Am I Smarter than a 5th Grader?

I was really hoping. But when I watched the show tonight I did as poorly as the poor guy who was out - after the first question - the 1st grade social studies question people. For those of you who may not have seen the show this is how it works. A random person who has auditioned for the show tries to win 1 million dollars by answering 10 questions, 2 for each grade {1-5}, in a variety of subjects. There are 'class' members - actual 5th graders who can help you out a maximum of three times. As you progress you 'bank' money so most people win something - I think, I haven't watched it very often. If you still don't understand or want more information you can Google it. {btw: did you know that the word 'google' was put into the dictionary this year? It's a verb, as in to look up information on the internet. I found out from my future bil that the word 'google' is also a math term. So now you've learned two new things & you're barely into this post - wow!} The guy's first question had to do with a patriotic song, they gave a line or two & he had to guess the title. I was stumped, I could hear the song but got stuck & had no clue as to the title. Well, neither did he and he was out. I guess his wife was razzing him about not knowing it so the host, Jeff Foxworthy, challenged her to try it out herself. She ended up with $175,000. Yes, for answering 8 questions correctly she walked away with $175,000. Granted, I knew the answers to her questions. Except for the last one that she stopped at - if you are curious there are 4 pecks in a bushel - I didn't know that. {We're all learning stuff tonight.} One of her questions seemed like a real no brainer to me & she was pausing to think about it. The question asked what kind of scale is used to measure an earthquake. I knew the answer without seeing the options, she did choose the correct answer but I was puzzled about her delay. If I was her I'd have been busting at the seems to not blurt out the answer as soon as he was finished reading it. My first thought was, well maybe they tell her to take a little time on some to make for better TV or something. Then it hit me. Not everyone lived in California where hearing on the news or reading in the paper about the earthquake that was 3.5 on the rictor scale. Then I remembered {again} that I'm not in California either. Yes, I have been here in Kentucky/Tennessee for almost 3 months now & sometimes still forget, don't worry the humidity is a quick reminder. I suppose that is the difference between people who grow up in one area vs those who live in many areas. Being in one region for the first 20 something years of your life you can start to assume that everyone else has had the same experiences, seen the same stuff, knows the same basic information. I don' t know if this is making sense to anyone. Just something I started thinking about. I'm glad that I've had this opportunity to move to a new area. I think I'm learning more about myself being out here than I did while in my comfort zone. Thanks for visiting.

I've Been Scrappy

As you regular readers know one of my SMART habits this week is to enjoy my time. My time is when the kids are napping or down for the night. Most days this week I've taken the opportunity to work on finishing up a project I started. It's an album of the events leading up to my wedding. I know, it's been two years already - why am I just starting now? For those of you who scrap - you understand the time put into these projects. For those of you don't scrap - you understand that having kids affects all parts of your schedule. Anyway, I'm almost done with this album. I started on it a few weeks back but have been working on it for about 1-2 hours almost everyday this week. If I had had a weekend to just get it done I'm sure I could have finished it in two days. I've kept my layouts simple & most photos explain themselves so there isn't a lot of journaling. To see the album & other projects I've worked on you can click here or click on the 'My Scrappy Stuff' link under Sites to Surf. I also have my honeymoon album there along with a couple cards I've made. I have many more projects to take pictures of & upload - I'm hoping to get that accomplished by the end of the summer. If you scrapbook I recommend checking out the 2Peas website for ideas, inspiration, shopping & displaying your work.

There are two techniques I wanted to share with you also. The first is a trick that I learned from my Aunt Kris. She is even more into scrapping than I am. Her scraproom {jealous over here} is like a little store. Seriously, I could shop in there & she likely wouldn't notice anything missing. Anyways, she showed me a neat thing she did to make flower embellishments on a page she did. She used the tube from an empty toilet paper roll - would also work with a paper towel roll but a smaller tube will last you long enough. She flattened it out, used a ruler & exacto knife to cut approx 1/8-1/4 inch strips. After cutting them you can 'shape' the pieces of cardboard tubing into wider or skinnier petals/leaves. I happened to use white cardboard tubing & inked the edges to add more depth. The background was white so I wanted it to pop some. You can also use brown tubing. Paint, ribbon, fibers or wiring can also be added to these. So far I've only used ink but have a lot of ideas of what else can be done with them.

The first photo shows the pieces after being cut. The second photo is the page that I used the tubing to add to my fabric flower. Note: for some reason scanning this made the strip of pink paper & square of green paper a whole lot brighter than they actually are. This page is in the beginning of the album and has the shower invitation on it.

The second technique is applying rub ons to ribbon. To some this may be old news. I've seen it before but hadn't tried it until last night. I first did a test with part of a quotation mark rub on at the end of the ribbon & guess what? It worked! So I attached the strip of ribbon around the back of the page using tape & applied the rub on as my title. I just love how it turned out. I was a little surprised that it worked on the sheer ribbon. I think I'm hooked on rub ons for the moment & am having fun finding new {for me} ways to use them.

These are photos taken during our rehearsal. You can see the title 'rehearsal' {creative, I know} is on the ribbon along the side. Quick side note: I really, really miss my long hair.

You can click on the images for a larger view.
Thanks for stopping by! Happy Scrappin'.

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Another Meme - Sorta

My friend Mel sent me an e-mail that looked like a meme to me. So rather than forwarding it to a lot of people I figured I'd post my response here and anyone who wants to post their responses can. If you do participate please leave a comment letting me know so I can check out your responses. This is similar to the randomness meme I just did but shares more specific information.

Four Things You May Not Know About Me

Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. Retail @ Remember When, scrapbook store
2. Customer Service @ E.B. Stone & Son, wholesale garden supply company & fertilizer manufacturer
3. Office Assistant for a dentist
4. Shift Supervisor @ Round Table Pizza, two locations in Fairfield/Suisun

Four movies I would watch over & over:

1. All Jane Austen inspired films (Little Women, Sense & Sensibility, etc)
2. Princess Bride
3. Diary of a Mad Black Woman
4. Star Wars

Four places I have lived:

1. Lodi, California
2. Vacaville, California
3. Fairfield, California
4. Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Four TV shows I love to watch:

1. LOST
2. House
3. Grey's Anatomy
4. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Four places I have been on vacation:

1. New Mexico
2. Washington
3. Pennsylvania
   
4. Lake Tahoe

Four of my favorite foods:

1. Cereal
2. Ice-Cream
3. Popcorn
4. Rice

Four places I would rather be right now:

1. With my hubby in Louisiana
   
2. In California with family & friends
3. In New Mexico with family
4. With my hubby on a cruise or vacation somewhere with a beach

Four Three people I think will respond (participate):

1. Chriss - she likes these memes
2. Melanie - she may use it as a post when she is uninspired
3. Any random visitor who wants to post but doesn't have much to write about
   
   

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Works For Me Wednesday - Saving trips upstairs

This is my first time doing WFMW. I've lurked around on Rocks in my Dryer looking at some great ideas & gotten some handy tips for a while now & finally decided to something that works for myself. Some of you may remember my post about my stairs, if not you can go read it. This is my first time living in a house with an upstairs & downstairs and I ranted out some frustrations about that. One of those frustrations was going up & down the stairs 398,203 times a day - or so it felt like. Half of the time was while cleaning the house and going up & down to put things where they belong. Recently a light bulb turned on over my head *ding* & I figured out that if I put a container of some sort at the bottom of the stairs I could more easily bring up many items at once to put things away. So that's what I did. Originally I had a box from unpacking but I realized that it was much to big which meant I found myself looking in the box for things that weren't where they should be. The last thing I need is another place to look for stuff so after rearranging some things I swapped it out for a smaller container. Now when that container is full or I'm going upstairs empty handed & have a few minutes I grab it, put stuff away. Bonus to this is when I'm upstairs if I come across something that should be down here I put it in the container, bring it back down, put things away & place it in the entryway again - which means no need for a separate container upstairs. Also, the larger box that I was using at first is now being used for shoes that stray away down here. By looking at the photo you can see that it is once again time for me to clear out the container & return shoes to their rightful place. Eventually I'd like to get a cute & sturdy basket for the shoes & a nicer container for the stuff and have both containers placed under a bench or table in the entryway but for now this works. Check out this week's WFMW over at Rocks in my Dryer for more ideas & inspiration. There is no theme to the ideas this week so who knows what you will find.

Memorial Day

Today is memorial day, a day to take time to remember all those who have given their lives so that we may enjoy freedom. This year the holiday has more significance for me. Partly because we are still at war in Iraq, yes the war was technically declared over but we are still losing soldiers so to me it's still wartime. The biggest change to my life from memorial day last year is my husband joining the US Army. It's personal now. I hope that while everyone is enjoying the day off, bar-b-queing, shopping, or whatever your plans are - you also take the time to remember those who have bravely gone before us, sacrificing themselves in hopes to keep our country safe & free.

Saturday we went to a memorial park here on base. I didn't catch the exact name of it. There are a lot of old airplanes, helicopters & tanks - some of these were items captured from an enemy. Shawn & Michael had a lot of fun looking at all of these things, I walked around and took photos. There were also memorial statues honoring those who lost their lives or served in specific battalions from Ft. Campbell. It was a sobering end to the visit. I am thankful to live in this country & thankful to those who have given their lives fighting for this country. Below are some photos from the park. I've posted them in a small size but you can click on an image to see an enlargement.

My View from the Passenger Seat

Last Thursday we were out driving to an appointment in Hopkinsville which is a small town about 15 minutes away. We had to go another 15 minutes into town but thats got nothing to do with any of this anyway. When we take these countryside drives we usually wind up sining "Old McDonald" with Michael - or as he likes to call it "Moo Moo Where", he points out the sheep, cows, tractors & farms along the way. It really is a pretty drive. There are two things that stand out to me when we drive out there. The first is the "horse & buggy crossing" sign in the picture to the side. Yes, horse & buggy. I guess there is an Amish community in the area. On this last trip out I finally remembered to bring my camera so I could take a picture & share with everyone. I realize that for many people seeing a sign like this is nothing new. When I first saw the sign I was a little confused and then giggled a little. The idea of a horse & buggy crossing a main highway? How can you not smile. And worry a little, the cars go fast - so it's a good thing they have a sign. There are 2 or 3 on the way back home & one of them has flashing lights around it. So I'm pretty sure the Amish are safe. Anyway, I just had to share with all my California peeps who likely haven't seen this before. Another thing that is odd along the way are three crosses in a field. Not the crosses themselves, but the apparent foot rests that are on them. We're both pretty disturbed by that. I did take a photo but decided not to post it because I don't know what the foot rest is for but I can't imagine it being a good thing. I also took photos of each of us in the car. Hubby had just shaved his head the night before, with the help of yours truly. He went completely shaved, they call that a 'screaming eagle' haircut around here. Michael was having fun singing his songs, Lydia was fast asleep. I got a shot of myself using the side mirror which started out as an accident but then I thought it was a cool shot.

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Some Benefits of Smart Habits

So I realized today that I've been talking about these new Smart Habits of mine for 4 Saturdays now. I thought that I would share some ways that these habits have impacted my life and/or home. And what better way to do that than through photos? I can't think of any better way either. So I went around the house yesterday taking some photos of the remaining rooms I hadn't taken pictures of yet. If you have read any of my previous Smart Habit Saturday posts you will notice that my house being unpacked & beginning to decorate aren't a direct result of setting a habit. Rather they are an indirect extra benefit. As my habits have gotten better each week it's cleared time in my schedule and/or motivated me to get more done. And a quick disclaimer before the tour begins - my house has only looked just like the photos at the time the photo was taken, in most cases the kids were napping, I am in no way trying to look like the *perfect* house keeper, I just figure it's nice to clean before company visits so I'm showing you a clean house.

So this is the living room. You enter from the entryway on the right side where there is a half wall with decorative shelves. I call them clutter collectors because that's the first place to drop everything. I've tried to contain the clutter by putting a couple of baskets up so it's at least a 'neat' mess. We also have an end table between the two sofas. This is still a work in progress because I'd like to get an area rug, some kind of window treatment & decide just how I want to decorate. The top of the TV unit is also a clutter collector, along with every other flat space in the house.
This is the dining area which is in the same space as the living room. Our back door is between the two and distinguishes the separation. My desk is opposite the back door. Oh and the table is hardly ever completely clear. At least the far end always has stuff on it since there are just the three of us that sit at the table. Plus like I said above, it's a flat surface. I am trying to keep it clear so it looks nicer & I have space to scrap when I want to. Same goes for the buffet, I cleared it before taking the photo and within 2 days it was cluttered again, along with part of my kitchen counter top where I moved the mess.

This is Michael's room. I took a couple of more recent photos but I think I erased them by accident because I can't find them. Since taking this photo I've cleared out the boxes, better organized his cubbies & hung some things up on the walls. We still need to put up a shelf to display some items & hang a couple hooks for his coloring bag & magnet bag.

This is Lydia's room. The crib & changing table are on opposite walls, changing table shares a wall with the bedroom door. Her room is not done yet either. I still need to get a rug for the floor, window treatments & hang up pictures. Because she doesn't play much in her room her dolls are in a bassinet that was given to her as a newborn & her the rest of her toys are in a tub under her crib.

This is the bathroom. It has the most storage of any other room in our house. Aside from the kitchen of course but that space gets used. This has more space then I know what to do with. The first closet shown is the linen closet. There is plenty of room on the top shelf, floor & middle shelf. We have a lot of towels so this space is great to have. The second cabinet is a built in that is next to the sink. I have the shelves organized according to body part. From bottom to top: face/baby towels, hair, body/baby supplies and the top shelf has cleaning supplies & extra bath items. The bottom cabinets are temporarily storing games, party supplies, & some craft supplies until I figure out just where to put these items. Some of these items may stay because I don't need the space for any other bathroom products & the shelves are so deep. That is the last of the house. I know, I haven't posted photos of my kitchen or bedroom yet. I have some clutter to tackle in the kitchen before posting and our room needs storage solutions before I post that, but I will do before & afters if anyone is curious.

A couple last things though. My new habit last week was organizing a small space everyday. I didn't do as well as I was hoping last week but got a good start on it this week. I reorganized our dry goods pantry. Below are the before & after photos for you to see. Ideally I'd like to get those stair stacker organizing things for the cans but this is a huge improvement from what it was before. I even have a whole shelf empty & waiting for me to find something to store there. I'm thinking this is where I'll keep my accordion file & stationary supplies.

And still, one more thing. We have a mystery in this house. Notice anything funny about the pictures below? Weird huh? We have no idea what their purpose is but I do want to try & figure that one out before we leave. The light switch is in the hallway upstairs & almost to the top of our door. The outlet is below the window in the landing of our stairway, about 10-12 feet above the landing. I don't know if they are connected somehow but it seems like an odd placement for both either way.

Smart Habit Saturday {week 4 May}

Wow! I made it to week 4. When I started this I really wasn't sure how long it would last or if I would keep up with it. I'm a procrastinator and tend to let things fall to the wayside, yes I'm lazy. And I was intimidated to start because I didn't want to not finish. But I did and I'm so glad. I can see the affects/effects {can never remember the correct way to use either word} that my new habits that I've developed &/or in process of developing have made in my life. When I follow through with them at least, and not following through with them is a huge reminder of how good they are. ie: waking up to a clean kitchen & living room vs. waking up to rooms that look tornado struck/stricken? {wow, I need a brush up on my vocabulary & grammar skills. Anyway, so yeah SMART habits rock my world. This week was okay for me. I had a really poor Thursday, not doing a single thing on my list. I had an emotional day and it shows. Overall I think I did well but can see where I still need to work on things. After seeing this Joe's Goals thing on another smart habit site {I'm sorry, I can't remember which one right now} I got my own widget for my blog. I love how much easier it has made it for me to remember my habits & track my progress. I love lists & love checking things off of my lists. I haven't been able to figure out how to put my tracking sheet directly into this post so if you are interested you can click on the widget to the left. I'll still list my habits & progress below.

• Clearing dishes at night - habit!
• Brushing teeth at night - good progress
  
• Quick pick up - habit!
• Washing face at night - failing
• Quick clean kitchen at night - habit!
• Organize a small space - needs work

As I was writing out this list I realize that the habits I do best at are the ones focused on taking care of my house. My weaker habits are the ones that focus on taking care of myself. Hmm...that seems a little out of balance. I think that as moms we tend to put ourselves on the back burner, bottom of the list, last priority, let ourselves go. However you want to word it, it happens. Has anyone seen that Dove products commercial? If not I'll quickly describe. It starts off with a young woman who is 'well groomed', she gets married, has a baby - isn't quite so groomed -, baby gets older, she has another baby - even less groomed - then she gets all 'cleaned up' & she's pregnant again. The commercial says that 99% of women lose themselves & 100% can get themselves back {using their products}. I laughed when I saw this, because it is so true & because as soon as she's all 'pretty' again - she's pregnant. Kinda made me want to stay a little shabby. :P But the message of the commercial rings true, we do lose ourselves & we can get ourselves back. Though I think it has less to do with what products you are using and more about a change in mindset. We need to take care of ourselves, 1) no one else is gonna do it & 2) if our basic needs are being met then we'll be better for everyone else. I was thinking that this week I wouldn't add any new goals so I could focus better on the rest of mine. But now I think I will add two. {I love a challenge!}

• Drink water more often. Those of you who already know me may be thinking - huh? Yes, about the only thing I do drink is water however I don't drink nearly enough throughout the day and by the time I poor myself a glass my mouth is dry because I'm so thirsty. So I need to drink it more consistently throughout the day.
• Enjoy my time. Most days when both kids are napping I do housework, I also do housework while they are up. Rather than spending all of my 'free time' cleaning I'd rather do something that I enjoy. Some things are scrapbooking, blogging, browsing blogs, & organizing my stuff. I know that last one seems like a funny thing to be on the list but my stuff is always done last & I really do enjoy organizing.

If you would like to join in on this great opportunity of start new habits or see other bloggers getting SMART check out The Lazy Organizer. Thanks for visiting!

My Randomness & Dream Therapy

Okay so I haven't had much to post about in the past couple of days. I've made a couple of attempts but didn't finish. So here' I try again. Last week {and maybe the week before} I was 'tagged' with a meme and given a challenge. So here I go.

To start with Kim over at daily blessings tagged me to list my random behavior. I don't think this will be too much of a challenge for me. Here are the rules for this meme:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names. (I only picked 5)
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment and tell them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

My Randomness

1. I love ice-cream & usually eat it at least once daily. {Typically after the kids are in bed so I don't have to share - is that so wrong?}
2. I love to make lists {& checking things off}.
3. I had both of my kids without any strong meds, just the iv stuff that makes you tired & I can never remember what it's called. {Why do I want more? - kids not iv stuff :P}
   
4. I ♥ Scrapbooking, taking photos & making cards for people.
5. I enjoy watching decorating shows & reading up on new ideas but have a really hard time applying stuff to my own house. {Idea in mind doesn't transfer well into reality}.
6. I spend way to much time on my computer.
7. I am directionally challenged. I have no idea where north, south, east or west are unless I'm driving on the freeway {and it's labeled}. I also have a hard time finding my way around new places or routes. If I always go from 'A' to 'B' or 'A' to 'C' I have trouble getting from 'B' to 'C'. Does that make sense? Basically, I get confused & lost a lot while driving.
8. I am socially awkward{/challenged?}. I have a hard time approaching others & often feel out of place.

So I'm not sure how random that was for those of you who already know me. But it's what I thought of. I was trying to think of something really off the wall but my life's not so exciting. Anyway, onto the next one. My friend Helen over at Hikari wrote about some of her dreams and challenged me to list my top 10 funny dreams. Now she had some great ones, giant bunnies & Jerry Lewis - you can read to find out more. Unfortunately I have to tweak this challenge a little. I don't remember many of my dreams, in fact I probably can't give you even 10 dreams total, let alone the top 10. Instead I have a list of my random dreams.

1. When I was a kid I had a recurring dream of riding on a train up a mountain. The tracks made circles around the island and when we would cross over to another island the tracks were always broke in the center. I would always wake up before crashing.
2. Another recurring dream I had as a kid was about me walking or running, looking for something/someone {I think}. Anyway, I was walking on very hilly sidewalks {think San Francisco sidewalks} and every time I needed to go down the sidewalk I would sit down & slide. This was a perfectly normal thing to do. Looking back I now wonder why they didn't have escalators going up the hills if it was so easy to do down them? And now I'm spending too much time thinking how that would be possible - very wide sidewalks.
3. I only have fuzzy memory of a recent dream I had within the last week or so. All I know is it had something to do with LOOOOOOOOOOOOST, that's the TV show Lost for those of you who aren't Chriss. I think I was on the island but can't remember.
4. My last dream to share I have no recollection of whatsoever. I {& hubby} do remember me hitting him in the middle of it. And I have no idea why.

So there you have it. A new post & memes completed. Oh, I need to tag some of you now don't I? I will tag Chris{tine}, Heather {should she ever return}, Mel, Stargazer, & Samantha.

My Take on Romance

Thanks to everyone wishing us a happy anniversary yesterday. Things didn't turn out like we were hoping but it was still a good day. Hubby hasn't been feeling well or getting much sleep lately so I let him sleep in without nagging him about it {it was his day off afterall}. So yeah, we couldn't get a babysitter so we didn't leave the house. Instead Shawn made a late dinner that we enjoyed after the kids went to bed and found a movie to watch before turning in ourselves. I did have fun putting on my wedding dress {yep, still fits} and wearing my tiara throughout the day. I forgot how pretty my dress was, so did he - it was fun. Next year he will be deployed so we'll make up for it on our fourth anniversary. We are going to make sure we get at least a few dates out before he leaves too. I think when you've been with someone for so long (married only 2 but together 6) and you have little kids it's easy to let that stuff slide. Schedules, daily routine and just getting into a rutt get in the way of romance, couple time & focus on the marriage. Keeping the 'romance alive' takes effort for sure. It doesn't just happen. I know I'm not very proactive in that area. And let me say this, especially for any male readers out there. Romance doesn't have to mean candlelit dinners, long strolls on the beach, flowers, candy, gifts of jewelry {though I wouldn't complain}, sappy movies, poems or songs written of your love and devotion, basically anything that some men roll their eyes over. I think romance is more about showing your love through actions. It can start just by spending time together having a conversation that doesn't revolve around the bills, to do lists or the kids. A thoughtful gesture can be picking up her favorite ice-cream {or any treat} on the way home from work - just because. Arranging for a sitter so you can sneak away for a mini date to the local coffee shop {or wherever}. And if you're at home turn off the TV and play a game of cards, dice or scrabble together {activity of your preference}. Let me also be clear that I think this works both ways. It is not the sole responsibility of the husband to be romantic nor the sole benefit of the wife to be pampered. Doing something special once in a while is great but it's the consistent acts of kindness that I think help keep the love alive. I think it's also important to say that regardless of where a relationship is in this area, it's never too late {or early} to make changes.

*Disclaimer:

• I do not claim to be an expert in the area of romance, marriage or any relationship.
• I do not claim to have a perfect marriage.
• I do not claim to always follow my own advice - preachin' to myself here too.
• I do not claim that my ideas work for all marriages & do not guarantee positive results.
  

Two Years Down, Forever to Go

Thats right - it's our anniversary. It seems odd to me that it's only been two years. We were together almost four years before getting married so even though it's two years of marriage we've been a couple for nearly six. Sometimes I feel like we are an old married couple already. We are so comfortable with each other, I don't think there are too many surprises left for us - from each other I mean, not from life. We can often finish each other's sentences, know just how to push the other's buttons and can easily make each other smile & laugh. We've had trials during our marriage and have both thought at times "what was I thinking" - most honest marriages have I'm sure - but we have stayed committed to each other, our marriage & our family. It feels like we are out of the 'newlywed' phase - having two kids quickened that some I'm sure - but we are still young in our marriage. We are still learning how to best communicate, compromise and care for each other. I think that as long as we continue to grow, learn and be willing to change we'll be just fine. My hubby is so great about making sure I know that he loves me. He tells me about 324,948 times a day I think, but not just with his words. He works hard everyday to provide for me {and our kids}, when he notices that I'm having a hard day he pitches in with dinner or the kids, he comforts me, he listens to me & he talks to me. I love it when he is in a playful mood - he is so much fun. I am so proud of him and how far we've come. Our marriage is not perfect and it's not sunshine & roses everyday but we've got a good thing. I wouldn't trade him for anything. I'm not sure what we're going to do to celebrate today. It's a three day weekend so he's got the day off. {We're not sure why, Armed Forces day maybe? There are a lot of extra holidays in the military so we don't question, just enjoy.} We have to mow, weed whack & trim the lawn - and by we of course I mean hubby. I have my usual household chores to do. I was thinking it would be fun to take the kids to the park since we haven't gone in a while & I'd like to go before it rains again - around here ya never know. Our challenge will be to get out of the house and away from the kids. We don't really know anyone out here that we can just leave the kids with. All of Shawn's friends are younger and don't have kids. Lydia goes to bed around 7 so we'd be free after that, if we had someone here to sit with Michael for an hour & make sure the house doesn't burn down. I really do want to get some time for just us and out of the house. Shawn will be gone for our next anniversary so if we don't celebrate this year we won't be able to until our 4th. I'm hoping something will work out. We still have a couple things we may be able to look into. Crossing my fingers! Yesterday we had a much more relaxing day than Saturday. I did a little cleaning but no big projects. I took advantage of both kids napping at the same time, I think I had a full two hours with both of them down, and scrapped. I didn't get much done because it took some time for me to find all my stuff. That is my next organization project. I need to put all of my photos, scrapping magazines & craft stuff in one spot. I did get some done though and am hoping to do some more today so I'll post photos this week. I've been working on my 'Bride to Be Photo Journal', it will have all of the events that took place before our wedding. I had already done the pages with photos of finding my wedding dress {finished journaling}, so I started with photos from my bridal shower. After that will be photos of the bridal tea my grandmother threw for me, our rehearsal & dinner and the night before the wedding. I haven't decided if I'll put the day of preparations in this album or the front of my wedding scrapbook. At the rate I'm going I've got plenty of time to figure it out. I haven't scrapped our wedding photos yet. I was very intimidated at the project so I've stuck to focusing on the family & kids' stuff. I recently used my Picaboo software to create a wedding album which has inspired me to start on wedding stuff. I've put some photos of our wedding in this post. You can view my complete wedding album by clicking here if you would like. We had a fun wedding day. I loved the location for the ceremony. I had looked for two weeks to find a place that we could have an outdoor ceremony, indoor reception, was in budget & available for my day. Finally we found the perfect place. The reception room could have been a little nicer but it served its purpose. And as all married folk know {and unmarrieds need to know especially if you are planning a wedding} there's always something that doesn't go quite right at a wedding. Some are worse than others, but it's always something. We had a couple things. First I was late in starting to get ready because I had to make a trip to the store for our communion bread, juice & a few other last minute items. Second, my veil came loose from my tiarra & had to be re-sewn. Due to delays me & my bridesmaids had to wait until after the ceremony for our formal shots. And here's the big one - my wedding cake fell apart. Twenty minutes before the ceremony it fell over. My stepmom dashed over to Albertson's & talked the baker into letting us borrow a fake display cake & bought a small cake that we could cut. Our original cake was still edible, just not pretty enough to display so everyone still had cake. I was confused & surprised when I saw the new cake but relieved when I found out the whole story. The only bummer about it was there weren't any photos taken of the fallen cake. There may be video footage - I still haven't seen my wedding on video. It's a long story but I'm hoping to have it by next month. At the end of the day we were married and that's all that matters. I'd love to renew our vows one of these years, maybe on our 5th, 7th or 10th anniversary. It would be fun to do again but smaller this time. Thanks for visiting. I probably won't be on a lot today. But I will be posting daily this week I'm sure. See you next time!

A Not so Lazy Saturday

The morning started off slow getting up with Lydia - Shawn & Michael were already up - and lounging through a yummy breakfast. My sweet hubby made eggs with biscuits & gravy, homemade gravy. I didn't spend much time on the computer this morning since I had already posted last night. So I got right to work, still in my jammies - it is Saturday after all and that's just how I roll. We decided to switch some things around. See when you are in the military you get a lot of stuff. All of hubby's army guy {as Mikey would say} stuff was bursting out of the upstairs hall closet, piled onto each other making it hard for him to find what he needs, difficult for me to put things away so many times things got piled up downstairs. Now he has the bigger closet in the entryway and I'll use the upstairs for overflow of I'm not sure what yet. I've made progress in our bedroom as well as the kids. Their rooms are pretty much done, just need to hang up a shelf, get a rug, and decorate a little. Once we get some storage solutions our room will be easier to maintain. I'm really happy with the progress that I've made in the house. And I think my new smart habit will really help me to get the final organizing done. I'm hoping to post photos next week. I've been taking pictures as I go along but want to show them all at once and give you a 'virtual tour' of the house. The only thing that could make this better right now would be to have my friends over for a visit. Well, Lydia needs her diaper changed and then I'm going to start dinner. I hope you all have a great weekend, thanks for the visit!

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Smart Habit Saturday {week 3 May}

Wow! I am so proud of myself right now. Not to toot my horn, well maybe a little - toot! Okay, I can continue now. My enthusiasm is because I have been doing this for almost a whole month. Not just posting about habits but really doing them and incorporating them into my daily routine. I find that I've started to pick up new habits without thinking of them originally but they stem from the ones that I was going for. You'll see below. I'm not going to do explanations of current habits {habits in progress} anymore, just the new ones, for the current ones I'll just let you know how my progress is going. By the way, have any of you thought of trying this out? If not I'd encourage you to give it a shot. From the posts I've seen, and I try to read as many as I can, I think that everyone is very honest about their progress. This isn't a way for a bunch of people to pat themselves on the back for nothing. It's about turning things that sound like a good idea for yourself into action that you don't have to put so much thought into. You can check out The Lazy Organizer for more inspiration & information about Smart Habits as well as link to posts from other smarty's.

Current Habits:

1. Clearing the dishes each night: habit!
2. Brushing my teeth each night: habit!
3. Nightly quick pick-up: habit!
4. Using skin care products each night: working on it :) *not an original habit but started doing it along with brushing my teeth.
5. Cleaning counters & sweeping kitchen each night: working on it :) *not an original habit, it stemmed from doing the dishes.
   

New Habit:

• Clean and/or organize at least one small space a day. That could mean a cabinet, closet, drawer, bag, shelf, etc. With having recently moved and still trying to get settled in the tasks can seem very overwhelming at times and then two months later there are still boxes in my room and things put somewhere "just for now to get them out of the way". I figure that if I can tackle one small space a day then the whole house will be taken care of ~ eventually. And as we all know once it's "done" you gotta start all over again because spaces are bound to clutter again. Kinda like the Golden Gate Bridge. For those of you who aren't from California or current on bridge maintenance, the people who paint it start at one end and by the time they reach the other it's time to go back and start again. It would almost make me want to say - why bother? But I'm also one of those who has never seen the point in making my bed. Maybe that'll be next on my smart habits. {Make my bed that is, not paint the bridge}.
  

You can find out more info about my Smart Habits by clicking here or click on the My Habits topic.

I didn't forget Faithful Friday, just posted late & did this one right after so scroll down to check it out if ya want. Thanks for the visit!

Faithful Friday {week 2}

Ah! I almost forgot. I actually remembered earlier today but was unable to get on the computer right at that moment so I forgot - which happens frequently if my thoughts are delayed too long. I used to blame it on pregnancy but now I guess it shows that I'm still trying to get all those lost brain cells back, do they all return? Where do they vacation? *Quick side note: for all you other Blogger users out there, don't you just love how it autosaves while posting?! Like once a minute, for people like me who can {sometimes} type about 60wpm that's a lot of work saved. I'm excited about it, I could have used it a week or so ago when I unexpectedly lost my connection.* Anyways, back to Faithful Friday. I know I'm a little late in the day but I still have 31 minutes before it is Saturday and I'm sure I'll post my smart habits later in the day tomorrow so it all kinda works itself out in the end. As if you all are refreshing my page waiting in anticipation for the next new post. Ha!

My blog pal Kim over at Daily Blessings started Faithful Fridays and invited me to join along. I look at this as a good opportunity to change my perspective/outlook on things. Sometimes we or at least me anyway ~ can get caught up in all the drama life brings. The disappointments, struggles, challenges, heartache, etc. can be so overwhelming and swallow you whole if you aren't careful. So this is part of me being careful. At least once a week I will proclaim how God is faithful to me and his promises. I think it more often throughout the week and sometimes it comes through in my posts but there's something about putting it in writing. Once it's out there - it's out there and I can look back on these when I'm having a rough day and remember that God is God and he is good.

So today I am thankful that God has not only blessed me with a great husband and two beautiful children but that He continues to pour out his mercy & grace on me. There are days that I feel I can't do anything right - more often as my son gets older & wiser {read: sassier}. On those days, much like today, I know that it is only through him I'm able to take a deep breath, collect myself and press on. He gives me reminders through my husbands encouragement, my son's kisses & my daughter's sweet smile that I am not failing, but rather I'm still learning, that I'm doing my best and I'm doing a good job. I'll end this quick post with a couple of photos of said blessings. Thanks for visiting & hope to see you again soon.




Updated: So I ended up posting my Smart Habit Saturday tonight. Silly, I know. Oh and also, one thing about this constant saving stuff is I think it may post each time it saves. But at least you won't lose your work.

Testing ScribeFire

Okay, this is my second attempt at using this new software from Mozilla Firefox {the best web browser around} and so far I'm not so sure about it. First let me tell you about the software. It's called ScribeFire and it allows you to post to your blog without signing in. You just click on this little icon on the bottom of your browser and you can start posting. It has the options of posting to many blogs at one time or selecting which ones you post to. Which, if you are someone with more than one blog may come in handy. It also has the nifty strikethrough option for your font, which I've wanted to use before but didn't know how because I'm not up on HTML lingo. But I've come across a couple of snags. The first is I can only upload photos from a URL and not my files. I know, I know - I'm probably one of the last people to not use a photo hosting site like flicker, photo bucket, rock you or one of the many others out there I'm sure. But in my defense I've had my digital camera for all of about 6 months now. And I do have an account with photo bucket, just haven't started using it yet. The second snag is I'm not sure if the 'categories' I can create transfer over into my 'labels' - we'll see after I post this. So I guess this is sort of a test run. And I'll have to put up a picture another time. I wasn't really in the mood to blog, don't have a lot to talk about but I wanted to try this out. So now I have and I can go do other stuff like clean my son's room, start the overhaul on mine, organize a closet, organize some cabinets, and write up my sister's bridal shower invitations. Yesterday I got my laundry back under control and I've been keeping up on my dishes so it's nice to have that done. Oh and with as much as Lydia is crawling around lately I'm sweeping the floors like 10 times a day. She is all over the place & fast too. It's still not the crawling on all fours but her army crawl gets her around. I think she'll start pulling herself up on stuff soon. I'm hoping to post photos of the house next week. By then I should have our room done & the kids' rooms finished. Okay, well I'll post and test it out now.



Update: It worked! The categories that I made on ScribeFire are the same as my labels on blogger and the information did transfer over. Whew, after all the computer trouble I've had last night and this morning I didn't think it would work. Now I can say that I recommend using this program. I also recommend getting an account at a photo hosting site so you can still post photos. I'll have to get my photos over there so I can put some up. Or just go back into the blogger page & edit the post and add them in.

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Mother's Day Re-cap

So I'm a little late in getting this done. Yesterday I was tired and uninspired to do anything. Because of that there is now a large pile of clothes waiting to get folded on my couch, a larger pile of clothes in the entry waiting to be cleaned {plus the full hamper}. Every time I think I've gotten ahead of the laundry it starts popping up all over, I'm not even sure where it comes from - I certainly don't have a large wardrobe. So - Mother's Day! It was a good day. Shawn was very sweet and made breakfast, lunch & dinner and even did clean up afterward. He also had Michael make me a card, mostly scribble but very cute. We spent the day at home relaxing and playing with the kids. That night we rented "The Pursuit of Happyness", it was a very good movie. Will Smith did an excellent job and is one of my favorite actors, oh and his son is so adorable. So that was my day. Nothing too big but it was nice to be recognized and feel appreciated. Oh, I almost forgot. When we were eating breakfast, pancakes & eggs, which Michael was very excited about, I told him that it was Mother's Day and asked him if he knew what that meant. His response - "Pancake Party". Shawn and I had fun taking some pictures while we were watching a movie, Under the Tuscan Sun. We actually only saw parts of it, missing a lot in the middle so I'll have to watch for that to come on again. So often our pictures revolve around the kids so it was fun to take some of us. While taking these photos I was thinking in scrap - shocker I know - and I plan on making them look like photo booth photos, you know in the strips. We took more with kisses & funny faces but I'm just posting this one. He was a very good sport about it. It really was a good day. This was the first mother's day that we didn't have any other moms to celebrate with. In the past years I've had my mom, stepmom, mother in law and grandmothers to celebrate with. We'd usually have them over for lunch and give gifts and cards. {I still need to make & mail out cards for my stepmom & mother in law - oops!} This last photo is a picture of the dinner Shawn made for me. It was chicken alfredo over pasta topped with oven roasted tomatoes and served with steamed green beans & zucchini. My hubby is such a great cook and dinner was very tasty. I loved the tomatoes and want to try making them myself on day. Oh and one more thing, to get the picture of me and the kids we had to bribe Michael with ice-cream. He did not want to take a picture. This is also the only one that has both kids looking at the camera - of course I wasn't but oh well. I think with little ones it's hard to get a picture with everyone looking at the camera while smiling. I still like it though.

Mothers Day, 2007

Today is mothers day. It is my first mothers day with both of my kids {last year I was 5 months pregnant with Lydia}. It is sadly also my first mother's day without my own mother. I knew this day would be a mix of emotions for me. Joy in celebrating being a mother and sadness at the loss of my own. What I didn't expect were the emotions leading up to this point. Seeing commercials advertising gift ideas, flowers & cards for mothers day made me want to throw things at the TV, instead I would change the channel but you get the idea. It has been 4 months and 2 days since she was suddenly & violently taken from us and I'm still sorting through my emotions. I've been wondering things like 'is there a mothers day in heaven?', 'does she know the struggle I am having now?'.

With as much as I am unsure of there are some things I know for sure. I know that she loved me and was proud of me. I know that she loved my kids and thought that I was a wonderful mom. I know that she knew how much I loved and appreciated her. We were very close before she passed and for that I am thankful. I also know that she is now dancing with Jesus and full of more joy than she had ever imagined. I still miss her, and I don't think that will ever stop - I wouldn't want it to. I encourage anyone who has a strained relationship with their mother {or anyone for that matter} to resolve it. Do whatever you've got to do and forgive them, holding onto bitterness & resentment doesn't hurt the other person, it hurts you. If someone you loved passed before you were able to make amends then make peace with it now and don't carry it one more day.

I'm a closet Dr. Phil & Oprah watcher - not everyday but often. Friday Oprah had Maria Shriver on and she had interviewed a couple of famous moms. There are a couple of segments from her interview with Demi Moore that stood out to me and I'm sure we can all relate on some level. You can click here, here, and here to read for yourself.

Some things my mom taught me {sometimes without realizing it}:
* How to love without condition.
* The importance of forgiving.
* To take care of & love myself.
* God's grace & mercy.
* How to be the best mom I can be.

Happy Mother's Day Mom. I love & miss you.