eightcrazy

Maybe if I Vlog...I'll actually post!

2011-04-01T16:26:00.000-07:00

The Great Alaskan Adventure Begins!

2010-12-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Well, we are here in Alaska. It started snowing about half an hour after we arrived, but it hasn't snowed again since then. The scenery is breathtaking beautiful. Mountains covered in snow and so close you can almost reach out and touch them.

The kids are enjoying playing in the snow. Colt is really loving it!

The first day of school started off a little rough. There were a couple vaccinations that they needed that WA didn't require at this point. They wouldn't let them attend school even for a day without them. So it was off to downtown to the free clinic for two shots each. They were NOT happy about that at all. They ended up back at school about an hour and a half late.

Colt really enjoyed his day. He made a new friend, named.....COLTON! Good thing he decided to go by COLT up here instead of ColtON!! He liked his teacher and said school was fun.

Emily met some nice girls in class and there is even one who lives on our same street!!! She said the schedule is different than what she is used to. Of course it's always hard when you compare something to what you are used to. I know she will adjust well.

We should get the keys to the house tomorrow. New carpet will get installed and then we move in on Thursday!! Looking forward to getting into the new home and neighborhood.

We saw our first moose today. It was a cow, so no big antlers to ooooh and awe over. But the kids still thought it was BIG and cool!!

I scoped out the local mall and wal-mart today. The mall has the BIGGEST forever 21 I've ever seen. It has a men's section and a kids section. Cool!

Well, I should go outside and get Colt before he turns into a popsicle!!

I'm using friends computer to do this post. My computer won't be here for at least a week. So...sorry...no pics until then.

Feels like home again

2010-02-11T22:50:00.000-08:00

So, for the last 2 months I've been working with high school ministry at church. It's been SEVERAL years since I've worked with HS students. As a single gal I worked in the ministry for years and I was aslo a coach at a local HS (my alma mater...Go CHIEFS!)

About 8 months ago I began meeting with a student one on one. Every Thursday I pick her up from school, we go get a starbucks and we just chat about life and I do my best to encourage her and be a good listening ear. A few months ago I decided to meet up with her at Wednesday night ministry so I could meet some of her friends.

I walked away from that night with many thoughts. Thoughts that I ended up sharing with our youth pastor one evening when we invited him and his wife over for dinner. I'm a person (for the most part) who is willing to be a part of the solution if I'm going to take issue with something. So I offered some solutions for my concerns. Next thing I knew I was heading up a ministry that is trying to get more parents involved in the ministry and I'm there every wednesday night.

I've been making some really great connections with the leaders. In fact I had a 3 hour lunch with one of the gals the other day!! They have been so receptive to me and you can see how much they desire to have a more mature christian woman speak into their lives. It's been awesome! I've made some connections with a couple students as well and I'm looking forward to where that will lead.

I come home every Wednesday feeling totally energized. I feel as though I'm "home again." I've been in a bit of an "emotional lull" for awhile now and it's been neat to see how God is using my service in this minstry and the new relationships I'm forming to feed my soul and lift my spirits. I'm truly thankful for the path He currently has me on. He really is the ultimate healer. Interestingly enough the name of the HS ministry is REFUGE and it has definitely been that for me!

She's About to Pop Baby Shower

2010-02-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

This is the baby shower that I threw for my long-time dear friend Michelle and her sweet baby girl. She's about to pop was a fun theme to work with. Michelle is gluten free...so popcorn is something she can eat with no worries! I tried to incorporate foods that had "POP" in then somehow, someway. Like Soda POP, loliPOPS, POP rocks, POPcorn, etc. I also made one batch of regular cupcakes and one batch of gluten free cupcakes. Both were yummy!

Here is the invitation:

Some of the details.....
cupcake toppers

favor bags filled with pop rocks & ring pops

the little signs I made so people knew what they were eating...AND to emphasize the POP factor!

handcrafted fabric and ribbon banner draped in front of the refreshment table

my jazzed up light fixture was a fun addition and really added a POP of color to the room

(ok, looking back I should've ironed the ribbon...but who has the time!!!)

me and my guest of honor

the lollipop topiary that served as the food table centerpiece

pink popcorn balls

the refreshment table

the food table

Blessings...

2009-11-22T01:01:00.000-08:00

Today I hosted a baby shower for one of my dearest friends. The thing I love most about planning and putting together a party like this for someone I love is the ability to show them how much I love and cherish them. And I DO cherish my friend Michelle. I truly desired to honor and bless her today. To honor the mom that she already is, the friend she has always been and the sister in Christ that I have been so very blessed to know and love and to have speak truth into my life. I love her because she is real. I love her because she will tell me what I need to hear and not what I want to hear. I love her because we are different and that often challenges me. I love her family. I love her laugh. I love her faith. I love the unique things about her that make her Michelle...and nobody else. I don't think I know anyone else quite like her.

I can't believe she is having another baby! This one is number FIVE...and her current youngest is 7.5 yrs old. Her youngest are the exact same ages as my kids. Our girls were actually due the same day...but mine decided to cook for nine extra days! I literally watched her daughter be born on my daughter's due date....lets just say it made the next nine days VERY bearable!! LOL!
When she called me to tell me she first asked if I was sitting down. What came out of her mouth next...trust me...I was not expecting! As soon as she said she was pregnant I literally just started laughing. And as I laughed she TRIED to say, "it's not funny!"....while SHE was laughing. I quickly told her I was NOT going to be joining her on this one! I think we giggled for about 30 more minutes on the phone. Well...I may have laughed in the beginning, but now I simply can't wait to meet this little bundle of JOY! Of course I will have to because I can't go to the hospital now that they have all the restrictions thanks to swine flu! But you can bet your bottom dollar that I will be heading over to her house as soon as she brings that sweet baby girl home!

I am so thankful for my friend. I pray that she felt very loved and very blessed today!
Sorry....no pics today...come back later this week. This post is not about my party planning details...it's about WHY the details were important in the first place....to honor and bless the friend I love!

Something to post about

2009-11-18T23:57:00.000-08:00

Well....more than a month of no blog posts. One friend who lives out of town emailed me to make sure everything was ok...(and I LOVE her for that!) My dad left me a phone message wondering if I was ever going to post again and then called the next day with an idea of what to post about! Oh dad...I LOVE you!

So, let's see...my dad mentioned something about a kmart commercial that took the Lord's name in vein. I haven't seen it...but it sounds inappropriate to me...and obviously to my dad as well!!

I'm currently sitting at my laptop which has no pictures or images in it to upload and frankly...I'm too lazy to get up and go into my office. But I've been up to a few things lately.

Blog Designing.....here are some links to some of my recent designs:

http://www.frugalcouponliving.com/

http://thriftydecorchick.com/

http://siriouslysweet.com/

http://www.beamsoflightministries.org/

http://kidfriendlymommyapproves.blogspot.com/

http://jkphotographyblog.blogspot.com/

________________________________________

I spent lots of time this fall on the soccer field...well...the sidelines actually. My son played soccer for the first time and he was amazing! It was lots of fun to watch him and the team was really great. All the kids just really had fun and the parents were really great! As the season went on I became more impressed with my son. He's got that natural hustle and go get 'em attitude and he had some skill to back it up! He scored lots of goals! As much fun as he had....he was ready for it to come to an end. The week after it was over he asked if he had to go to soccer practice and I told him "no". He said, "Yay! I don't have to be busy anymore!" I think the main issue was that his practices were on the opposite days as his friends, so they didn't get to play much this fall. I'm looking forward to the rest of the year being fairly mellow. Then it will get crazy in January with CYT for my daughter.

I've also been eagerly awaiting the arrival of a few people to the "neighborhood". One of them is literally my neighbor and the other one just moved 5 minutes away from me...she used to live across town. I stopped by her house today and we chatted for 30 minutes. I'm so glad you moved to the east side Meredith! And LeeAnn...I'm so thrilled to have you as my neighbor. I look forward to some walks for excercise and some morning coffee talks!

That's it for now people!

I'm still here

2009-10-15T00:59:00.000-07:00

Still here! promise....just been buried with work. Finally feeling like I can breath again. Promise to post next week....pics from my son's birthday and my nannual girls getaway trip.

what have I been up to?

work.....both kids in school all day....birthday parties.....learning illustrator......learning more about wordpress.....MOMS group......friday night football games......soccer practices.....soccer games......enjoying all the new fall tv shows.........playing with the kitties..............anxiously awaiting my neighbors house to be finished so they can move in and really be my neighbors.....denying the fact that my daughter is a full blown tween.....running......missing family that has moved away......enjoying family that moved to town........LIFE!

Vote for Me!

2009-09-21T14:41:00.001-07:00

Please vote my my design! There are prizes for voting!

http://win.shopify.com/sites#http://gemsbygeorge.myshopify.com/

My latest designs

2009-09-14T05:53:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would share some of my latest work.

The first was for LeighAnne of Your Homebased Mom. It's kind of exciting because this is my very first install on the Wordpress platform (rather than blogger...which is my normal gig!)

Then I continued on with Wordpress and did this customization for Sara from Sublime Photo Art

Kim has a tennis fixation and I designed a blog to showcase that for her!

Laura is known as the Duchess of Reel. She's got some fun reviews!

This one was for Tammy in Montana!

Another photog blog, but this one was for Katherine over at Furnished Photography

Out with Papa

2009-09-13T01:56:00.000-07:00

My little guy spent the day with his Papa recently and they went on the Sternwheeler. Colt got to drive that big boat and he thought it was pretty cool! Is he the cutest or what!

Yesterday was the Day!

2009-09-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

School started yesterday. Both the kids had a great first day. Kind of weird not having my little buddy around today! Missin' my random hugs and kisses.

Don't they look so much more grown up from last year?

what about the year before that when Em was in 3rd grade and Colt was just starting pre-school

My how time flies!

It's almost here...

2009-09-01T00:30:00.000-07:00

The day that has always seemed so far off in the distance is almost here. As of Wednesday I will have two kids who attend school all day...leaving me at home all day by myself. I never imagined a few years ago that when this day came I would basically have a full-time job that would keep me super busy and make the days go by very quickly. It's all so surreal honestly.

I'm determined to do more than just work though. I'm planning on doing a bible study one day a week and also getting involved with the MOMS ministry at church again. I will also be taking some continuing ed classes at the local community college so I'm thinking I will be plenty busy. And let's not forget trying to have some sort of schedule to maintain all of this chaos AND get in my daily chores around the house! Oh and while I juggle all of that I will be training for the half marathon I just signed up to do in February.

Yep...I'm officially insane! But my hubby and I are going to do it together! It's on our 12 year anniversary...so we are going to kick off year 13 by running 13 miles!

Fun Teacher Gift Idea

2009-08-26T23:33:00.000-07:00

I found this unique teacher gift over on Nichole Heady's Blog. It's called a teacher's journal jar. There are questions that you can print to put in the jar and they have some free downloads to go along with it. There is a full description on Nichole's Blog. (I'm finding some fun things over there! Nichole's blog was one of the very first creatively inspiring blogs I came across in blogland a couple years ago when I first started blogging!)

......................................

This would have been perfect!

2009-08-26T23:26:00.001-07:00

Just came across these today! They would've gone perfectly with the baby shower theme I just posted about!! You can download a free template and see the instructions over at Nichole Heady's blog.

Baby Shower - Bless the Nest!

2009-08-24T00:38:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures from the Nesting Baby Shower I recently threw for my SIL and nephew.

The invitation

The guest of honor...my SIL

A little birdie made of colored chocolate sitting on a bed on chow mein noodles for the nest atop the cake. I literally had to hand paint SEVERAL of them with food coloring to get a color variation in the next. Then I threw in some coconut for good measure as well.

The table setting with all the goodies and a bird cage for all those gift cards.

Baby Sundaes were a yummy treat!

Especially for big sister, Miss D.

Some nesty goodness... sent my dad to the store to get blue jelly beans...he came back with orange.
To his credit...they were out of blue, but ORANGE? Love you Dad! =)

It was a gift card shower because she was moving across country a couple days later. So we filled some of the time with a couple rounds of bunco! Good times

Recent Home Pics & Purchases

2009-08-18T12:19:00.001-07:00

Before you see the front family room I wanted you to see a couple new purchases I'm excited about...
This is the fantabulous mirror I just bought that I'm planning on hanging above my fireplace! I walked into HomeGoods and instantly fell in LOVE! It should really play off the 12' ceilings in that room quite nicely.

This is the bell I bought that my hubby will be haning on the front pourch. We live on 5 acres and at times it can be hard to find my kiddos when they are outside playing...so this will be what calls them in from now on! Don't you just love it?

The rest of these pics are all from the front family room. Just some of the details of the room. Once I can actually get my hubby to hang the new mirror I will take a picture of the fireplace wall and post it! but for now...here's what you get....

Here you go Beckie...more home pics!

2009-08-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my friend Beckie who lives across the country the other day and she was saying she wanted to see MORE of my home...so here you go!

Guest Bathroom

Guest Bathroom Details

A shot from the outside

The back patio

My Son's Room

His reading corner

the lights by his bed (yes that is dust you see...just keepin' it real people!)

the mud room....I told you the mud room was boring Beckie!
yes...there is a framed corkboard on the opposite wall...but it fell down last week and I have yet to put it back up! =)

For the post and pics on my office / Design Studio
click here

For Pics of the entry and front Den
click here

For Pics of the front room and my daughter's room
click here

The front room has change with some new furniture additions and rearrangement. I will post those pics in the next couple days.

Aren't they cuuuuute!

2009-08-13T21:33:00.001-07:00

Meet the newest residents of my back patio....

Now she's pole dancing!!!????

2009-08-10T23:31:00.000-07:00

Are you stinkin' kidding me???!!!!

Reason #79510989017091849 Why I chose from the very beginning NOT to let my daughter watch Hannah Montana!!! Miley Cyrus - proving to be another Disney DON'T!

this was at the Teen Choice Awards tonight. Oh and did you see what she was wearing when she presented the award to Britney? Her boobs were totally hanging out!! Sorry. It just totally frustrates me to NO END!!

Prayer for my friend Beth

2009-08-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Beth's home. This happened last week. Their house was struck by lightening at like 5:30 in the morning. They have been so blessed by their neighbors since this day but obviously it's a life changing event!

Can you even imagine???!!! To see pictures go to www.camalamaphoto.com

this moves me!

2009-08-08T01:04:00.000-07:00

It's not one of those slow songs that can tug at your heart...but it speaks to me and often makes me teary eyed when I'm driving in my car. It's like an anthem or something. LOVE IT!

Sorrow and Rejoicing

2009-08-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a very shocking, draining, revealing couple of weeks. A beloved wife and mother from my church unexpectedly went to be with the Lord. Wendee is not someone that I knew well on a personal level but I have known her since I was about 15 years old. She and her husband served at the youth camp I attended every summer and I have attended the same church as their family since that time.
From the moment I heard the news that she was on the way to the hospital I was instantly ROCKED by it. She has a loving husband and 4 children. As a wife and mother myself I was instantly affected by the whole reality of it all. The few days she was in the hospital before she passed were emotional and prayer filled for so many people that I love and care about. My neighbor and Wendee have been friends for THIRTY years! SO MANY people I love were going through so much pain, and it was overwhelming! But while I was overwhelmed with emotion I was also overwhelmed with the Peace of God and the knowledge that He alone is sovereign and in total control.
Although I personally didn't know Wendee well, I had something to deal with that was hard. About 3 years ago my family kept running into their family at least once a week. We just kept seeing them everytime we would go out to eat. I felt God nudging me. He was nudging me to seek out a relationship with Wendee and her husband and to have them mentor my husband and I. I was a bit intimidated by this....so I kind of ignored God's nudge. Then we would see them again...NUDGE...IGNORE! Then we finally stopped running into them and I didn't have to ignore the NUDGE anymore. To be honest...I never even told my husband. OK..OK...I know!! I was totally disobedient to what God was calling me to do!! I have no excuse! I was just plain disobedient! And NO....feeling intimidated is NOT an excuse!
So when I found out that Wendee had passed away I was quickly reminded of my disobedience. Now, I'm only left to wonder what God had to teach me through her and I'm left with the consequence of knowing that I missed out on an opportunity to REALLY know an amazing woman of God.
Talking about her to people who knew her well and loved her deeply has really shown me what I missed out on. Her Celebration of Life service really demonstrated that as well. WOW! I really screwed up! She had so much to offer and I missed it! The more I hear...the more I KNOW that God was calling me to seek her out and I can already see just SOME of the things that God wanted to teach me through her.
So I've shed many tears in the recent weeks. Tears for her family. Tears for my friends. Tears because of my own disobedience and the "what if".
I've been praying a lot for her family and friends. I've also been asking God to be merciful to me for my disobedience and to somehow teach me through her death what He wanted me to learn from her when she was alive. I truly think I'm seeing some of it already and I look forward to more.
As I and many others grieve her loss we also rejoice. We rejoice because we have hope. Hope in the Lord and the sacrifice that His son Jesus made on the cross. This was what drove Wendee in her daily life and it was a privilage to attend her Celebration of Life service and hear about the impact her life had on so many. We Celebrated not only her life...but her HOMECOMING. For she is truly at home now as she is with the Lord and rejoicing is his PRESENCE!
They talked at the service about how when her kids or a friend would being going through a hard or frustrating situatation she would always ask the question, "What do you think God is going to do through this?" So they turned that around and asked all of us to apply that to her death. Wendee would say to all of us, "What do you think God is going to do through this?" So I'm praying and seeking God for that answer in my life. I look forward to the answers!! One thing I know for sure...it's been a lesson in disobedience for me. God calls on us to be obedient to Him. It's a lesson I try so hard to daily instill in my children and I chose to ignore it for myself. I can't do that. None of us can. The consequences can be too great, and more importatntly....we miss out on what God has for us!

A few new designs

2009-07-25T18:13:00.001-07:00

I just finished a few designs. Thought I would share them with you.

First is a fun party blog for Jenn of Parties by Hardie. She sells really fun partyware.

The second is a fabulous blog about design and home decor for Kimm at Reinvented.

New Portfolio

2009-07-23T10:59:00.001-07:00

Check out my new design portfolio!!

Continued prayer for the family

2009-07-21T22:43:00.000-07:00

Please be praying for the family of Wendee:

The family would like everyone to know that Wendee arrived in heaven today. She is enjoying the presence of God and the fellowship of friends gone before her. We can only imagine the fields and pastures that she's exploring for the heavenly hosts of horses that she will now get to enjoy. The family would like to thank everyone for their continued support and prayers.

Urgent Prayer Request!

2009-07-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

We have a woman in our church who is a wife and a mother of 4 who is currently fighting for her life. She was found unconscious in the family pool and was rushed to the hospital yesterday. The next 24 hours will be very critical to Wendee's recovery. Since she has been at SWWMC they have been keeping her body at a cold temperature to help aleviate some swelling on her brain. At 5pm they will begin the process of SLOWLY warming her body up to a normal temperature. The warming process is crucial and how her body responds to this process is a key factor in her recovery.

Tomorrow morning they will begin taking her off sedation as well. Those hours where she is coming off of sedation and having her temperature raised are the MOST critical.

Please be praying over the next 24 hours that this would be successful and that her body's response would be favorable.

Please pray for a MIRACLE!!!

If I only had a brain!

2009-07-17T16:10:00.000-07:00

Oh...I am so the scarecrow these days!!!

Yesterday I opened up a drawer in my kitchen where I keep my bag clips. what did I find in the drawer??? A moldy bag of green beans with a clip on them. Yep...I clipped the bag and put it in the drawer instead of the fridge.

Today, I put a cake in the oven. Checked the cake and it needed 5 more minutes. I set the timer. Then proceeded about a whole new task with took me outside only to come in like 15 minutes later to a house that smelled like cake! (thank goodness it didn't completely BURN!!)

I'm not feeling like my head is quite screwed on right these days!

Farewell Dinner

2009-07-13T00:14:00.000-07:00

Tonight we got together with my hubbies family. It was the final family dinner before His brother, wife and 2 kiddos move to the other side of the country. It was a fun and emotional evening. All the kids were emotional as well. My sweet girl sat quietly soaking it all in and gently wiping away her tears. My son on the other hand...well he let it all out! As soon as we began talking about the move and sharing stories he just broke down. He ran to me and buried his head in my chest and literally sobbed. There was no hesitation, no shame.....just raw emotion. He proceeded to cry like that for the next 30 minutes or so while we all shared and then prayed together.

On top of his own emotions, I think it was overwhelming for him. It's not everyday as a kid that you see your grandpa and grandma break down and cry....your father and mother break down and cry....your uncles and aunts break down and cry and your cousins crying as well. It was a lot to take in. But it did my mother's heart good to see that my son has such a tender heart. I already knew that aobut my daughter. I pray that he never loses that tender heart and that he will never be afraid to show that kind of emotion in the future. (when it's appropriate)

It's going to be really weird not having them at all the family events. It's a strange time. My sister just moved here with her family after leaving for college 20 years ago.....and now my hubbies brother and his family are moving away.

strange twist!

Some things never change...

2009-07-11T00:43:00.000-07:00

I was searching for an old post...but came across this one instead. It was posted on July 7th of last year. So basically...exactly a year ago! What is it with summer for me? Isn't summer supposed to be when you are looking your best so you can wear shorts and feel good about yourself? For some reason I always struggle with food during the summer and gain weight!

Just look where I was a year ago....
---------------------------------------------------------
So I was leaving the dollar store eating the ice cream sandwich I had just bought and I started thinking...."what is my problem? When am I gonna get it together and start eating right and working out again?"

So as I drove home I made up this song in my head to the tune of "Tomorrow" from Annie:

I’m gonna work out
Tomorrow
Bet your bottom dollar
That tomorrow
I will run!

Just thinkin’ about
Tomorrow
And the workout routine,
I will follow...
It’ll be FUN!

When I start off my day
And weigh,
thinkin' “if only”,
I just stick out my double chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh

I’m gonna work out
Tomorrow
This fat is gonna hang on
‘Til tomorrow
WHEN I’LL SAY

Tomorrow!
Tomorrow!
I’ll work out
Tomorrow!

You’re always
A day
A-way!
---------------------------------------------------------
That song could be my THEME song right now! Oh good golly...when will I just be one of those people who truly becomes healthy and fit? Maybe I should listen to subliminal message tapes while I sleep or something...do you think that would work? Hypnotism? Would that work?
What? NO? Oh....it's just the word WORK I need to focus on! Good old fashioned hard work!

......UH-OH! =)

E-Commerce is on it's way!

2009-07-10T01:10:00.001-07:00

I've been taking some time to learn some new things and expand my business lately! What I've been working on is e-commerce. Basically...online stores. I found a e-commerce platform called Shopify and I've been having fun setting up some demo sites.

My first shopify demo site is an example of a fun whimsical site.

My second shopify demo site is a more tailored looking store.

I'm going to be working on coverting over my MIL's blogsite to a shopify store. Once I'm done with that I think I will be ready to add it to my list of design services. I'm super excited about being able to offer this option! I will keep you posted once I offically add it to my options.

If you want to see more about what shopify has to offer....have a look!

Michael Jackson

2009-07-08T00:46:00.000-07:00

This is the poster I had on the BACK of my door when I was in the 4th grade. I had to put it on the BACK of the door so that when my mom came in the room she would not have to look at it. I wasn't really allowed to have posters of boys up on my walls. It was the only poster of a boy that I ever had in my room.

Honestly I don't ever remember being infatuated with him like "oh my gosh he's so hot!" (although he was pretty cute before he went and messed it all up). I just know that I have always been enamored by his talent.

I'm a TOTAL pop culture watcher....but I've never been one to become overly emersed into it. I would never sit outside a place like Neverland and wallow in the loss. Nor would I have stood outside the courtrooms when he was undergoing the trial if I lived in that area. I'm just not THAT into it all.

But I will say that to this day I have always remained a fan. The image above is the one that sticks in my mind. His music still brings a smile to my face. I'm sad that will never get to see him in concert because I think he was an entertainment GENIUS!

It was very sad to see his daughter say goodbye to him. There are a lot of people who think he was a lot of things....but WOW...that moment just really humanized him again, don't you think.

Anyway. Think what you want to think. I will always be able to put on an MJ song and "Rock with You"

Update on SEO

2009-06-30T00:48:00.000-07:00

So, a few posts ago I told you what I learned about SEO. I applied what I learned to my Party Site. It has definitely made a difference! Before my Search Engine generated hits was about 15% last week it was up to 27% !!! That's a pretty big jump! I just thought ya'll would want to know that the info I found really was helpful and if applied....works!

Fun Hike with the Fam

2009-06-28T16:52:00.001-07:00

I really need to stop now! =)

2009-06-25T16:45:00.001-07:00

it's a bit addictive!

Uh oh...this is kind of fun!

2009-06-25T00:58:00.001-07:00

Once I did one...I just had to do more!!

My little Crafty Girl Character

2009-06-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

I tried my hand at illustrating a little character today. I don't even know why. It's not for a client. (maybe someday) But it was fun to create this little person. I'm trying to broaden my design horizons!!

Sometimes they just make me smile!

2009-06-23T17:37:00.000-07:00

My latest design just makes me smile when I look at it. so fun, bright and cheerful! Susan is the woman behind "Poca Cosas" which means "little things". Her posts contain plenty of eye candy! Check it out!

Working on getting Edge-u-mi-cated!

2009-06-20T00:49:00.000-07:00

You all know that I am a blog designer. To date I haven't really spent much time studying beyond the design aspect of blogging, websites, and code. But I'm feeling like I really need to take the next step in my business and learn more so that I can be a wealth of knowledge for my clients. I also just feel like with my job, this is stuff I need to know and understand.

So my first area I'm diving into is SEO. It stands for Search Engine Optimization. From what I understand it basically refers to how you rank when someone puts in those keywords in their search bar (when they google something). Of course everyone wants to be the very first link that pops up! There are a few things apparently that are helpful for moving your site up in the ranks of the search results. In your sites code you definitely want your site title to include the most common keywords that someone would be using to find your site. You would also want your site description to contain those keywords as well. I also discovered that you should be trying to use those keywords within your content about 6%-7% of the time. WOW! That's a lot. If you want to know what percentage you are using your keywords...you can use this site http://www.keyworddensity.com/

It's a bit more detailed than what I've explained here. But here is a link to a site that explains it fairly clearly and to the point. http://ezinearticles.com/?Tips-For-Understanding-SEO&id=395999

Hope this was helpful. I plan to share as I learn! Hopefully as I learn you will learn!

Wow...is anybody still out there?

2009-06-16T22:30:00.000-07:00

sorry...not much activity on the personal blog these days!

Want some eye candy? You should check out my other blog... Creative Parties and Showers

Have you seen the new Tip Junkie? I collaborated with TJ's husband and there is so much to see over there! Not to mention the fact that she is doing like 11 giveaways a day all this week! You should check it out so you can win something!

Dump IE and switch over to Firefox

2009-06-11T09:35:00.000-07:00

As most of you know...I'm a blog designer. I talk to many other blog designers and I've been to some conferences. The concensus is that none of us like IE. When we write up our codes they work just fine in browsers like firefox and safari....but then we have to write up a bunch of code fixes for IE becuase in IE....it's all screwed up.

So....I think everyone could make our lives a whole lot easier if they would just make the switch! Because IE doesn't seem to be able to fix the problem no matter what version they come out with!!! C'mon...see what you've been missing. You've probably been looking at blogs and websites all over the net in the wrong way!

Felt Food

2009-06-10T15:19:00.000-07:00

FELT FOOD...I've been noticing it around blogland. Seems to be "all the rage"! Right now One Pretty Thing has an entire feature about it. It's cute...but I don't totally get it. I think people are making it for their kids. Am I right? Have you seen it? Have you made any?

And the other question that enters my mind....how come I haven't seen Beckie making this yet? She makes everything else!!

A little perspective!

2009-06-08T08:36:00.001-07:00

There is this post...the one that's been at the top of my blog for about 2 months now! The one about Luke. Well, I just couldn't resist sharing a part of his mom's most recent post from the Caring Bridge site.

"Today has been a bit harder for Luke. He is definitely feeling sick and tired, although his attitude still continues to amaze me. (If you're on Facebook you already saw this, but I have to say it again!! ) Today while he had his head over a puke bucket he looked up at me and said "Besides all this barfing and pooping, it still is a good day." Then he said, pointing to his head, "I still am happy in here and nothing can take that away." WOW! This kid amazes me!! I am so proud of him."

Not only does he amaze his mom...he amazes me as well. In fact...he humbles me.

To read the full post and stay updated on Luke's battle with cancer you can ALWAYS check out their family journal on the caring bridge website.

Keep praying! Luke just finished up radiation. He's on an intense round of chemo right now and bone marrow transplant is this week. PRAY PRAY PRAY!

Stimulus Package not so Stimulating!

2009-06-03T00:18:00.000-07:00

Between my daughter's play, my design business, and hosting the party site....my blog is getting a bit neglected. Sorry. But I'm back and I have a bit of a rant for ya'll!!

The Stimulus Package....is a bunch of crap-olah!

Here is a first hand story for you. My hubby works for a construction company. That company had gotten a contract to work on a government project. It was negotiated work and did not have to be bid. Then two weeks later the Stimulus Package was passed. The government said, "WAIT!" We have to take the contract back! This project is NOW going to be funded by the Stimulus Package. (um...hello there were obviously already funds for it...why did it need to be funded under the Stimulus Package?) This time the job would go out to bid by several construction companies. In the end the company my husband works for won the bid and "got the job again". So HERE is the real KICKER in all of this people.

This was a project that existed and was already going to happen and provide jobs for all the people who were going to work on it....BUT since they took it back and placed it under the STIMULUS package NOW it will go into the statistics of "new jobs" that were created under the Stimulus Package.

Do you get it people? Do you see the lie? I'm not saying that no new jobs are being created...I AM saying that the government is padding the numbers big time!!! It's a bunch of crap-olah!

Be a Prayer Warrior for Luke!

2009-06-01T16:30:00.000-07:00

The last time Luke battled this disease (and won) we covered his room in stars and the stars represented people who were praying for him from all over the world! This time I thought we would give Luke a visual picture of the CHAIN OF PRAYER WARRIORS that are praying for him from ALL OVER THE WORLD!

When you leave a prayer of encouragement on the prayer site for Luke and his family I will add a link to Luke's prayer chain.
This time I wanted Luke to know that just as many...and maybe EVEN MORE PEOPLE are praying for him this time! So won't you join the prayer chain and be a prayer warrior for LUKE!

PLEASE remember to lift this family up in your prayer everyday! Pray for Luke's complete and total healing here on earth!!! Prayer that God's glory would be revealed through the complete healing of Luke. Pray that cancer would be completely eradicated from Luke's life once and for all!! Pray for STRENGTH for Luke's parents, Vikki and Steve. Also, please be praying for Luke's brother and sister that God would comfort them and would continue to be their source of hope!

Please ask others to pray as well. Spread the word by posting about praying for Luke on your blog and ask people to PRAY! When you post add the button below to the post and to your sidebar so that people can click on it and get to the prayer site to join the prayer chain!

Encourage others to PRAY 4 LUKE!
(copy/paste into your own
website or blog):

Things I neglected to post....

2009-05-27T17:52:00.001-07:00

My brave girl getting her ears pierced....

My basketball player.....

My little football player....

My Late (again) DI-EIGHT update

2009-05-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

week 2:

I spent week 2 out of town...in Las Vegas helping my sister get ready to move. I was REALLY good with my food all week until....the final night. We went to Claim Jumpers for dinner. It was DeLIciOuS!!

I felt good because I even got in a couple 44+ minute walks! No exercises though.

I'm still hanging out at about a 6 pound loss. Some days 7..then back to 6. One thing I've been really good about...not eating after 8pm. It's soooo hard, but I think it's worth it. Anything I ate after 8pm before was only JUNK that I did not need to be eating.

so how about those of you who are joining me? How's the progress??

food tip: if you are missing pasta.....try spaghetti squash. It's yummy with your favorite tomato/meat based pasta sauce!

Jon & Kate

2009-05-26T00:04:00.000-07:00

I watched the latest episode of Jon & Kate +8. It was sad. I wanted to reach through the TV screen and yell at them and squeeze their necks until they listened. "DON'T JUST BE THERE FOR YOUR KIDS...BE THERE FOR EACH OTHER!!!"

Being there for your kids is not going to bring any sort of healing or restoration to your marriage. You really want to be there for your kids? The BEST thing you can do for your kids.....FOCUS ON RESTORING YOUR MARRIAGE!!

It was sad to see them not get it. I hope they get it soon! I hope they will transfer their focus from the kids to each other. So many marriages get this priority WRONG! Your spouse and your marriage should come BEFORE your children.

A Humble Thank You

2009-05-25T12:33:00.001-07:00

Thanks to all those military men and women out there who are bravely fighting for our freedom each day. The sacrifices that you and your families are making are not lost on me! I am truly appreciative of what you do.
May God Bless you and keep you safe!

Dance-Slumber Party Details

2009-05-17T01:05:00.000-07:00

The Invitation.....

The Gift CD (with all the music from the dance party!)
The Birthday girl....

The Sweet Treats & Party Decor.....

I had the girls help me with the dipping and sprinkles on the cupcake pops! It was a fun activity~!
The little cupcake bites and cupcake pops were inspired by Bakerella.

Busy Busy....quick DI-EIGHT Upadate

2009-05-16T16:17:00.000-07:00

super busy working on the party and getting ready! just under 2 hours until all those girls show up! But I forgot to do my DI-EIGHT update yesterday.

In a nutshell...I did my walking and my excercises. I held true to NOT eating after 8pm. I SUCKED on drinking my water! (I'm so bad at that)
The scale told me that I've lost 6 pounds!! Yipee!! Now...let's get something straight about the reason for that...I PIGGED OUT on mom's day weekend. So a couple of that was definitely "intestinal"! (sorry that's gross..but true) when I weighed in Monday morning I was still stuffed from the day before!

So..all-in-all...it's going well!
let's see if I can resist the cupcakes and sweets at the party tonight~!!

what about you??? For those of you doing it to...what kind of results are you seeing?

oh...and I'm very SORE!

Save the Drama for Your Mama!

2009-05-13T10:25:00.001-07:00

I'm planning a birthday party...a SLUMBER PARTY for my 10 year old daughter! We have invited like 14 girls or something like that! Why did I label this post "save the drama for your mama!" BECAUSE I REMEMBER slumber parties at that age! So I am going to be wearing a t-shirt that night that says "save the drama for your mama!" It will be perfect! *sidenote...when I was that age my parents would let me have sleepovers with like 25 girls...BLESS THEM!

I have so much to do but I wanted to give you a sneak peek at a couple thingsI have planned. The invitations and some goodies!

here is the invite we sent out...

here are some of the Cupcake Pop goodies I'm planning to make which are inspired by Bakerella.....

stay tuned for more!~

The DI-EIGHT Plan - Week One

2009-05-10T23:46:00.000-07:00

Ok Ladies...today is the day! I don't know about you, but after all the food I ate on mother's day weekend...I'm ready! I was having dinner with my folks the other day and my dad said I should call it my DI-EIGHT plan! I thought that was pretty clever. Thanks Dad!

A few of you have decided that you are going to take this journey with me. I'm so excited to have some partners in crime! I hope that we will be able to encourage each other. I'm posting this late Sunday night...but I'm going to wake up in the morning and get on the scale. Am I going to post my weight...or make you post yours? NO! I'm not THAT CRAZY! But I will be posting my progress each week. Hopefully it will be downward progress! I think it would be great if you would comment about your progress as well! The normal day for progress reports will actually be FRIDAYS. So my first report will be this Friday...true it's not a full week. But I just like Fridays better than Mondays!

I tried to include video intstructions for most of the excercises. Some of them are super cheezy! Sorry!

_________________________________________________

MY 8 WEEK DI-EIGHT Plan:

FOOD PLAN
Daily Calorie Intake - Not to exceed 1288 calories per day
Daily Protein Intake - 88 grams (minimum) with an ultimate goal of 108 grams
Don't eat ANYTHING after 8pm
8 - 8oz. glasses of water

THE EXCERCISE PLAN:

5 Days a week:

-88 crunches OR try this 8 minute ab workout video

CARDIO WORKOUTS: Choose an option that works best for you!
OPTION 1: 44 minutes on the treadmill (walk/run)
OPTION 2: Daily work and Walk - 88 minutes (minimum) for people like me who can walk on their treadmill while they work on their computer
OPTION 3: Any cardio based workout video that is 30 minutes or longer
OPTION 4: 8 week Beginning Running Program found here: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-380-381--9397-1-1X5-3,00.html

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alternating Days (Different Muscle Groups)

LOWER BODY:
-8 sets of 8 lunges (4 sets per leg)
-44 LBTs - 22 per leg - (Leg, Butt, Thigh) (view instructions here)
88 - Standing Calf Raises (44 per leg) (view instructions here)

OR try this lower body workout
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WenDXNl-YxM (Sorry about the end of the video..it's a bit obnoxious!)

UPPER BODY:
-4+4=8 upper body exercises (4 exercises - 4 sets - of 8 reps)
-push ups
-tricep dips (view instructions here)
-bicep curls
-standing upright-row (view instructions here)

**Don't forget to stretch!**
________________________________________________

People...I'm no doctor. I'm not a nutritionist. I'm not a trainer. Let's be clear about that. I'm just telling you what I'm planning to do. Make it work for you...and let me know how it goes!

Happy Mother's Day Weekend!

2009-05-09T00:35:00.001-07:00

Enjoy the weekend....because the diet plan kicks into gear on Monday ladies!

My EIGHTCRAZY Diet Plan....

2009-05-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to come up with some motivation to get back to my walking, eating right...basically doing what I need to be doing! So in my mind I've been trying to come up with an "EightCrazy Diet" of sorts. Here's what I'm thinking...but I'm looking for some ideas and input (be creative!)

_________________________________________________

MY 8 WEEK PLAN:

FOOD PLAN
Daily Calorie Intake - Not to exceed 1288 calories per day
Daily Protein Intake - 88 grams (minimum) with an ultimate goal of 108 grams
Don't eat ANYTHING after 8pm

EXCERCISE PLAN:
5 Days a week:
Daily work and Walk - 88 minutes (minimum)
Daily exercises
-88 crunches
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Alternating Days (Different Muscle Groups)

LOWER BODY
-8 sets of 8 lunges (4 sets per leg)
-88 leg lifts for inner thigh
-44 per leg (4 sets of 11 each)
-88 leg lifts for outer thigh
-44 per leg (4 sets of 11 each)

UPPER BODY
-4+4=8 upper body exercises (4 exercises - 4 sets - of 8 reps)
-push ups
-tricep dips
-bicep curls
-standing row

_________________________________________________

So, what do you think? Any suggestions on how to improve it, but still keep it EIGHTCRAZY?
Anybody want to try it with me? I know most of you don't work and walk...so instead of 88 minutes...how about 44

Let me know your thoughts...I need to get my but in gear and I'm looking for some support and some partners in crime! Let's see what we can accomplish in 8 weeks. Once I get some feedback I will pick a KICKOFF date!

What the birthday girl wants.....

2009-04-29T21:39:00.000-07:00

My daughter wants these for her birthday party at school.

I'm gonna give it a shot. I've already eating 3 oreos and the cupcakes aren't even done baking yet. I'll let you know how they turn out

A bit of Randomness....

2009-04-28T21:06:00.000-07:00

Just watched last weeks biggest loser....I NAILED the brown team from the beginning! Always knew the Dad was no good! You can ask my sister...I totally called it! Can't wait to see tonight's episode!

The Hills was so hilarious this week. Spencer just couldn't get over meeting a young man who was still a virgin, didn't drink and planned to wait to have sex until he is married. Spencer was sure the guy was an alien from an alternate universe! Oh Spencer....you need to get out more...OUT of LA!

Are you looking for a good read...not a book...a blog. My friend Beckie is sharing her life story...her love story. She's on part 14...so you can read it all at once instead of having to wait each day like the rest of us. Here is her cliffhanger for today just to give you a preview......

He leaned in and cupped my face in his hands...

you can check out the WHOLE story at her blog....it doesn't dissapoint... infarrantly creative

Cabo....Relaxing Sunny Cabo...

2009-04-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

The View from our Room

Um...Can I have room service every morning!!!

Pics from around the resort

Our Day of Fishing.....

The Sunset...there's something I rarely see...I'm a sleepy head!

We saw LOTS of dolphins! So cool!

We also saw LOTS of Pelicans!

It was such a gorgeous day and the scenery is amazing!

The fish weren't biting....but SQUID were!

We caught it....and ATE IT!

Missin' my time alone with my hubby already!!

Today is my birthday!

2009-04-24T00:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to ME! Let's just say I'm celebrating an anniversary of my 29th birthday AGAIN!....but I'm not telling which one!

Here is my virtual birthday cake....

....ya gotta love www.pinkcakebox.com

so...where are my virtual birthday gifts? If you want you can post a pic of my virtual gift on your blog and leave me a comment so I can view my gift!

It's virtual....you can give me ANYTHING! Money is truly no issue!
....so....what's it gonna be?

I'm Baaaack!

2009-04-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

I haven't had time to upload my pics yet, so you will have to come back for those....but we had a great time! The weather was fabulous and our room was awesome. We were in the room closest to the main pool and restaurant and we walked out our patio onto the grass and ten steps later we were on the sand. Oh.....I miss it!

I was a bit adventurous....I caught squid. I ATE squid! I ate sushi for the first time! Seriously...I ate RAW TUNA!
Normally I'm not a daring eater. So this was all BIG for ME!

I will tell more when I post pictures.

for now I leave you with this.....

I was LOW on gas today. I had to take my daughter to her CYT class and didn't have time to stop on the way. So I dropped her off and headed for the nearest gas station. I pulled up and realized...I DID NOT HAVE MY PURSE with me!! I was 20 minutes from home people! There was NO way I would make it all the way home! So.....I did it.....I asked the other person getting gas for money! Sooo embarrassing! But she was super sweet and offered to let me put $5 on her card. So...thank you nice person! I appreciated it more than you will know!

Mexico Here I Come!

2009-04-15T23:53:00.000-07:00

later peeps! I'm on my way to the sunshine and sandy beaches! I'll catch ya'll on the flipside!

oh...the diet I referred to a couple posts ago....I lost 8 pounds in 8 days! (how perfect is that for the eightcrazy girl!)

Just a glimpse....

2009-04-14T17:37:00.000-07:00

here is a tiny little glimpse at what I'm planning for my SIL's baby shower.....

I'm strappin' in and getting ready for the ride!

2009-04-12T23:06:00.000-07:00

So, my hubby and I have been pretty intentional about not being a busy family. When my daughter was 5 she played soccer and softball, but at the end of the year we asked ourselves what we were doing and why we were doing it. We decided at that point that eventually life would get busy enough...so why make it busy at a point where it didn't have to be. My daughter is about to be 10 so for the last 5 year...it's been pretty mellow on the activities front! We've done little things here and there...sewing lessons for my daughter and indoor soccer during the day for my son. But we've cherished out calm evening schedules and our nightly dinner around the table without having to rush off to something. It's definitely been nice, but I would also have to say that somewhere in the process I began to develop an attitude of selfishness. I didn't want to start adding more activities because it would be an inconvenience for me. I don't like that crazy busy feeling and so I wanted to do what was comfortable and easy.

But this year we began to step out and add some activities. My daughter played basketball in the winter and my son is going to play flag football this spring. One at a time....that was doable! But then I went to a presentation my daughter did and school and I KNEW that I needed to be open to the idea of letting her join CYT (Christian Youth Theatre). We know people involved. They all love it...and they are all BUSY! So....I always said I would NEVER DO IT!
So, I looked into and realized...HEY...classes are only one night a week. I can do that. So we signed her up and the bonus was that we could car pool with my neighbor!

So we go to the first class and I begin to get emotional. It was this crazy weird experience. There was this obvious sense of family and the level of positivity and encouragement was UNDENIABLE! I basically had to fight back the tears because I KNEW that it was the PERFECT place for my daughter and that she was about to discover something in herself that would be amazing and build her confidence. I was also emotional because of the struggle going on inside! The selfishness I had become comfortable with....I would have to completely let go of it.

We discovered that night that auditions for the plays were the following day...and NEW students were welcome to audition. This was NOT in my plan. CYT is HIGH commitment and lots of volunteer hours for the parents. Not to mention 3 days a week when doing a play with a TON of driving back and forth!

of course she wanted to audition!

so I came home and began to discuss it with my hubby and the tears began to flow. I told him about how perfect it was for her and how I knew that as a mother I needed to start becoming WAY more sacrificial! God was definitely working on my heart and it was great to hear that he had been speaking similarly to my hubby as well. So we were on the same page...we would let her audition.

The next day she auditioned. It was amazing! SHE was AMAZING! She had NEVER done anything like that before and she did soooo good. She got up there without looking nervous...introduced herself and sang her little heart out! She sang beautifully and she had this big bright smile on her face the entire time. She was totally in her element! My mom sat next to me crying and somehow I was able to fight back the tears.

The following day was call backs and today we found out that she made the show. She will be part of the ensemble...and she is super excited! I'm excited for her.

My schedule is about to get BUSY...VERY BUSY! I don't think I even have a clue how busy. Every CYT parent I talk to gets big eyes and says, "it's alot!" Every person who I know who has a friend who is a CYT parent says, "I never even see her the month of the play."

So...I'm really glad I'm leaving for Mexico for a little vacation, because I'm going to need to be completely refreshed to start this new crazy life of mine. The great thing is...I know it will be worth it! My daughter totally deserves this sacrifice of my time. She's one pretty amazing kid.

I'm thankful that I have a God who is constantly molding me and shaping me into who he intends for me to be!

(I do have to say that making the decision not to be a busy family isn't one I regret. It was great for our family...I'm just saying that the time has now come to let my kids spread their wings and discover their interests and talents!)

8 days of crash dieting bliss...

2009-04-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

...want to join me?

I started THIS DIET this morning.

I've done it before. Since I have to be in my swimsuit in 8 days I figured now would be a good time to torture myself again. Then when the torture is over....I will enjoy my 5 days of blissful Mexican sunshine by the pool!

wish me luck!

Tea Party Fun!

2009-04-06T00:00:00.001-07:00

For Christmas my daughter and I gave my mother, my MIL, and my aunt an invitation to a Tea Party. We wanted to give them a gift that was from the heart. (It was technically my daughter's gift to them)

I've never thrown a tea party before and I will totally admit that I did not study up on what a "proper" tea party should be like. But I did recently go to a Fabulous Tea Party hosted by a friend of mine from church. So, I got a lot of ideas! Here is a pic of that tea party....she had hats for all of us to wear...super fun!

So after going to Christy's Tea I was inspired and was ready to plan mine! Of course I LOVE putting together a beautiful table...but the food was something I needed some pointers on. My friend was so helpful she even baked the cute flower shaped bread for me and brought it over on the morning of the tea! I know Christy is not a blog reader....but THANK YOU CHRISTY!

We had scones with lemon curd and cream. Chicken sandwiches on flower shaped bread. Egg salad sandwiches, fruit tartlettes, and mini cupcakes. We featured English Breakfast and Lady Gray tea from Tinnings.

That's the cute flower shaped bread I was talking about!

One thing that was really cool....I have my Great Grand Mother's silver Tea Set and I got to use it for the first time. I LOVED that!

Aren't the place cards my daughter did cute!

Oh, and my friend Beckie gave me those adorable place card vases a couple years ago and I was so excited to have the PERFECT event to use them for! I used scrapbook paper as the placemats. It was a fun swirly cut out design!

Everybody had fun and my mother requested that it become an annual event!
.....sounds good to me!

My daughter....the dancing queen

2009-04-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

It's always weird to do posts about regular old life stuff after my last one...no matter how you swing it. But here it goes....

A few weeks ago was the annual Father/Daughter dance that my hubby usually takes my daughter to. But this year hubby was sick in bed with a fever. He opted not to go to the dance and infect a room full of people. So it was Papa Scott to the rescue!! I think it's great that my dad got the chance to do something special like this with his grand-daughter.

The evening started with a trip to the hair dresser for the fancy hair-do (I'm soooo bad at doing hair...so I leave it up to the pros)

Oh my goodnes...how gruwn up she looks! I can't believe it! She now is officially only one shoe size behind me and she comes up to my nose!

Then we headed over to Papa Scott's house where he was in his best duds and ready with a cute little vase of red roses for his little Emily-doodle!

I unfortunately do not have pictures from the actual dance...but I think my dad worked his hip replacement out pretty good!!!

It's overwhelming.....

2009-04-02T00:40:00.000-07:00

I spent the last hour rabbit trailing from blog to blog as I clicked on sidebar buttons that were asking for prayer. I also visited a few caring bridge sites. It's sort of emotionally paralyzing. Even having a friend going through the process of having a child who is fighting cancer, I basically go through my day like any other person. True, they come to mind several times a day, and when they do...I pray for them, but I'm not LIVING it the way the are. The way SO MANY people are in this world.

When I said before that it's sort of emotionally paralyzing...I mean that my mind, my heart kind of want to just shut down. It's easier NOT to care too much. It's easier to quickly click out of the site because it's so heavy and unimaginable.

But those families can't just click out of the situation they are in, and as UNIMAGINABLE as it is...they are living the reality every moment of everyday. For many the reality includes loneliness. So many people with sick children have to go to special hospitals, and often those hospitals are not near where they live. So families are separated as one parent stays with their sick child at the hospital and the other stays home with the other children, or to work. The bills don't stop when your child is fighting a horrible disease! In fact they most likely increase!!

I'm just struck this evening by how crazy life is and how disconnected we are to what's going on around us sometimes. I'm struck by how blessed I am to have two healthy children and how basically I totally and completely take that for granted.

My friend who's son (Luke) is fighting AML is an amazing person who so easily can talk to people and truly relate with them on a personal level. She has a gift. When Luke was in the hospital last time and I would go to visit I often saw her having conversations with the other parents and observed the heartfelt love she gave to them in those brief moments. Over the last year she attended NUMEROUS funerals. Funerals of children. WOW....so many of us are so oblivious. Oblivious to the pain that is going on around us. It's everywhere...and it's overwhelming.

I'm processing as I'm writing this. I guess that's my point in posting about it.

I needed to process my thoughts.

I'm completely Insane!

2009-03-27T01:06:00.001-07:00

Ok, I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to add a new blog to my to-do list....but that's what I've done! It's a blog all about great party ideas. The plan is to feature party ideas from women all over blogland! People will submit a post from their own blog featuring their fabulous and creative party/entertaining ideas....... and then I will re-post their content and feature them on my new blog. The blog is www.creativepartiesandshowers.blogspot.com

All the info is over on the new blog...so hop on over and check it out! And don't be afraid to sumbit your party post! The whole idea is for it to be a place where other people can come and be inspired!

My heart is breaking for my friends...

2009-03-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

About a year and a half ago I posted about some family friends who had just learned that their son Luke had cancer (AML - leukemia). Shortly after that I started a blog called 500 prayers for Luke, because Luke had said his wish was that 500 people would pray for him. So many of you reached out to this family and lifted them up in prayer. As the next 6 months went on the prayers continued and we all watched while Luke continued to amaze the doctors with his bodies positive response to the treatment. Whether it was chemo or the bone marrow treatment...everything went just about as well as it could. Just a little over a year ago the bone marrow transplant was a success and Luke went home cancer free. For the past year this family has treasured every minute of life together and has given God all the glory both in the hard times and the times of celebration.

Today.....one of the hard times came. Luke's cancer is back. I've included their post from Luke's Caring Bridge site for today. Please read it and remember to be praying for this family. Feel free to leave them a note of prayer and encouragement at the caring bridge site....even if you don't know them. Last time they were sooooo encouraged by the prayers and well wishes of complete strangers.

here is their letter from today......

We met with Dr. Lamkin today and learned of the results of Luke's last bone marrow test. The results are not good. The leukemia is back, and we will need to restart treatment.

There was a tiny trace of cancer cells (too small to find in earlier test... but they were there), and those cells have multiplied to the point that they are now 15% of his bone marrow cells. Luke definitely is not at a point where he is feeling any ill effects of the leukemia; however, left untreated, he would get very sick very soon.

We have no reasonable option other than to start chemo again. Luke will receive another round of treatment (maybe more rounds, maybe radiation... we'll know more later) and will have another bone marrow transplant. Since both Jake and Tori are a match, we'll discuss with the doctors later who would be a better donor this time around.

After the appointment, we went home and shared the news with our kids. Those kids are amazing the way they responded! They understand (much better than last time) some of the challenges that lie ahead. They know that this is very real, but they are ready for this. God quite literally has graced them with a peace and a strength in the face of new fears.

So all of this new adventure will begin with Luke getting a new Hickman catheter (central line) in his chest. This might be early next week, but it is not yet scheduled. Luke will then become a resident of Doernbecher once again, and will start a new round of intense treatment.

Oh, by the way... as if all of this wasn't crazy enough, Tori fell down our stairs last night and received a minor concussion. We had to take her to the emergency room for a CT scan, and didn't get home until after 3:00 this morning. Now Tori has a bright red nose and two black eyes -- and she is a flower girl in a wedding this Saturday!!

You would think that all of this should be too much to handle. Well, it is! I'm mean, c'mon! This is ridiculous! Here's the truth: We are heartbroken. We are in pain. We are having fearful thoughts. This is very hard. BUT it is also true, at the very same time, that the Lord is carrying all of us right now. This is what is meant by 'the peace of God, that surpasses understanding..'

So, please pray for healing for Luke, for God to protect his body from all the potentially vicious and life-threatening side-effects of the treatment, for protection on the hearts and minds of each of our kids (Jake and Tori have been in the 'backseat' before, and it's not easy), for our faith to prove true in this new test of endurance, and pray that God would be glorified through all of this.

It's a lot to pray for. God is big enough!

Steve

In God We Trust!

2009-03-23T12:09:00.000-07:00

MSNBC is currently taking a poll as whether or not americans think the statment "In God We Trust" should remain on our currency.
Here is the question they are asking:

Should the motto "In God We Trust" be removed from U.S. currency?

GO VOTE NOW!!!!!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

Cute Party Goods!

2009-03-21T11:51:00.000-07:00

My not so baby girl is feeling better today. We definitely had the 24 hour bug!

Ok, so a few posts back I made reference to a blog client with super cute Party Decor! Remember her? Jess at Polkadots & Pirates.....

Well, I finished the blog and I have to say, it's one of my all time favorites! Everytime I look at it I get a smile on my face. It's one of those that just makes me happy! Have a look....

Jess has an Etsy friend that makes bibs that compliment her party decor. People...these are fabulous. I've never seen anything cuter for a birthday bib. I did iron on's for my kids. But this is waaaay cuter and to die for!
You can check out GOLDEN's etsy store to see more!

She makes hats too!

I'm On Fever Watch!

2009-03-20T00:48:00.000-07:00

My daughter seemed to have gotten away with not being sick like the rest of us....until tonight. She was complaining about her tummy hurting. She wasn't really acting like herself before she went to bed. A couple hours later I went in to check on her and she was burning up! Maybe she just gets really hot when she sleeps? I guess the morning will bring the answer. We are suppose to host a tea party for her to grandmas on Saturday....please pray she is not sick...or if she already is...that God would bring quick healing like he did for my son and I. Hopefully we can still have the party! I've been getting things together for setting a pretty table....pictures will follow if we are able to go through with it!

Yesterday I asked my prego SIL for the honor of hosting her baby shower. The shower will be sometime in May but I will be creating invites, favors, decor and stuff like that between now and then. I think I'm going with baby blue and birds. I'm thinking some sort of bird's nest for table centerpieces. So stay tuned for little sneek peeks along the way! AND my daughter's b-day is coming up at the end of april. She has chosen a disco/dance party theme. I just bought the strobe light today! I purchased supplies for the invites last week. So stay tuned for some of those fun goodies as well!

*****UPDATE******
The fever is here and so is the puke! She's only thrown up once though...let's hope it stays that way! Looks like the tea party is postponed =(

Sickness strikes the family!

2009-03-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

My hubby was sick for like 4 days. He even had to miss this years Father/Daughter dance...no worries Papa stepped in and my daughter and her Papa Scot danced the night away! My hubby recovered and got up and went to work yesterday, then a few hours after he left I was hovering over the toilet bowl. Good times. It's weird though because he had a fever, stuffy nose, bad chest cough, and I had no fever....just the aches all over and threw up SEVERAL times all throughout the day. YUCK! So I woke up feeling better this morning. I haven't thrown up and the aches are mostly gone. HOWEVER....my son threw up this morning and is home sick from school. So the sickness lives on...UGH!

Since I spent all day yesterday in bed being MISERABLE I got quite a bit of tube time in. I was watching Rachel Ray and she had this girl on who published a book filled with women's stories about when they had their first period. This girl had such a horrible first experience and she wondered why so many women don't talk more about it. Lots of the stories are quite comical when you look back on them. So I thought I'd share mine...and maybe you would share yours!!! (that means you would have to comment!)

So, I had my first period when I was 11 years old. I was sitting with my mom with my bags packed for a long weekend of playing in a softball tournament. The tournament was a 6 hour drive away and another teammate was coming to pick us up and we were driving with them. Just before they got there I went to the bathroom and there it was. Honestly I don't remember if I called my mom in or not. I'm sure I did. So there I was wearing a pad for the very first time while riding in a car for SIX hours. Then I had to play softball all weekend while trying to get comfortable with this clunky thing in my pants. It wasn't much fun. But it's not the worse story I've every heard about a first time.

So...what about you? What's the story of your first period?

Shepherding a Child's Heart

2009-03-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

My homegroup (couples bible study) at church is going through a book called "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. It 's been a very thought provoking book for many of us. Our group has couples with little babies all the way up to couples with teenagers. We are ALL learning and being challenged. So, I thought I would put up some excerpts from the book and see how they challenge you.

"Having well-behaved children is not a worthy goal. It is a great secondary benefit of biblical childrearing, but an unworthy goal in itself."

"If your objectives are anything other than 'Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever,' you teach your children to function in the culture on its terms. How do we do this? We pander to their desires and wishes. We teach them to find their soul's delight in going places and doing things. We attempt to satisfy their lust for excitement. We fill their young lives with distractions from God. We give them material things that take delight in their delight in possessions. Then we hope that somewhere down the line they will see that a life worth living is found only in knowing and serving God. In terms of Godward orientation, we are training them in the idolatry of materialism."

"What about academic goals? Parents typically pressure their children to get good grades. Are good grades a biblical objective? What scripture passages would support this objective?.......... In contrast, there should be no pressure for good grades at all. Grades are unimportant. What is important is that your child learn to do his work diligently for God. God has promised that He will reward the faithful. Knowing that gifts and abilities are a stewardship from the Lord, your child's objective should be faithfulness. You need to train your child to find in Christ the strength and power to work for God's glory. Anything else is training him to think and act unbiblically."

Those are just a few excerpts...there is so much more. There is one scripture that really stood out to me as well.

"See that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ." Colossians 2:8

There are so many books out there on child rearing that preach about how to have a well behaved child....how to have a well-adjusted child.....how to have a confident child.......how to raise a successful child.....

As Christians we need to be careful. We need to ask ourselves if what we are pushing on our kids is actually biblical or if we are being fooled by the principles of this world. All of the things I previously mentioned are not bad or wrong...but they should not be our primary goal in raising our children. They WILL BE secondary benefits if we truly train our children in the ways of the Lord. Their relationship with God should ALWAYS be our primary focus. We should always be trying to direct and shepherd their hearts back towards God.

Well done ER!

2009-03-12T23:12:00.000-07:00

I just have to say that the writers of ER did a phenominal job of putting a story together that tied all the oldies but goodies together in some way. Selfishly I wanted there to be a moment when they were all together...that didn't happen. But the writers satisfied the true ER fan's desire to get a glimpse at what happened to some former characters without selling out with a huge reunion of sorts!

What about the rest of the ER fans out there.....what did you think?

I LOVE this!

2009-03-09T00:47:00.000-07:00

***UPDATE****
good golly people...have a sense of humor! =) the lack of comments is leading me to believe you are taking this one WAAY to seriously!

_______________________________________
ok, after you watch this SNL skit you've gotta admit that there is some actual truth to it and some of us would call Wade Blasingame if he really existed!

Watch more SpikedHumor videos on AOL Video

(....just the suing part...not the putting down part! I know this is on the extreme side, but the humor in the comparison just makes me laugh sooooo hard!)

With Rights come Responsibility.....

2009-03-06T00:35:00.000-08:00

this little girl says it sooooo well!

Bachelor Alert!

2009-03-05T10:59:00.000-08:00

FYI....Melissa is going to be on Ellen today and telling her side of the story for the first time. And the word is that she is saying Jason lied to her.

I know...I'm such a loser!

Age Progression???

2009-03-04T21:05:00.000-08:00

I had a good friend tell me that at the same time she and her daughter made a comment that one of the american idol contestants looks like a grown up version of my son.

YOU tell me....

Oh that lovely appointment...

2009-03-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

We all have to do it once a year. You know what I'm talking about! In honor of my appointment yesterday I thought I would revisit an oldie but goodie! This story has been circulating the net for several years...but it's pretty funny and so I thought I'd share. Enjoy!

let's be clear.... THIS IS NOT MY STORY!!

I was due later that week for an appointment with the gynecologist when early one morning I received a call from his office: I had been rescheduled for early that morning at 9:30am. I had just packed everyone off to work and school and it was around 8:45 already.

The trip to his office usually took about 35 minutes so I didn't have any time to spare. As most women do, I'm sure, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such visits, but this time I wasn't going to be able to make the full effort. So I rushed upstairs, threw off my dressing gown, wet the washcloth and gave myself a wash in "that area" in front of the sink, taking extra care to make sure that I was presentable.

I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, donned some clothes, hopped in the car and raced to my appointment. I was in the waiting room only a few minutes when he called me in. Knowing the procedure, as I am sure you all do, I hopped up on the table, looked over at the other side of the room and pretended I was in Hawaii or some other place a million miles away from here. I was a little surprised when he said:

"My...we have taken a little extra effort this morning, haven't we?" but I didn't respond. The appointment over, I heaved a sigh of relief and went home. The rest of the day went normal, some shopping, cleaning and the evening meal, etc.

At 8:30 that evening my 14 year old daughter was fixing to go to a school dance, when she called down from the bathroom, "Mom - where's my washcloth?" I called back for her to get another from the cabinet.

She called back, "No - I need the one that was here by the sink. It had all my glitter and sparkles in it."

The Bachelor....or the Skuzbucket?

2009-03-03T17:42:00.000-08:00

This is going to be brief....I will update this post after I see the final show tonight with the "one last surprise"!!

It had to happen eventually....I figured that sooner or later one of the Bachelors would break up with girl number 1 and go back to girl number 2.

It's not the ending I wanted. I'm curious what tonight is all about.

The party last night at my house for the viewing was fun. I decorated with red roses and rose petals and tons of candles to set the mood! Everyone brought super yummy treats! Thank goodness for DVR....because when you get that many women in a room you are bound to miss something! There was lots of rewinding!

more to come......

*****UPDATED*****

Not much to see tonight. I'm guessing the big surprise was suppose to be that Jillian is the next bachelorette. Looks like Molly and Jason are doing well, and happy. She is moving to Seattle. We will see how it goes!

My hope is that ABC will make changes to the upcoming seasons. The people need to spend more time together. More REAL time and less FANTASY time! Fewer girls...more time!

oh goodness....why do I care?

The Teen Creed

2009-03-01T23:12:00.000-08:00

I was watching a show the other day and a celebrity brought up this thing called the "Teen Creed".
She said that her mother made her memorize it as a teen and recite it before she would go out with her friends. I had never heard this before, but I thought it was pretty good and wanted to share

Teen Creed

Don't let your parents down,
They brought you up.

Be humble enough to obey,
You may give orders someday.

Choose companions with care,
You become what they are.

Guard your thoughts,
What you think, you are.

Choose only a date
Who would make a good mate.

Be master of your habits,
Or they will master you.

Don't be a show off when you drive,
Drive with safety and arrive.

Don't let the crowd pressure you,
Stand for something-
Or you'll fall for anything.

...Author Unknown

Have any of you ever heard of this before? Was there something like this that your parents made you memorize?

9 years.....SERIOUSLY?

2009-02-27T23:53:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting here watching Letterman (it's a re-run from like a couple months ago). Letterman is talking about how it's been 9 years since he had his heart bypass surgery. NINE YEARS! What the heck! Seriously...I would've sworn it was only like 3 or 4 years ago. It's so weird to me to hear stuff like that. It totally makes me wonder where all the time has gone.

9 years ago I had one child and she was only a year old. My son wasn't even a glimmer in my eye and I was living with my hubby and little baby girl in our rusty old single wide mobile home.

9 years ago I had only had an email address for like 2 years and my first email address was for the job I had just before I became a mommy. Personal emails were few and far between and were actually mostly forwards.

9 years ago I read EVERY forward, passed it along, and wondered why on earth other people didn't do the same! (I NEVER read forwards now...and don't pass them along either)

9 years ago I had just gotten my first cell phone and had finally ditched my pager.

9 years ago we were just getting ready to open our first Quizno's. (our first of 3...and now we've sold them all and own NONE!)

9 years ago I was on the computer once in awhile and I was very rarely on the internet. It took so long anyway because we were on dial up!

9 years ago I had absolutely NO idea what a blog was and even now I have no idea if blogs even existed way back then!

What were you doing nine years ago???

(this post would've been way better last year when it had been EIGHT years! LOL)

2009-02-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

I've got a client on my design schedule and I'm super excited to do her blog because she is selling the most FABULOUS BIRTHDAY COLLECTIONS EVER!!

You simply MUST hop on over to her etsy site and take a gander at all her wonderful party goodies! This girl totally speaks my party language!

Visit her etsy site www.polkadotsandpirates.com

Bachelor Party Anyone?

2009-02-24T23:07:00.000-08:00

This is a shout out to my locals.....
I'm thinking about having a Bachelor Party at my house....NOT THAT KIND OF BACHELOR PARTY! The Final Episode of "The Bachelor" is on Monday, as well as the "After the Rose" show. With all the hype about the dramatic ending I thought it would be fun to get some gals together and share in the DRAMA! LOL

Who wants to come? Let me know! Bring a snack to share!

Just Booked it!

2009-02-24T09:14:00.000-08:00

Thank goodness for timeshares that are paid for and companion tickets!!! My hubby and I will get our alone time this year afterall! It's in a couple months.....so that means I better WALK WALK WALK....cuz my hiney definitely needs to get smaller now!

A Fresh New Look for ECD

2009-02-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

I just finished the redesign of my design site. I wanted to streamline it to make it easier to read, understand, purchase, and get questions answered. Hop on over and have a look at the new ECD!

Get Informed! Fight for what's Right! Sign the Petition!!

2009-02-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

Below is an open letter highlighted on the Fight FOCA website linked above:

_______________________________________

Dear President-Elect Obama,

A 14-year-old girl walked into a Planned Parenthood clinic in Cincinnati, accompanied by her soccer coach, John Haller. He was 21 years old and had initiated sexual activity with the girl when she was 13. Now that she was pregnant, Haller wanted her to have an abortion.

Rather than calling the parents as required under Ohio law, Planned Parenthood called the soccer coach’s cell phone and failed to verify he was the parent.

Planned Parenthood turned a blind eye . . . and performed the abortion. Afterward, they provided the girl with a bag of condoms and a Depo-Provera shot.

Thirty-six states across the country require some form of parental notification or consent prior to an abortion involving a minor child. And these laws are supported by 80% of the American people. In addition to the obvious reason that parents need to be involved when their child undergoes a medical procedure, these laws also protect young girls from sexual abuse. Research shows high percentages of teen pregnancies are fathered by adult men and a relationship between early teen sex and coercion.

President-Elect Obama, why do you oppose these parental involvement laws that protect our children from sexual abuse?

Despite Planned Parenthood’s actions, the parents of the Cincinnati teenager found out about her abortion and the sexual abuse perpetrated by her soccer coach. Eventually John Haller was convicted of seven counts of sexual battery and served three years in prison.

President-Elect Obama, the mainstream media refuses to ask you these questions, so we will:
Why have you promised Planned Parenthood that the first piece of legislation you will sign is the Freedom of Choice Act, a piece of abortion legislation which would eliminate ALL of the common-sense parental involvement laws across the country?

Sincerely,

Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D.
President and CEO, AUL Action

Does this concern anyone else?

2009-02-20T01:07:00.000-08:00

I'm going political today............
Seems to me we are having enough trouble taking care of our own right now....so why should we be paying 20 million of taxpayer money towards the settlement of a group of people in which 30% of them would vote in terrorist leaders. This doesn't make sense. It's just shy of a month....and I don't like what I'm seeing from our new president. This is a recent Presidential Determination that Pres. Obama signed:

____________________________________________

Presidential Determination No. 2009-15 of January 27, 2009
Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related To Gaza
Memorandum for the Secretary of State

By the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, including section 2(c)(1) of the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 (the ``Act''), as amended (22 U.S.C. 2601), I hereby determine, pursuant to section 2(c)(1) of the Act, that it is important to the national interest to furnish assistance under the Act in an amount not to exceed $20.3 million from the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund for the purpose of meeting unexpected and urgent refugee and migration needs, including by contributions to international, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations and payment of administrative expenses of Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration of the Department of State, related to humanitarian needs of Palestinian refugees and conflict victims in Gaza. You are authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

(Presidential Sig.)
THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, January 27, 2009

___________________________________________________

A little info about the terrorist regime that exists among the people in Palestine:
(and yes...I know they aren't ALL terrorsits....but can we really afford to let one...two...five...eight....ten....of them in? How many terrorists did it take to carry out 9/11?

Since June 2007, Hamas has governed the Gaza portion of the Palestinian Territories.

Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by Canada,^[29] the European Union,^[30]^[31]^[32] Israel,^[33] Japan,^[34] and the United States.^[35] Australia^[36] and the United Kingdom^[37] list only the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, as a terrorist organization. The United States and the European Union have implemented restrictive measures against Hamas on an international level.^[38]^{[39]
(from wikipedia)}
A random sample of almost 1200 Palestinians, carried out between 29 and 31 January, has Hamas in the lead for the first time against Fatah across Palestine. Almost 29 percent said that, if legislative elections were held today, they would vote for Hamas (from www.enduringamerica.com)

Are you kidding me?

2009-02-20T00:21:00.000-08:00

What the heck is ER doing? They brought Carter back and now he is sick? Did they bring him back just to kill him off? I don't want to watch that! That sucks! I was all excited for the oldies but goodies to come back, but I'm not liking this storyline very much. I know ER is good...their writers are the best! But why oh why must they pull at our heartstrings like this??!! We already had to watch Pratt die this year! C'mon writers.....give us a break!

oh, and about my last post.....
I honestly cannot believe that more of you did not comment. who knew ya'll would be so private. I really thought people would be willing to share a story like that. I figured we could all look back and laugh about the fights that were over those silly kinds of things. But apparently.....I was wrong! WAAAY WRONG!

Sometimes it's the little things!

2009-02-16T23:49:00.000-08:00

Somehow my friend and I got on the topic today of the worst fight that we had ever had with our husbands. We were laughing at how the biggest fights are over the littlest things! Hers was over who was going to grate the cheese for tacos and mine was over who was going to carry the room key in their pocket. SERIOUSLY!

This was several years ago.....
We were on a vacation in Mexico with my hubby's brother and his wife. We had all spent the day by the pool lounging around and we were totally relaxed. We decided for dinner that we were going to take the shuttle buss and go to a restaurant at a nearby hotel. So off to our rooms we went to get all gussied up. As we left the room I had the room key. It wasn't one of those cards, it was an actual key with one of those big room number key chains hanging off of it. I had shorts on and they had pockets, but as we girls know...things in our pockets just make us look bulkier. So I went to hand my hubby the key so he could carry it. We proceeded to the elevator and into the main lobby continuing to "discuss" who should carry the key in their pocket. It escalated to the point where I threw the key on the floor across the lobby and walked off!

Yep....that really happened! I really did that! We really argued about a key!
Oh my poor brother-in-law and his wife! They had only been married for 6 months and this point and I'm sure they were thinking that we had totally lost it and they were pledging to one another that they would NEVER end up like that!

I look back now at how much we've grown since then....and I'm thankful. But I think it's completely hilarious that we actually argued over the carrying of the room key! It's very funny how the smallest of things really can turn into the hugest of fights!

So, what about you? What's your small thing....huge fight story?

**UPDATE**
WOW! I can't believe this has been up all day and only one person was willing to share! I totally thought this was gonna be a good post with lots of hilarious comments! C'mon people! Spill the dirt!

Here's an Idea that worked for me!

2009-02-16T09:24:00.000-08:00

Does your child wake up waaaay too early.....or have they decided that a 10 minute nap is a real nap?
I have an idea for you!

I know I've shared this idea with lots of my friends before, but I don't think I've ever shared it with blogland. When my daughter was little she was a very early riser. I however AM NOT an early riser. I am a night owl! I am in NO WAY a morning person....AT ALL!! So the combination of me being VERY CRANKY in the morning and my little girl standing by my bedside at 6:45 am was not a good one! At around this same time she was also getting to the point where she wasn't really wanting to take naps anymore. I would put her down and 10 minutes later she would come out and try to say she was awake now! This was not working very well for me either since I was very used to having a little time to myself during the day while she took a fairly long nap! So I devised a plan....and it worked!

I took a simple $5 clock from wal-mart and stuck it up on her wall. Then I took a piece of paper and drew a matching clock on it (ok, I made mine on the computer....but not everyone can do that...so just draw it). The clock on the paper showed 8:00 am. I told her that she was not allowed to come out of her room until the real clock matched the one on the paper. She also knew that coming out before that meant she was disobeying and there would be a consequence. I had already established a pretty firm understanding of obedience and consequences with her and so that is one of the reasons this was able to work well for me. In fact it worked like a charm!!! She was 4 yrs. old at the time.
Then I decided to implement the same idea at naptime. I figured even if she didn't sleep, an hour of alone time was good for both of us. So I would put her down and draw a clock for whatever time she was allowed to come out...an not before. IT WORKED!

Eventually it was easier to just buy one of those cardboard play clocks from the dollar store that you try to teach kids to tell time with. That way I could just move the hands around for whatever time I needed it to be.

You could also start this even earlier than 4 years old if you just put an alarm in their bedroom. Set the alarm for the desired morning time and teach them that they are not allowed to come out until they hear the alarm. That's the way I did it with my son.

It's a good plan altogether because not only does it give you the time you need...but it gives them time to develop some good independant play skills!

And if you want an idea on how to dress up that $5 clock from wal-mart then visit my friend Beckie. You could even maybe get your child in on this!

I'm not who I thought I would be

2009-02-12T21:12:00.000-08:00

I always imagined when I had kids in school that I would be the ULTIMATE classroom mom. I figured I would get involved in the PTA, help in the classroom once a week, help with all the class parties and be all buddy buddy with the teacher. I thought when the parties came around I would make really special treats for the kids to take.

Well, I've got two kids in school and I can completely say that I'm not who I thought I would be. As of this year I'm not helping at all in the classroom, I haven't helped with a party yet this year, I have NO desire to be on the PTA and special treats are nowhere to be seen.

When my oldest was in Kindergarten I helped once a week in the classroom. Then the next year I started helping...but some major stuff came up in my personal life and I was way too overwhelmed. Then the following year I just did office stuff twice a month for the teacher. Then the next year after that the teacher had too much help and didn't need me....which leads to this year....NOTHING!

There are days where I'm convinced all of this makes me a bad mom and other days where I don't think that at all. I don't know what I think today. I just know that I'm not who I thought I'd be. But I guess we all had our ideals of what we thought marriage and motherhood would be like....and well ALL know that those ideals aren't always a reality.

What about you......are you who you thought you would be?

The City.....anyone?

2009-02-11T23:29:00.000-08:00

I admit it. I love reality shows. I also tend to like the shows that are supposed to be for teenagers and college kids. I love watching the Hills and now I'm watching The City. For many of you this is probably a meaningless and ridiculous post. But to those of you who DO watch The City........

can we discuss OLIVIA? Oh---MY---WORD! WOW! I'm not sure I knew people like her really existed. There is soooooo many things that I could bring up......but please share your thoughts!!

'Cmon...I can't be the only one who is watching!

My Magaizine File Makeover

2009-02-10T09:36:00.001-08:00

We all dream about having not only an organized space to work in, but we want it to be beautiful too! The problem is....money! Organization that is pretty generally doesn't come cheap. All those fabric covered boxes and magazine files cost a pretty penny!

So, what's a girl to do? Go to IKEA! They have all sorts of boxes and files there and you can cover them, paint them...whatever! I bought these magazine files from ikea. They are just cardboard with a nice brown floral design. It's not bad...but it didn't go with my theme...but if the price is right....I'll take it and work with it!

Sorry, I wasn't smart enough to think to take pictures of the actual process. But basically I just recovered the boxes with scrapbook paper that matched my room theme. The boxes that are on the end of the row...I covered the whole thing. But the boxes in the middle I only did the back/exposed side and just wrapped it around the edge about an inch or so. And this was my result!

VOILA! Magazine files that match my room....and it was WAY cheaper than buying the fancy fabric covered ones!

I've been nominated!

2009-02-08T22:17:00.000-08:00

Tip Junkie is announcing the nominees for all the different categories on the Annual Tip Junkie Awards. I was informed that I've been nominated for "Best Organizational Tip" My husband thinks that is pretty laughable....in reality it kind of is! I'm really good at coming up with organizational concepts and ideas, but I STINK at maintaining them.

Here is the post with my idea for trying to help organize your kids as far as school papers, chores, etc. This is one of those posts that always seems to pop up on my site meter referral list. People find it through google searches, or tip junkie and then they post about it and link to the post. Oh the good old days.....back when my blog was actually full of ideas! Remember that? Probably not! I'm sure all of those readers have long gone away! LOL!

I posted this more than a year ago. I still use the ones for chores...but I've totally slacked on the other ones. Anyway.....you can hop on over to Tip Junkie and VOTE FOR ME..... because I do still think it's a good idea AND I WILL WIN SOMETHING!!! Don't you want to help me WIN? You know you do!

Blog Fodder

2009-02-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

What is Blog Fodder?
An interesting idea, story, or link. Referred to as blog fodder when your first reaction is to use it in your blog.

"I'm sorry your day sucked, but between the car wreck, the kiss off, and the layoff, at least you've got some real blog fodder."

I currently don't have a lot of blog fodder...unless you count the fact that my fabulous new purchase of the Adobe CS4 Design Premium Creative suite is on it's way to my house!! I'm so excited! This opens up the door to new design possibilities for me!! And I'm going to a workshop in March! Can't wait!

But other than that....not much! So, my sister has an interesting post right now. But because she neglected her blog for so long....nobody is looking! So I'm stealing it! Sorry Sis! LOL!

Let's play a little game of "Would You Rather....."

Would you rather.......
Have to publish your private diary........OR.....make a movie of your most embarrassing moment?

Would you rather....
Have sand in your shorts......OR.....water in your ear?

Would you rather.....
give up email.....OR.....give up your phone?

WHICH would YOU rather?

New Freebie!

2009-02-02T11:28:00.000-08:00

February's free background is ready for download

trouble commenting???

2009-01-29T19:11:00.000-08:00

Some people are saying they are having trouble commenting.
try this: choose id, type comment, click post comment, enter word verification, click post comment again

This should work.

However, please take a moment to answer my poll about comment trouble in the sidebar. It will help me figure out how to proceed!

thanks

my chic new office is ready!

2009-01-29T13:13:00.000-08:00

Since the day we started planning this house I had a vision in my head for my office. We recently had a garage sale which was VERY successful so we've had money from the old stuff to spend on some new stuff! So it was off to the store and low and behold I found some FABULOUS things for my office that fit my vision! There are a couple projects that I did in here that I will highlight in the next few days. But for now....here are the results.....

I'm seeing results!

2009-01-26T16:23:00.000-08:00

A few posts ago I mentioned my "walking workstation". Some of you may have noticed that I'm posting my daily results in my sidebar. It's really cool to see how much I am accomplishing while I work....when I used to just be sitting sitting sitting! All the sitting was making my hiney BIGGER! But I'm already noticing a difference in my hiney with all the walking I've been doing. I've been doing a really strict diet at the same time...so that's definitely helping. I would encourage anyone who is willing and able to put a "walking workstation" together to do so. I'm really lovin' it! When I design my mind is completely occupied and I'm amazed when I look down and see how much time has passed and how many calories I've burned! For me it's way better than doing the treadmill while watching tv! Feel free to leave encouraging comments on my daily walking stats! I'm a girl who totally feeds on encouragement!!!

Oh....and that last comment thread on the previous post was a fun one! Keep the passion coming people!