New Years Eve My Way

This is a great tag I got from a fun blog, which you can check out here-> :)
I get to list 5 of my Favorite things about New Years Eve.
Then you are suppose to tag 5 people- I only have time to tag 1 today, Luis,
so if anyone else wants to play along they can copy the tag and post their own
list. Here Goes-

5- We get to stay up till midnight & watch corny old movies.

4- My Kids get so excited that they get to count down to a New Year.

3- We never go ANYWHERE on New Years Eve, I get to stay home :)

2- I get to spend it with the People I Love most in the World, My Family.

1- I get to kiss my high school sweetheart/my lover/my husband at the
stroke of Midnight.

It's almost time for a New Beginning.

One Year Down the Drain

As it gets closer to the end of 2008 I find myself doing some Self Evaluations,
some Soul Searching. Did I do all I wanted to do this year? Did I meet my
goals, expectations, hopes? The more thinking I do the more I find wanting, so many things that didn't happen that I wanted to happen. I am one year away from 30- the big 30- and to be honest it's scaring me a little.
There are so many things I want to do before I turn 30, I feel like if I don't get my Life straightened out before then that I won't be able to. I'm sure it's just a crazy mind set, but I am having a hard time getting past it. So this year will definitely be a year of goal setting, there is a lot I need to get done & one year to do it in. I'm starting my list & will have it posted on New Years Eve, I have never done the New Years Resolution Thing- but this year it may be my last hope, before all I see at the end of 2009 is another Year down the Drain.

Papertake #2 for me :)

Here is my card for the Papertake Weekly Challenge.
I made a Birthday Card for my Brother-in-Law
hopefully it's manly enough :)

Reindeer Food & Other Fun

This was a really fun craft that we made this year, it also doubles as a cute little Christmas Gift.
You need-
10c. oatmeal, regular
1c. brown sugar
1/4t. salt
1/4 bottle red sugar sprinkles
1/4 bottle green sugar sprinkles

Mix all together well, place 1c. of the mix into a disposable icing bag,
and tie shut with a pretty ribbon. This makes 10 bags of Reindeer Food.

I used my computer to make cute tags for these. The directions on the tag
say to sprinkle half of the contents of the bag over your front lawn for
Santa's reindeer, the remaining food you save for your Christmas Morning
Breakfast- to prepare you mix 1/2c. water with the remaining oats, stir- cook
in the microwave for about 1 min.

These were a lot of fun, we made them at home & as a craft project for my
3rd graders Christmas Party at school & the kids loved making them.

For Teachers gifts this year we made each of them a pkg of Candy Cane Cocoa Mix,
which I have the recipe for here- Candy Cane Cocoa Mix.
Also a bag of Reindeer Food, an Herb Rice In a Jar Mix-
And a pkg of Freeze dried Snowballs for their Cocoa.
Happy Holidays!

Yes we are Crazy, but we LOVE each other :)

OK, after the crazy week last week I parked myself in my home & didn't leave for almost 3 days, & only left it than because My Sib's & cousins were all getting together at my Gram's for dinner. I LOVE hanging out with my family, we are such a goofy bunch, we laugh & tease & hug a lot. The biggest reason we were getting together was because my cousin & his wife flew in from Alaska & were going to be here for a few days. It's always great to see them, & this was a bit bitter-sweet. He's an Army Chaplain & is being sent back over to Iraq. It was great to see him, & hard to say goodbye.
Also this is our first Christmas without Grandpa, he passed away in August, So this year amongst the laughing, teasing & love, there were a few bittersweet tears shed- For my Cousin who is leaving us, & for the Grandpa we all adore & miss so much. But underneath it all is such a strong love of Family, that I thank God for everyday. I hate goodbyes, and have come to learn that they are one of the hardest steps we take in this Journey called life.

Here are a few of my Favorite Pic's from the afternoon-

Christmas Dinner Insanity

Here's for all of you who are making Christmas Day Dinner, On the Crockpot Lady's Blog she has a great list of Holiday Foods- Main dish- through- Desserts that can be prepared in the crock pot. If you are interested Click on the Smiley here :)

Tag You're It ;)

Pam from Pam-fried Family Life Tagged me this morning with this - so here it goes-


1- I am the middle child of 7.

2- I have visited 8 different countries.

3- Since My Hubby & I have been married 10 years ago we have moved 10 times.

4- I do NOT like cats, unless I have mice, then I like mice less than cats, so I borrow a cat ;)

5- Growing up I had 4 goats, 2 horses & several pet rabbits.

6- I have lived in 5 different states, before I got married I was a nanny.

7- I have a brother that looks so much like me that people have asked if we are twins :)



Now I tag 7 people- hmmmm :) Jumping in the Rain Puddles of Life , Crystal, Lisa,
Christine, Kristina, Keri, & last Yesterday's Tomorrow. If you want to play along, you can copy the tag from my page or Pam's. If you don't that's fine, Thanks everyone :)

Card-o-Rama

Good Morning! :) I got up early and started working on some more
Christmas Cards. I made 2 of each of these using punches,
Embossing powder, & a stamp. 6 down 44 to go.

Holding on for a Scrap Fix

Here I am in the middle of ...dun...dun....dunnnnnnn. Finals week, not for me but for Hubby.
Which means that I am not only dealing with his stress, but I get all of our family responsibilities on my shoulders alone. Deep breathe, it's Wednesday, almost done. I am holding out for Friday Night when finals are all over, and I have a date with the scrapbook store crop till you drop night. My bag is packed with fun papers, stickers, fibers, my latest pictures and lots of other goodies.Today I ran across something that was fun and exciting, a great fun blog candy giveaway. You know you can't say no to candy ;) Dawny is giving away a scrumptious assortment of Scrappers candy, You should defiantly check it out. As for me I am holding on for Friday, not only will I get some scrapping done I will get a much needed break. 2 Days to go.........

Super Cute Stamp Giveaway

There are some super cute stamps here, Pollycraft, check it out if you are interested :)

Papertake Weekly Challenge

I am entering a paper crafting challenge, I am sooooo excited :) I made a sweet little Christmas card to enter in. The Challenge is on the blog Papertake Weekly Challenge. So everyone please wish me luck. This is my one ever, & the first time I have ever scanned anything into my computer, as you could probably tell, it is a little crooked. Happy Monday All! :)
Here is my card-

The letter P

I am excited to join in this game, I got my letter from Pam, if you wanna play check out her posting here
Today's post is brought to you by the letter "F"
I am suppose to list 10 of my Favorite things that start with the letter P . So here it goes-

#1- Play- I love to play with my kiddo's, & I love to play board games, & card games.







#2- Plants- I love plants, all kinds.









#3- Polka's- I love to dance the Polka & I secretly love polka music ;)







#4- Pinto Beans- They are my Favorite Bean, very versatile.

#5- Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie- need I say more, yum :)







#6- Pockets- I love pockets, I have to have them in my skirts even. Kid pockets often have great treasures in them, I find them when I take things out of the dryer.









#7- Pillows- New ones to be exact, & lots of them.







#8- Purple- especially with Green.








#9- Parfaits- yogurt, granola, & berries, good stuff.






#10- Pairs- I believe everything should be in pairs, probably why I have 4 children instead of 3, I don't like things to be uneven.

Sigh, a new week already?

I LOVE Friday, it has to be my most favorite day :) I just can't wait to hide in my house for 2- 1/2 days, grin, grin, OK that doesn't really happen. But just the thought that there are really no places I have to go really makes me happy. Saturday is cleaning day here, I can usually get the kids to help, even if I have to promise a cookie baking session when we are done. They LOVE messing up my kitchen ;) The Hubby is usually at work, or studying at work. So me and the Kiddo's just hang out. I enjoy having people over, that way I don't have to go anywhere, so we often have game parties, movie parties, party parties- I like parties :)- on Sat. night. Sunday I putter around picking up and doing laundry, trying hard to pretend it won't be Monday tomorrow.


Cause once Monday hits, everything is in fast forward again :( Up at 6 and everyone out the door by 8. Since I no longer home school the kids I feel guilty , so I volunteer at the school a lot. And because there are 3 of them there, and we believe in equal treatment ( it cuts down on the whining) I spend time in each classroom weekly. Besides that there is homework, TaeKwon Do, piano, cooking, laundry, watching my 6 month old niece, taking care of the doggies, yard, house, car, ( I am easily overwhelmed :) The bus doesn't come to our house, so we drop off and pick up (which I don't mind, I really don't like the whole bus thing for kids). There are always a million HAVE to do's. So that's why when Friday comes around I get so excited. And dang it, tomorrow is going to be Monday again already isn't it? Darn.

Daisy Quilts Giveaway

Thanks to Pam for the info on this :) Everyone should definitely check it out :) There are
some really neat things at http://daisyquilts.blogspot.com/2008/11/thanksand-giveaway.html
And right now she is having a really great give away. I don't quilt, I scrapbook, but I do get a lot of great page layouts from quilting designs. Fun, Fun :)

Salmon CheeseBall

So I got an odd phone call from my sister a couple days ago, which by the way is perfectly normal, wondering where in the world I buy the salmon cheeseball that I quite frequently bring to family gatherings. She had been searching all the grocery stores for it, I said ummm, I make it. (Who would buy a store bought cheeseball, yuck).
When I offered her the recipe, she very sweetly asked if I could just make her one (cause she loves me so much <3). So I did but I made her watch how because I am not, no matter what anyone says, a short order cook (which I never say because my family starts to laugh & say well you ARE short and you DO cook, ha ha ha, never gets old). SO to get to the point, I am a rambler :) I thought it would be fun to do a step by step of my yummy Salmon Cheeseball.

So step 1- you need 2- 8oz pkgs room temp. cream cheese, about 8 oz of cooked salmon, 2c. shredded chedder cheese, 1t. Worcestershire sauce, & about 1T. Season All salt.
Step 2- Beat together all the ingred. except the shredded cheese,
see how technical it is :)

Step 3- Scrape the sides of your bowl & add in 1c. of the shredded cheese.

Step 4- Place half of the remaining cheese on a plate, using a spatula scoop half of the cheeseball mixture onto the plate.

Step 5- Form into a ball while rolling in the cheese. Wrap tightly in saran wrap to hold the shape, repeat with the other half & store both balls in the fridge. I usually make these a day ahead, but not always :)

Step 6- (The most important) Serve with your favorite crackers, yum!

Wednesday I am Thankful for.....

These guys, they keep my life full of Surprises :)
and Joy. I don't know what I would do without them. I think I am the most spoiled Mom in the World :) And I am so Thankful for my Babies :)

How to make a Mini-Book :)

This is what I do, my JOB :) It's definitely more lucrative in the summer when I have a weekly booth at the People's Market , & around the Holiday's when people are looking for unique homemade gifts :) First you round up all the necessary supplies.
Then you have to measure and cut all your paper (this is the WORST part). Then you adhere the cover, pages, then ends. This is my Favorite glue, it works VERY well & it's cheap. I have tried MANY, MANY different glues, I even bought a REALLY expensive book binding glue thinking it might work better, IT DID NOT! So, sometimes cheap is better ;)
After you do that you ink & chalk all your edges :)
Then you are ready to decorate :) So here we have our before picture......
And here is the after............


There you have it, 1 mini-book ready for pictures :)

My Secret Obsession

OK, so it's not REALLY a secret, pretty much everyone who knows me knows! That I am obsessed with Scrapbooking. The books, magazines, papers, adhesives, inks, chalk, paints, embellishments, strings, scissors, punches, not to mention the endless taking of pictures, scrap parties, scrap nights, the corner (oh alright fine, HALF)
of the family room that is taken over by my STUFF, as the man calls it. I can't help it, seriously, it's an addiction. An incurable one, or so I tell Hubby. I try to support my habit by teaching classes, and selling pre-made mini books (of which I will post a pic when I get more made, I am happily sold out at the moment!). Of course I did get some dirty looks the other day when he had to pick up $40, cringe, worth of pictures from Costco for me. I had to greatly assure him, wink wink, that I only get pictures developed rarely. Being that as it may having 4 children there is a huge wealth of photos & photo opportunities and very little time to indulge in my obsession. (my B-day gift every year is one whole day to myself alone to scrapbook :) So whenever I manage to squeak in enough time to get a page done, I am happy indeed :)

The Weekend

It's Saturday, sigh, that was a happy sigh, no where to we have to rush off to, no homework, no tears or complaints (yet). The kiddo's have been sweetly entertaining each other (so far) Breakfast is done & cleaned up. I suppose we will have to get motivated & do some chores here soon, but for right now I'm just enjoying the calm, quiet, happy, relaxed atmosphere of a Wonderful Saturday Morning.

There are days when being a Mother pays off, like yesterday. You always wonder how many of the things you say end up in the compartment of their brain that is labeled save. Especially when it seems like most of the things you say go in one ear & out the other. Then something happens and you realize you must be doing something right. Yesterday I was woken up out of a sound sleep, by the sound of my sons dresser door, so I glanced groggily at the clock, 4 am???!?? So I stumble sleepily into his room to tell him that it is WAY to early to get up & that he has to go back to bed until 6 am. After a bit of grumbling he heads back to bed, turns out that one of the fitness tips on the new wii fit game told him that a great way to start the day is to get up early and work out.
He has been obsessed with this game since we bought it, I don't really understand why seeing as how the little man is more on the underweight side. But I am glad he enjoys it, he is my little reading/science/brain child and sports are not his thing, so it has been a good thing. Ok, so after I have drug myself out of bed, showered, turned on the girls light to get them up, I end up in the kitchen at about 7 am. There on the table are 5 cereal bowls, 5 spoons, a box of raisen bran, a gallon of milk and the sweetest little note- mom I set the table so you and dad will have time to eat breakfast with the girls. (he, of course, has already eaten & is downstairs jogging) So I get all teary eyed, what mom wouldn't. It really made my day that's for sure.

Figuring it all out

K, I am getting this all figured out, kind of. Thanks to all the wonderful AR members who clued me into this site. I can already see that it is going to be a new addiction :) I am not computer literate at all so it will probably take me awhile to get all the features figured out. I did just discover, ha ha, the help button. Which I'm tellin ya is very helpful :) ok, I am gonna go I think the lovely head cold my Kiddo's, so generously, shared with me is affecting my brain power. Ciao

A few of my Favorite Quotes

Dont cry because its over. smile because it happened -- Dr. Seuss

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."C.S. Lewis quote

"Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil."C.S. Lewis quote

"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."C.S. Lewis quote


There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.

Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.

If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.

Jane Austen


"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you." -Robert Fulghum

"Remember this - that very little is needed to make a happy life." -Marcus Aurelius

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple. Dr. Seuss