

So worth it.

And yes, I did work the next day.

Hell yeah, I'm a WINNER!

2009-11-05T22:48:00.005-06:00

Okay... so excited here to announce that I am a WINNER! I am super pumped to share the news with you that I got lucky last week and won a Flip Ultra HD video camera from one of my very favorite bloggers... Mama Kat at Mama's Losin' It. I was so excited to see that I had won! Feel free to click on over and watch me win again and again if you want. I do. I tried all week by entering to win one of four being given away at Mama's Losin' It, Better in Bulk, Mayhem and Moxie, and 7 Clown Circus. It was the perfect ending of the contest to find out I had won at Mama Kat's. No one better to win from, since we are practically bff's and all. Don't you agree Mama Kat? That we are almost bff's I mean? I know you do. That is why we are such good friends.

The thing is... I had gotten myself so excited about hoping that I win, I started to think realistically. Maybe I wasn't going to win. I know lots of people were entering each day. There only was 4 cameras to be given away.

We need a new camera to capture some of these moments we have been missing in the life of our almost 5 year old.

I said to hubby... "Hubby, we need a new video camera. We have missed this whole past year because the one we have is crap. Maybe we should get a new one."

He agreed. Partly because he is Mr. Right and I am Mrs. Always Right.

Well, lo and behold, guess what was in 3 of the Sunday ads this past weekend? Just the Flip cameras. And if we bought one at Target, my other love, we could get a $20 gift card. So, I poured over the ads, looking for the best deal on a Flip. I stayed up late looking at the Flip website trying to figure out which one would be best.

I decided that we needed to go buy ourselves a Flip because chances of me winning were slim. If Mama Kat loves her Flip, I would love one too, after all we are almost bff's.

Monday I had plans to haul the daycare kids to Target and get a closer look at this Flip business.

HOLY CRAPOLA... I got a comment on the blog from Za that said, "congrats u got the Flip". I couldn't believe it!

I rushed to my google reader and saw that a few of the winners had been posted. I watched one announcement and it wasn't me. I watched the second one and HELL YEAH- it was me.

So what am I going to do when I get my FLIP? I'm going to get really excited and open the box right away. I promised I would do a vlog... never had the nerve to get one done and I also said I wouldn't know how to get it to the computer if I did. Now, it is supposed to be easy-peasy to fix that!

Thanks Mama Kat, my bff, for choosing me to be a WINNER!!!

Blog Roll

2009-11-04T22:50:00.003-06:00

I have just spent over an hour updating my google reader and Blog roll here. I had several listed in both places that were deleted, moved, etc. I also added a few new ones that I have been enjoying.

Grab some of that Halloween candy you have sitting around, something to drink, and take some time to check some of them out. You might find a few favorites for youself.

If you have a few you would like to recommend, leave me a comment!

Thanks!

Halloween fun - 2009

2009-11-04T21:30:00.003-06:00

Every year we take a photo out on the porch by our carved pumpkins. We have done this since hubby and I started dating when we just had dog children. We have a cute scrapbook that I put the picture in each year and it is fun to look back each year and see the changes and watch B grow.

This year he was Superman. We had a great night for Trick or Treat!

Rainbow cake day

2009-11-03T21:45:00.004-06:00

A while back I fell in love with this cake that MckMama posted about. I had the perfect reason to try the recipe out today when we celebrate two of the daycare kids 3rd birthday. Since they are a girl and a boy, I needed something easy to decorate that worked for both. We chose an ABC theme since we are always working on our letters.

MckMama's friend Amanda is the wonderful creator of this recipe. She also told her friends the day she brought it to their gathering that she was bringing "a little something" and that it was "really easy to make."

Well... easy, yes.

Time consuming, yes.

Well worth it, YES!

I loved the results and we had so many leftovers (daycare is just 5 little mouths and myself after all!) that I had to take a plate of this beautiful cake to several friends so their children could enjoy it! (Okay, just thought I maybe shouldn't post this part because what if someone reads this who I didn't take some too?? Sorry!)

I was so happy and excited about how this cake turned out! It tasted absolutly delicious but even more was SO super cool looking!

2009-10-30T22:01:00.001-05:00

Today Lolli at Better in Bulk wanted us to post "Eat, Drink, and be Scary". Stop on over if you want to see what everyone has got goin' on in the kitchen.

Last night I made a pumpkin cake for the daycare Halloween party today. It was orange colored cake with chocolate cake mixed in. I got a little worried at the last minute that we would not have enough cake for everyone (we were planning on 17 kids and 5 adults) so I pulled a few cupcakes out of the freezer and threw on some spider picks. Of course, there was plenty left over. I sent the cupcakes home with one mom, 4 pieces with another, and had enough for 2 pieces for home.

Hurry over to the other participating blogs to enter for your chance to win a Flip camera. But- if you win, you have to give it to me.
* Mama's Losin' It
* 7 Clown Circus
*Mayhem and Moxie

To carve or not to carve?

2009-10-30T00:29:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite things to decorate our yard with in the fall is pumpkins. I love how they look sitting with my mums on an old chair and on the front porch steps. I love how pumpkins look at night when they are carved and lit up with candles even more however.

Hubby and I have carved pumpkins each year together since we started dating. I have also had a picture taken each year of us with our pumpkins and I keep them in a special scrapbook. It is fun to look back at the different designs we have done each year. We enjoy doing simple to complex ones or spelling words or our name as well. We usually do about 5 each year.

This year was only the second or third year we have actually had pumpkins stolen from our house. It was a first however for one to be stolen before we carved it! I just don't understand why people do that type of stuff!

Now we were left with only 3 this year and carved them tonight. I am excited to post our picture on Halloween with B in his costume next to our "works of art". This year, B drew the triangles on for the eyes and nose of his pumpkin and I cut them out. It is so cute!

Stop over to Mama's Losin' It, 7 Clown Circus, Mayhem and Moxie, and Better in Bulk for more Halloween fun!

Chasing Picture Perfection- Photo Assignment

2009-10-28T23:13:00.003-05:00

I'm back again to participate in the photo assignment from Chasing Picture Perfection. This time the assignment was to capture a picture from a worm's eye view. On a recent trip to our local park, I was able to take a shot of the huge windmill that sits by the historic barn at the museum.

Check out the other entries or join in for yourself... you have until 10/31 to get entered!

Halloween Past

2009-10-28T22:29:00.004-05:00

One of our favorite Halloween costumes that B has worn was for his second Halloween when he was Frankenstein. I had ordered this costume from Ebay somewhere and he looked so adorable in it. His face was painted green for Halloween night and we had the grandparents over to our house before he went over for his first Trick or Treat experience. His evening consisted of going to his great-grandparents to T or T there and then off to a local senior living center that hosts an indoor trick or treat for children.

This year B has gone back and forth on what he wants to be. He has talked about a race car driver, ghost, superman, woody... and that is all I can think of right now.

We ended up with a Superman costume for $6 including shipping, so that was a good deal. He wore it to a party last weekend but this week has been telling everyone who asks that he is going to be a ghost. So, we will see I guess! I know I had a white sheet laying around in my craft stuff so if I can find it, he might just end up saying BOO! on Halloween night!

Be sure to visit (or don't, more chances for me to win) Mayhem and Moxie, 7 Clown Circus, and Mama's Losin' It for chances to win a FLIP of your own!

Fall Crafting

2009-10-27T21:57:00.005-05:00

So, um yeah, I realize I have been gone for a while. I had a few close friends and family members ask me about my blog, but really don't think anyone in the blog world has noticed my absence. Since we have moved, I have felt unorganized and not been up with my blogging.

I have lots to catch you up with and hopefully will get back on track! I am participating in a blog carnival trying to win myself a FLIP camera and will need to post each day this week. I hope this kick in the blog pants will get me going again!

Today at Mayhem and Moxie, Kacey shared a super cute costume for her little one that she won't even touch. She encourages us to share what we have made for Halloween.

This is a very simple activity but yesterday we created melt-your-own crayons in pumpkin shapes to go along with some of the pumpkin books we read.

Step 1 peel paper off of crayons.

Step 2 break naked crayons into small pieces

Step 3 put crayon chunks into a clean empty can. Set can in boiling water until all crayon pieces are melted. (The glass jars of water are to help keep the can upright)

Step 4 gently pour the melted wax into candy molds or old muffin tins

Step 5 put molds into freezer until hard

Step 6 turn molds over and crayons should pop out. Notice one of the pumpkins has a smooshed face. Poor little guy.

Step 7 color!

*Be sure to stop by 7 clown circus, Better in Bulk, and Mama's Losin' It for your chance to win. Okay, well don't go visit them actually because I want to win and if you enter then that would lower my chances! Well, go check out their blogs I guess, but don't enter. So there.

Fall Into Reading

2009-09-24T11:09:00.009-05:00

I'm just in time to get my post up for Callapidder Days Fall Into Reading Challenge. I participated in the Spring Reading Thing and got several of my books crossed of my reading list, had fun, and won some prizes.

I did not, however get all of my list completed. For the Fall challenge, I am bringing back a few that I still would like to read.

Here is my list in no particular order:

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Yada Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough #4 by Neta Jackson

Fearless 14 by Janet Evanovich

Dewey by Vicki Myron

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

A Perfect Mess by Lisa Harper

For more information on participating in this challenge, check out Callapidder Days. You can also use that link to see what other bloggers have posted on their reading list to get some ideas for yourself.

This list is a bit more managable than my Spring one. My goals will be similar as well. That is: I do not like to purchase books so I do try to find them at garage sales, the library, or borrow/ exchange with a friend.

Check back in to see how I do!

The puppies!

2009-08-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

Last night we got to visit our future puppy's house. She is about 3 weeks old. Her litter had 7 total pups. 3 yellow, 3 brown, and one black lab puppies. We have been anticipating our new arrival at our house and slowly collecting things for her. I'm glad to hear we still have until the end of Sept. before she comes to live with us so we have a bit more time to get things ready.

The puppies were just so cute. The proud parents did such a good job letting us look at them and hold them for a bit. They have really started to open their eyes this week the owners told us. I can't wait to stop back out next week and see how much they have grown.

Back To School

2009-08-25T21:59:00.003-05:00

Today was B's first day back to school at his Montessori Preschool. He was so excited this am and wore his backpack around the house for an hour before the bus came to pick him up after lunch.

I made a little treat for him to take to his teachers. It was a little tin with a bag of Hershey's Bliss chocolates inside. On the front of the card it read, "Red Cross First Aid Kit" and the inside said, "...because there is nothing a piece (or two!) of chocolate can't fix." As I former teacher myself, I know this is so true!

If only I was named David and drove a Camaro

2009-08-25T18:13:00.003-05:00

Famous Dave's is offering free entrees for anyone named Dave, David, or Davy in honor of Famous Dave's 15th Birthday celebration!

Now calling all Dave’s! On Sunday, August 30, 2009, anyone with the first name of Dave, David or Davy can receive a free entrée (maximum value of $15). In addition, anyone with the middle name of Dave, David or Davy can receive a half price entrée (maximum value of $7.50). Dave’s,

David’s and Davy’s can enjoy this offer whether dining in or ordering barbeque TO GO.

And if I only had a Camaro, I could get free pizza at Papa John's. Read the story about how Papa John lost and found his Camaro here. In honor of "Papa John's" reunion with the Camaro he sold to keep his pizza business running he is giving a FREE one topping pizza to all camaro owners tomorrow, Wednesday August 26. You must drive there in your Camaro to pick up you carry out order.

Both of these deals came from the all too awesome Chicks Dig Deals Blog.

Now, Darn IT! My name is only Amber and I drive a mini-van. oh, poop.

JK Wedding Dance- Violence prevention and intervention

2009-08-24T15:19:00.002-05:00

I posted the Jill and Kevin Wedding Entrance Dance a while back and thought it was so very funny. Their video has had over 12 million views on YouTube and it seems like everyone has seen it somewhere or another.

I learned yesterday that due to the circumstances surrounding Chris Brown, who sings “Forever,” they are going to turn their publicity into something positive and ask for donations to support the Sheila Wellstone Institute.

They have started their own blog, found here, and have already collected over $16,000 towards domestic violence prevention and intervention.

6 years ago...

2009-08-23T22:00:00.003-05:00

I married my hubby!

After 9 months of dating, he proposed one night in our apartment for my 25th birthday. We were married 2 months and 3 days later.

Our wedding was absolutly fabulous. We put it together quickly and on a budget and we love how it turned out. The church was full to the brim and we were surrounded by so many loving family members and friends. The night was such a blast- dancing until the very last song of the night.

We have been through a lot, but we've been there together! I love my hubby with all my heart!

Weekend Cakes

2009-08-16T23:41:00.002-05:00

Back To School

2009-08-15T19:38:00.004-05:00

Hurry, Hurry! You have a little bit of time left to enter over at Chicks Dig Deals for a awesome prize package, "better back to school giveaway". This package includes lots of great school supplies from Avery, bonus box tops for education and a FREE product coupon for Pillsbury Toaster Strudels and Totino's Pizza Rolls!

Yippie! School supplies!

And.... you can get an entry by leaving your name and what was your favorite school lunch item...hurry on over and check out what mine was!

AND BTW.... if you don't already subscribe to the Chicks Dig Deals blog, you are missing out on some great deals and money saving offers!

The Shutter Re-do

2009-08-11T21:54:00.002-05:00

Look what my uber-cool hubby did for me today!
Before

After

He painted our shutters. I love how it turned out! I am so happy- they are even better than I expected. Now I can't wait to get our new door. I want an all glass BLACK one for the front.

Like this one:

Thanks, honey!

On the Bookshelf

2009-08-09T22:59:00.003-05:00

What I'm reading:

Jodi Picoult's Picture Perfect

What I just got in the mail:

A Perfect Mess by Lisa Harper compliments of Callapidder Days

Yea!

My Life. In Pictures- Session 2*

2009-08-09T21:36:00.002-05:00

Okay ya'll... I'm back from our little va-ca and just worn out! I had planned to go through the photos from day 4 of My Life. In Pictures. and choose our Shot of the Day on Friday and then do the same for day 5 on Saturday.

Little problem. Downtown Marriott in Des Moines did not have wireless in the rooms. (um, well they did, but it was $12 a day and I was to cheap to pay that)

So, here I am with the much anticipated (okay, maybe that is an over statement!) SHOTS OF THE DAY.....

Day 4- Something you are proud of- okay, honestly this was hard to pick because people posted great accomplishments such as learning to cook, a great climbing adventure, a husband/ father in the service, kids, kids, and more kids, and a great variety of other things.... how could I choose between all of these? They were all great things to be proud of!

So, I wasn't going to pick one. But then I thought, hey you know what.... just pick one. So I did. I am awarding the Shot of the Day to: JoeyBelle at Brilliant Brunette. She spoke at a Girls Camp Out and I am just drawn to this. I can't wait to hear more about this which she is later going to post about. I think that mentoring young girls and being a good leader for them can be so important.

The Shot of the Day for Day 5- Black and White goes to Sandy at the Adams Family! Love this shot!

Thanks again for everyone who jumped in and played, for a day or all week! It is always fun to get a peek into each other's lives!

I hope that you will join us in October!

My Life. In Pictures- Session 2/ Day 5

2009-08-06T23:53:00.000-05:00

We are leaving for vacation this afternoon (Thurs.) so I have not picked a "shot of the day" for Thursday yet. I will post SOTD sometime this weekend.

I want to first thank eveyrone who joined in My Life. In Pictures. this time! Some of you played only for a day and some were in all week! I think this photo challenge is lots of fun because we get to know one another a little bit better.

It is especially fun for me to see those who post each day and wonder what they will post the next day.

I was excited to have a few new people join in for round 2. Yea! Welcome, and it was nice to meet you!

We only had about 1/2 as many players this time, but that's okay... it didn't keep me up as late each night. I am hoping that maybe since it is summer and everyone is so busy that some were not able to participate this time around.

We will try for Round 3 in early October. That should give us some fun fall things to take pics of. As always, please email me with any suggestions for ideas for next time. amberloo22 AT AOL DOT COM

Here was my list of things from Session 1 that I needed to work on doing better for Session 2... Let's see how I did:

I need to:
* post it at the right time and day- Check... I got each post to go right when I wanted it to
*have a Mr. Linky that works - Check... Mr. Linky worked each day. On day one, I had the wrong one up, but the wonderful help desk at Mr. Linky got it straightened out with no interruptions!
*remember to post Mr. Linky on the post - Check... I put him on each day!

Yea! I am proud of myself!

For Friday's Black and White Photo Challenge I am giving you a picture of two of my very good friends Wendeline and Hollie. We taught together for two years and became good friends. Hollie was a deserter and moved to Des Moines however. It is nice when we are able to still get a little time together if she comes back or if we visit in Des Moines.

My Life. In Pictures- Session 2/ Day 4

2009-08-05T22:50:00.006-05:00

The Shot of the Day for Wednesday's "Out & About " challenge goes to Kate B. I LOVE this shot of the daddy walking with his little ones on the streets of Chicago. I love the city. Never been to Chicago, but big cities in general. I love the black and white and all of the surrounding people and buildings. Great job, Kate!

Thursday's challenge is "Something that you are proud of". Since it is late, and I am tired as usual... I am going to post something easy.

Here is a picture of the last cake I did on Saturday. My friend Ashley got me started in cake decorating and I have enjoyed doing it for about a year and a half. I had an order to make this Thomas the Train birthday cake for a friend's 2 year old son.

My Life. In Pictures- Session 2/ Day 3

2009-08-04T23:51:00.000-05:00

The Shot of the Day from yesterday goes to: Cris at Elemental Baby. She selected a favorite photo that she took of her daughter. I love the emotion you can see in her little one's face as she enjoys some of her first "rides". The laughter you can almost hear through the picture is priceless! Great job!

For day 3 of the My Life. In Pictures. Challenge we were to show something "out and about". After we ate dinner I grabbed my camera and we all jumped in the car. I didn't know what I was going to find to shoot.

We ended up stopping over (unannounced, I might add) at a friend's house. She had mentioned a while back that they have two calves and how friendly they were. I thought if we could sneek in a little visit that I could get a shot for our "out and about" catergory.

Hubby, B, and I all enjoyed feeding the calves named Frosty and Brownie. They came running right up to the fence and let us pet them. They were just the cutest things. We also enjoyed looking at all of the fresh produce they have growing in their garden. The kids all found a few ripe tomatoes to pick as well.

Tomorrow the challenge is to show us "Something you are proud of". I know some of you have already posted pictures that could have worked in this catergory as well!

My Life. In Pictures- Session 2/ Day 2

2009-08-03T23:19:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the challenge was to show us something representing Summer Fun. Lots of great pictures came in for that! I was a little jealous at all of the beach pictures I must say. I love the beach and haven't been in several years. I can't wait for the chance to take B to visit one and for him to play in the water and with the sand.

The shot of the day for Challenge #1 goes to.....Jenny at Through Jenny's Lens. Her sweet, sweet little ones are showing the perfect picture of lazy days of summer. They just look like the best of friends. Great job and thanks for sharing them with us!

Today the assignment is to show us something in your life that is a favorite. One of my favorite places to go when I get a night out is Celler 19. I luva luva me some Blueberry Muffin Martinis from the Celler. Yum, Yum my favorite! I was able to go on Friday night with my hubby to meet up with one of my very most favorite friends, Kim, who lives in Colorado. It was so fun to be able to hang out with her for a while. I miss her so much and wish she was closer so we could have our kids play together!

Chasing Picture Perfection- Photo Assignment #2

2009-08-03T13:43:00.004-05:00

Once again I am participating in Assignment #2 at Chasing Picture Perfection. I earned an A+ badge for my entry with Assignment #1. This time we are working on creative framing. I have already seen some of the entries for this and I feel like they are way more creative than mine. However, I enjoy the thought of looking around at different places I go and looking for more places I could practive the creative framing technique.

These pictures were taken last week after I heard the assignment for #2. I loaded up the kids and we headed to Omaha's Lauritzen Gardens.

Check out Stacie's blog, Chasing Picture Perfection, for some great photo tips and assignments.

My Life. In Pictures- Session 2/ Day 1

2009-08-02T20:58:00.006-05:00

Welcome to the My Life. In Pictures. Session 2! I'm so glad to have you back! We had a great time with session one and it was fun to get to know one another from the pictures you posted in the challenge.

I hope you enjoy this week and get the opportunity to pick up your camera and get some pictures to share that show us a bit of Your Life In Pictures.

The purpose of this photo challenge project is to encourage you to pick up your camera and start capturing details of your life. This project should also serve as a way to look at what others are finding to shoot and will hopefully keep you inspired to look for more moments in your life you wouldn't always think to capture with your camera. You are welcome to just post a picture or tell us a story to go along with it.

If you are just joining us... you can click here to get more details on how this works.

If you are playing along, be sure to post the URL to your post (not your blog URL) below with Mr. Linky. I can't wait to see what everyone has found to show us! Be sure to visit the others who are participating and see what they have posted to share with us.

Thanks for playing and see you all on Tuesday for "a favorite".

My Life. In Pictures. Day 1--
B enjoyed a few days at some of the local pools this summer. Our town does not have a pool anymore so we have to travel to some surrounding communities to swim. We only had one day where it was over 90 so we didn't get as much pool time as usual for the hot & humid midwest summers.

On the Bookshelf

2009-07-29T22:29:00.003-05:00

What I just finished:
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck.... loved it

What I'm reading now:
How Sweet It Is by Alice J. Wisler

My Life. In Pictures. Session 2

2009-07-28T18:59:00.007-05:00

It's that time again! I had such a great time with our first My Life. In Pictures Challenge, I couldn't wait to do it again. It was amazing to see all of the great pictures that were submitted. I wanted to get this done a little sooner, but as you might have read a few posts back, we bought a house and moved! This had delayed things a bit but I am ready to go with Challenge #2!

Get your cameras ready and spread the word to your friends.... It's Picture Time!

The purpose of this photo challenge project is to encourage you to pick up your camera and start capturing details of your life. This project should also serve as a way to look at what others are finding to shoot and will hopefully keep you inspired to look for more moments in your life you wouldn't always think to capture with your camera.

Our first My Life. In Pictures. challenge will start on August 3rd- 7th. The assignments will be:

Monday- Summer Fun

Tuesday- A Favorite

Wednesday- Out and About (anywhere but home)

Thursday- Something You Are Proud Of

Friday- Something (or someone) in Black & White ** See below for suggestions on some free editing software if you don't currently have one you use

Remember you can be as simple or creative as you would like.

The point is... have fun!

You can interpret these "assignments" any way that works with you!

I want you to have fun and enjoy looking at Your Life. In Pictures.

Here are a few details, but please feel free to email me with any more questions you might have!

* How does the challenge work?

I will post the challenge "assignments" for the week and you pick up your camera to capture a photo that meets the assignment. Post the picture on your blog (or Flikr) . You are welcome to write a story with your photo or just include the photo if you would like. There will be a Mr. Linky for you to to fill out with your name and the URL from that assignment's post. (Mr. Linky is a link hosting program for websites. It allows blogs to host all of the links to participants in the challenge. Your job is to sign the Mr. Linky each day you participate so we can all view your post and photo. )

* Who can participate?

Everyone! You can be a beginner or a professional. It will be interesting to see all the different styles of photography.

* Do I have to have a blog to participate?

No. You can use your Flickr account and post a link to a picture from your account. Remember- you can get a Flickr account for free!

* Do I have to participate every day of the week?

No. You can participate all 5 days or just one. It is up to you.

* Does my photo have to be edited?

No, but you are welcome to edit it if you like. If you are interested in some free editing sites, check out Picasa or Picnik. They are lots of fun to play around with your photos, and did I mention FREE?

* Can I link to your blog?

Yes, yes, and yes. If you are participating in My Life. In Pictures. please help us spread the word. The more people who know about this and participate, the more photos we will have to inspire us and the more fun it will be for all of us! You can place the button in your side bar or post it in your blog. Share the love!

* What next?

You are encouraged to use the Mr. Linky and visit the blogs of all the participants and see Their Life- In Pictures!

A visit to the Gardens

2009-07-27T21:28:00.005-05:00

Today I took the daycare tots to the Lauritzen Gardens. It was a beautiful day, not too sunny, not too hot. We enjoyed the flowers, water structures, wildlife sounds and sights, train exhibit, and more.

A whole lot of stealin' goin' on

2009-07-23T23:25:00.002-05:00

Enjoy this video that I stole off of Ashley's blog who stole it off of Tracey's blog. It was from the Belgium Central Train Station. Unaware passengers were in for quite the show when Julie Andrew's "Do Re Me" started playing at 8am. That's when the fun began- 200 dancers started pouring in to put on a show!

I showed it to my hubby and he even thought it was funny. He loves it when I make him watch or read things from the blogs I read- wink wink.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

2009-07-23T23:08:00.002-05:00

Today I got super excited about a Back to School Swap I heard about on Lesson Plans by Beth. This swap is for kids ages 2-15 and is sponsored by the Little People Swap website. As a former teacher I get a little giddy with school supplies. I love love love the school supply aisle. Our Target store has already began to set up the displays and of course I had to walk around and look and all of the things they are bringing in.

I can't wait to see who we are paired up with and go shopping for our "swap" stuff. I also hope that B will be excited with what he gets in the mail!

You have until the 31st to sign up if you would like to play along with your kids!

A little something...

2009-07-22T21:00:00.007-05:00

Something I want:

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner.

She is one of my favorite authors. I always enjoy reading her novels.

Something I need:

New glasses.

I really need to get my appointment made and get in there! I keep putting it off.

Something I'm looking forward to:

Family trip to Adventureland.

This will be B's first trip to an adventure theme park. He is so excited to ride the rides. One of my favorites growing up was the Raging River.

Something I am going to do tomorrow:

Go to book club.

This time we read The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Loved it!

Something I am going to do next week:

Take B to Vacation Bible School.

Our church does a great job putting this on for kids in the community. It is open to all kids from PK- 6th grade. I was so impressed at what a great job the leaders did last year!

Something I am going to do next month:

Welcome my friends back into my home. Oh Yeah, baby. Project Runway is BACK.

Whoot! Whoot! Aug 20th people. Lifetime not Bravo. LA not NYC. Change I can handle, I just want my show back! I don't watch much tv at all but this is one show that my hubby and I both like to get all comfy in bed and pick our favorites, who will be in, and who ... will... be .... out. So excited to see Heidi, Nina, Tim, and Michael. Love 'em!

Something I wish I could do:

Skills. I wish I had some mad sewing skills. There are so many cute things out there I wish I could make. I wish I had the talent to just sit down and make a gazillion cutie crafty things. I got a sewing maching a few years ago and don't know how to work it!

Okay, your turn! Leave a comment if you are going to play along too!

New Digs

2009-07-21T21:55:00.011-05:00

Okay, so I have been MIA for awhile. I don't think I was missed very much in blog-land however. Where have I been you don't ask? We bought our first home and closed on June 2nd so we have been busy little bees. It is smaller than we thought we would make an offer on and also in a different area of town that we pictured ourselves. We love it however. It has been so much fun and we really love our new neighborhood. It is such a welcome change to not live on such a busy street with so much traffic. So, blog readers.... I would like to introduce you to our little ol' home.

*We are planning on painting the shutters to give the front a little more "pop" Also, we will be getting some landscaping for this front side to add a little height and dimension.

The house was in great shape... lots of new or updated things. The paint was very nice through out the house, just needed a few colors changed to suit our taste. Dad was giving B a lesson in painting when B wanted to help with painting his new room blue. It was a much better fit than the light lavender.

And now ...the home tour. I will be doing a series of posts where I show you the house as it was when we walked through it before the previous owner had moved her stuff out. Following those pictures, I will show you what we have done since trying to get ourselves settled in. Notice the word try.... it's a ton of work!!!

THE BASEMENT: PREVIOUS OWNER

The door you see on couch behind my grandma is a storage closet located under the front steps. The door on the right of this picture is our playroom.

Playroom entrance again

Standing in playroom doorway, looking back. Now the door on the right is the closet I had mentioned. The door on the left my mom is opening is the entrance to laundry room, bathroom, and Matt's room.

View from bottom of stairs when you enter basement.

BASEMENT: OUR WAY!!!!

Entertainment center is in the same spot, playroom door is closed on right. Still need some something on wall behind entertainment center.... can't get the nails to go into this wall so need to figure this out.

Storage door under front steps in closed.

Looking back into room from playroom doorway.

Doorway to laundry room, bathroom, Matt's room on left. The steps are just past the bookshelf.

Bookshelf in previous picture. Door to laundry etc.

View from bottom of stairs. Playhouse that the kids love to play in.

BEDROOM: PREVIOUS OWNER

We loved the color choice in this bedroom with the two colors on the walls.

BEDROOM: OUR WAY!!!

Doorway looks across the hall into B's room. Need something bigger for this wall. Maybe some frames??

Clifford the dog was really wanting to help me with the pictures. Still have some space to fill in this room on the walls. I don't have a shot of our headboard that I purchased for $1 at a garage sale this summer. Matt and I painted it and it turned out great. I'll show that next time.

LIVING ROOM: PREVIOUS OWNER

Um, yeah. about that. The furniture / furnishings was beautiful, quality, etc.... just a little much.

Little ol' gram peekin in the closet.

Knock, Knock- whose that knocking at my front door?

LIVING ROOM- OUR WAY!!!

We don't have any blinds yet for this room so we are still using the under layer of the ones that previous owner left. They serve their purpose now, but we can't wait to get a different color. Foxi says hi in this picture too.

I sold our old entertainment center and bigger tv when we moved. We are planning on purchasing the ever so popular flat screen to hang here and free up a little more room.

Living room opens into the kitchen area. Hallway where Clifford is takes you to bedrooms and bath. Can I just say how happy we were to not have the green anymore on the wall?

UPSTAIRS BATH: PREVIOUS OWNER

Mauve. When is the last time you said that word?

UPSTAIRS BATH: OUR WAY!!

We had some green left from the last house and I wanted to keep my shower curtain and use a bird theme. I love how the colors turned out in the bath. There is a ton of storage and the wainscoting looks great. We also love the cupboards.

B'S ROOM: PREVIOUS OWNER

Lavender walls, but he was excited because there was a candle in there. He had a really hard time understanding that when we moved there and that was him room, he would have all of his stuff and all of her stuff would be gone.

B'S ROOM: OUR WAY!!!

In our old house we had done the wooley paint system on B's walls. I loved how that looked but for something different we used washed denim blue for his walls at the new house. He room is always one of my favorites. It is decorated with old sports items, including pictures of Matt and his brother as little boys, Matt's grandpa while young and in sports, and my grandpa while young on his basketball team.

We didn't think there was going to be room for the train table in the new room, but it fit with plenty to spare. I am looking for a rug to put under it now.

This concludes our tour. Thank you for taking a look around. Stay tuned for the backyard, kitchen, playroom, laundry, downstairs bath, and Matt's room.

This post is dedicated to: Hollie, Laura, Krista, and Kim.

This has also been an example of get your fake house ready.

Chasing Picture Perfection- Photo Assignment

2009-07-21T14:47:00.005-05:00

I’m playing along in a photo assignment from Stacie at Chasing Picture Perfection. She is calling it an online photo course and every two weeks, a new photo challenge will be posted. We all know how I love a challenge! Stacie offers her blog readers a variety of cool tips and tricks that even a novice like me can understand.

This assignment is to create a photo with shallow depth of field (sharp forefront/subject and blurred background).

Here is what I have come up with. These were taken in the Butterfly Pavillion at the Henry Doorly Zoo.

This Day in History

2009-07-07T22:28:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is a special day in history....something special that will never come around again.

Tomorrow at 10:11 AM and 12 seconds and at 10:11 PM and 12 seconds... it will be....

07-08-09 10:11 12

Cool.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T16:13:00.002-05:00

We just got home from the Ralston parade and are now going to rest before heading out to the family fireworks festivities.

Happy Birthday, America!!!

Independence Day Treats

2009-07-03T13:51:00.004-05:00

Some of my favorite treats for the 4th of July are Sparklers and Graham Crackers w/ frosting & Sprinkles. I have made these for a few years for our festivities.
I got the idea for the Sparklers from my good friend Hollie. I have made them for several different occasions, but making them for the 4th of July is my favorite.

A childhood favorite is graham crackers with frosting. It is fun to "jazz them up" with some sprinkles for a tasty snack while enjoying the day celebrating the USA.

Spring Reading Thing 2009- Wrap Up

2009-06-21T22:21:00.001-05:00

Today is the official first day of summer. This means 2 things:

The Spring Reading Thing at Callapidder Days has come to an end. AND... Tomorrow is my birthday. Yippiee!!! I love my birthday!

But, I am here now to talk about how I did with my first reading challenge and how things ended. I am using the questions from Callapidder Days. If you are interested in my original post, you can find that here.

Did you finish reading all the books on your spring reading list?

If not, why not?

No, I did not complete my list. I did think that it was a little ambitious, but the main reason is that we have been so busy here. I have also abandoned my blog lately. The big news is that we have moved. We are done with house rental world and purchased our first house. More on this later... too much unpacking that needs to be done so I don't spend the usual ammount of time on blogger.

Yada Yada Prayer Group #3 by Neta Jackson- Finished!

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Did Not Read

The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards Did Not Read
Jemima J by Jane Green Did Not Read
Dewey by Vicki Myron Did Not Read
The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain Did Not Read
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd Did Not Read
The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs Finished!
The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond Did Not Read
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Did Not Read

Added to list:

The Duggars: 20 and Counting! by Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar Finished!

The Shack by William P. Young Finished!

What was your favorite book you read this spring? Why?

Favorite book that I finished: Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs. I love to read girly novels. They are so relaxing to me and I can spend so much time each night in bed reading. Although, I did not love the way this one ended.

Least Favorite: The Shack by William P. Young

What was your favorite thing about the challenge?

One of my favorite things about this challenge was that I found a great new blog (new to me!) and I love to participate in things like this. I stayed true to my goal of not purchasing any of these books at full price. I only like to buy them at used or garage sale prices if it is not available at our local library.

Another thing I really liked was that I was a winner of one of the giveaways. I won a copy of How Sweet It Is by Alice J. Wisler. This is on my nightstand and I can't wait to get time to start on it. I haven't been reading for a long time due to the move, but I was planning on reading it next. I might have to read it second however. We have book club in July and I still haven't read the selection for that. This time we are reading The Good Earth by Pearle S. Buck.

Father's Day 2009 Interview

2009-06-21T22:10:00.005-05:00

Tonight while B was in the tub I completed a Father's Day survey similar to the one I did for Mother's Day.

What is your dad's name: Matt ****

How old is your dad: 33

I love it when my dad... goes on a fire meeting

My dad likes to... go to a fire meeting

What color is your dad's hair: black

What is your dad's favorite color: red and blue and red

What is your dad's favorite thing to do around the house: watch tv til bed

What does your dad always tell you: to not be in trouble

The best thing your dad does is: he likes to make cookies

I make my dad happy when I...go to school

What is your dad's favorite tv show: news and wrestling

If your dad could go on a trip, where would he go: to work

What is dad's favorite drink: milk

What is dad's favorite thing to eat: salad and soup

What does your dad like to cook: cookies

What time does your dad get up: 12 o'clock

What time does your dad go to bed: 8 o'clock

My dad likes to wear....underware

It makes him happy when.... he makes cookies

My dad likes to relax by... he lays down on the couch (and probably eats cookies apparently!!!)

I love my dad because....because he loves me!

Welcome, Little One!

2009-06-12T22:15:00.004-05:00

I am happy to announce the arrival of a new addition to the family of one of my best-est friends.

Baby Ruth Margaret was welcomed into the world on:

June 3, 2009

2:50 AM

7 pounds, 11 ounces

20 1/4 inches long

Big Sisters Olivia and Clare along with big brother Andrew are doing a great job taking care of her.

Congratulations on your sweet, sweet little girl. She is beautiful!

Happy Memorial Day!

2009-05-24T14:45:00.003-05:00

A few things about me:

2009-05-20T22:06:00.004-05:00

1. I love to be right. I usually am too.

2. I love to win. Perfect example: I just won this book from Callapidder Days. I am participating in the Spring Reading Thing over at the Callapidder Days blog and was so excited to win How Sweet It Is by Alice J. Wisler. The story looks like my kind of book lovin', especially since it has some cake decorating in it! How cute is that?!? Perfect for me I think!

I'll let you know what I think when I am done with it. Speaking of the Spring Reading Thing... I am probably not going to get my whole list done, but I knew that going in. I had several choices on my list and have read 2 or 3 that were not on my list. I didn't have anything to read for about 2 weeks becuase I was waiting for a book for my MOPS bookclub that was overdue at the library. I didn't start anything new because I kept thinking it would be in any day. I was able to get it a few days ago and should be done with it this weekend in time for bookclub next week.

3. I love (good) surprises! Today I was the lucky recipient of a good surprise in the mail from my bloggy friend Nikki at WhiMSy Love. I got some super cool-e-o goodies from her Whimsy Love Etsy Shop! Hooray for surprises!

As I opened my package, I was a little disappointed as I realized that it wasn't graham crackers. You know I love a good snack. But, what was inside was even better!

A little gnome man and 2 toadstools for the moss terrarium I have been wanting to make for a long while! They are gonna look so spankin' cute! Check out the ones Nikki made here.

And to top it all off... a cute as pie vintage button ring from her shop!

Thanks, Nikki- it was a great day for good surprises!

Our Worm Farm

2009-05-18T06:14:00.000-05:00

I have seen info on making a worm farm in several places. One day while playing out back, we found several worms. I told the kids we would go make a worm farm so this was what we set out to do.

We used a plastic tub the size of a shoebox to layer our sand and soil. I discussed with the kids how a worm's job is to mix the soil. After a little more digging, we were able to collect 10 in all. It was lots of fun!

(and yes, that is a wrestling singlet that B is wearing!)