I'm not sick anymore, but I am sick and tired.....

In all honesty....I'm a total tunnel vision person. I get really excited about projects, ideas, new adventures, etc....but only for a short period of time. Then I get bored and as soon as something else comes along my focus moves to that. When I'm focused I'M COMPLETELY FOCUSED!! My hubby says that he has learned that my attention span is about a month.

But here's the deal. I'm kind of sick and tired of being this way. I mean in some ways I'm ok with it. But it gets annoying when I tell my husband about something new that I'm thinking about doing and I can see the "we'll see how long this one lasts" look in his eye. And what's MORE annoying than that is that HE'S RIGHT. Don't get me wrong. He's always supportive. I know perfectly well that it's my poor habits and lack of discipline that lead to my own down fall. So how do I change? I'm really not sure. I know that I'm better at staying focused when I have true accountability, if I'm doing something competitively, or if I'm trying to prove someone wrong. Maybe all of those reasons just mean I'm not healthy. UUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!

So here is my plan. Pick ONE GOAL and accomplish it. I just simply can't do the 101 in 1001 because I could way too easily drop one goal to focus on another. But I'm going to put it here for the whole blog world to see. I guess YOU will all be my accountability.

She doesn't know it, but my blog buddie and friend, Julie, has inspired me in choosing my goal. My goal is to become a runner.

She recently decided to train for a half marathon. The thought of running can actually almost put the taste of blood in my mouth. I'm not a runner! In high school, when I was in WAY better shape than I am now, I had to run the mile in PE. It took me like 8 minutes and when I was done I could literally taste blood. I HATE RUNNING. BUT.....I've always looked at the people who do it and thought "WOW!" (I also think, "they are crazy!")

So why choose running as my goal? Well, I figure that if I can follow through with doing something I didn't start out being passionate about, just think what I could do with something I am passionate about. Not to mention the fact that it will make me healthier and bring my body into a better physical state than it is now!! Who doesn't want that?

So I downloaded this 6 month program for a beginning runner. It tells me what to do day by day, week by week. It's not training for a 5k run, or a half marathon, or anything like that. It's just about conditioning my body to become a runner.

So that's my goal. I'm going to follow through with this 6 month program.

The first day of it I am suppose to walk for 20 minutes. By the last day I will be able to run for 45 minutes straight. I've always wondered what runners mean when they use the expression "runner's high". Maybe I'll find out.

Here is one way YOU can help me. Since I've never done this before, and I only took about 15 minutes to reasearch the beginning running thing I could use some advice. If you know of a program for beginning runners that you think I should look at let me know. I'm not married to the one I found. I just figured it was a good place to start. But maybe one of YOU has already gone on this journey and could point me in the right direction.

Well. There it is. It's out there. Now I've got to actually get my butt in gear and GO DO IT!.....I can taste the blood already!

Seattle.....The End

This is my last post about the weekend in Seattle.

We spent Saturday out shopping at Bellevue Square. During our shopping day everyone is suppose to find a $10 gift for a gift exchange that we do each year. And of course we shop til we drop!

In fact my sister and cousin even went to sharper image at one point and just sat in the massage chairs for awhile.


We had lunch at this AMAZING pizza place called Pagliacci's Pizza. I'm serious is was SOOOO YUMMY! If you are in Seattle you MUST go there!

Then after more shopping we went back to the house and had dinner. My mom prepared a fabulous meal. I actually even enjoyed the couscous. Who knew?

Next I presented everyone with the final gift for the weekend. It was a family calendar. Each month had a picture from a previous Girls Getaway on it and then if it was a day of someone's b-day it had their pic and same with anniversaries. So basically is was a complete family birthday and anniversary calendar.


This is what the cover looked like...

These are a couple of the month pages....


I created the calendar from scratch (without a template) using Adobe InDesign I use this program for a lot of the stuff that I do. It was a fun project to create for my family.

It was our last night and there was only one thing left to do...Gift Exchange. Everyone really did a great job picking out gifts this year. The most "stolen" gift was a mug from the Original Starbucks that had the original logo on it. Did you know that in the original logo the mermaid had boobies? I didn't. But I do now!

So all in all it was just a great weekend! It's so great to have this tradition and get together with all the women in the family. I love that someday going to this weekend will be my daughters "right of passage"!

Next year my Aunt Patty, and cousins Emily and Allison will be hosting GGW at their summer home in Nantucket! So basically what I'm saying here is that I'm looking for side jobs because I have to start saving my money NOW!
Later ya'll

From Sleepless in Seattle to Sniffles and Snot Rags!

So I come home from Seattle and when I wake up the next morning I have a throat that is scratchy and on FIRE! Now this morning I am in full blown cold mode. YUCK! I hate having a cold! Thank God for Claritin D and Nyquil!!! =)

I'll stop complaining now and tell you more about Seattle.

So, Friday night after all the food, beading and mini purses I had another gift that I handed out to everyone. I made a photo slideshow cd that had music and pictures from the 4 previous Girls Getaway Weekends. My computer has this really cool feature called LightScribe technology. It actually can etch images and words onto the face of the cd. Did I say it's really cool!!! But I didn't just want to give them the cd's in that boring old white cd sleeve. So I made my own! I used the same paper line that I used when making the tin cans and purses. Again I created a template, cut them out and assembled them.

I added a brad embellishment that actually looks like a covered botton to the front as well as a chipboard initial of each person.

I used velcro dots to secure the flap. I purchased them at JoAnns in the fabric section. They already had the adhesive on them so it worked perfectly!

This is the result of the LightScribe. You have to buy special LightScribe cds or dvds in order to do this and your computer has to have the technology. You can simply replace your current cd drive in your computer with a lightscribe one.

The songs I used to go along with the slideshow were "Love will keep us together" "Girls just wanna have fun" "We are Family" and "How sweet it is to be loved by you" The slideshow was almost 9 minutes long. It's a great keepsake and I can add to it every couple of years!

So here is a little side note about something that happens while I'm at Girls Getaway every year (well for the last three). My hubby sends me flowers while I'm there. Here are the flowers he sent me this year!


Isn't he sweet! All the other gals give me a total "whatever" attitude and it's really funny. This is them when I got the flowers last year.


Well there is still one more day to share about and one more gift to show you as well. But I will do that tomorrow.

Back from Seattle

Well, I'm home from my fun weekend in Seattle. It was so great to see the family and spend time, shopping, laughing, EATING, watching shows, being creative, giving and receiving gifts, and trying not to get lost in the big city!

Dinner at the melting pot was a lot of fun and as expected my tummy got VERY FULL! I ate so much this weekend. I honestly look like I'm about 5 months preggers if I let it all hang out! I only have 3 weeks until my 15 year HS reunion so I better shape up!

Honestly though, if you've never been to the melting pot, at least go and get the oreo cookie chocolate fondue. It was TO DIE FOR!

After we got home from dinner we did a craft project that my mom was in charge of. She loves to bead as a hobby and so she shared her passion with the rest of us. We all made our own bracelets and they turned out really cute.


We gave each person a charm of the Seattle Space Needle to add to their bracelets. We presented the charms to them in these tiny little purses that I made.

I designed the template for the purses on my computer. Then I printed the templates on the paper, cut them out, and assembled them.






The idea I originally saw for these purses used an oval scalloped punch. But when I went to buy it I saw that it was about $20, so being the cheapie that I am, I did the template thing and started cutting. I liked the result.

More fun times were had and more handmade gifts were given, but I'll save those for tomorrow's blog. In the meantime I'll leave you with this pic of my Nanny waiting for one of her gifts. Isn't she cute!

Sleepless in Seattle

I'm in Seattle and I was up late last night!!! Girls Getaway Weekend is happening as we speak! Today we went to Pike's Place Market.




We had lunch at Crepes de France. It was soooo YUMMY! Then we went to the orignal Starbucks.


Next it was off to the Space Needle. We didn't actually go up to the top because frankly, none of us really cared if we did or not. So why spend the $16

Tonight we are going to dinner at the Melting Pot. I have a feeling my belly is going to be very full!

Last night we handed out our first gift to everybody which was one of the projects I've been working on. We did the altered tin cans and filled them with everybodys favorite candy. Everyone was so surprised and loved them.


I'm excited about tonight. After dinner we will work on a beading project that my mom has planned and then I have a special gift that I'm presenting to everyone. I'll share about it tomorrow.

A parents worst nightmare......

My father-in-law sent this my way today and I thought it was funny enough to share!

A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see that his
bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an
envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to
"Dad."

With the Worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling
hands and read the letter...

Dear Dad:
It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to
elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with
Mom and you. I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is
so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her
piercings, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is
much older than I am. But it's not only the passion...Dad, she's
pregnant.

Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the
woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a
dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the
fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it
for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby
for cocaine and ecstasy.

In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS
so Stacy can get better. She deserves it. Don't worry Dad. I'm 15 and
I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure that we will be
back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love, Your Son,
John

PS. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I just
wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the
report card, that's in my center desk drawer.

I love you.
Call me when it's safe to come home.

I can't believe it is really here!

It's officially after midnight which means that Girls Getaway Weekend is TOMORROW! This will be the 5th Nannual Girls Getaway Weekend with my family. We call it the "Nannual" instead of Annual in honor of my grandma who we all call Nanny. She will be 85 next month and she is very young and hip for an 85 year old. She's my cute little Italian grandma!


She is a baseball fanatic and she LOVES the BRAVES.


I can't wait to see everybody. Every year we have so much fun! Here are some pics from the previous years.....





Look out Seattle....Here we come!

You gotta love the innocence.

Today my son got a "one strap" backpack as he calls it. He has been wanting one really badly. Honestly, does a preschooler really need a backpack? But we found one for a good price and he bought it with his very own money. What a big boy. It's a little big but he said he'd grow into it and that when he was in High School it would fit him really good. So I asked if he really thinks he will still have the same backpack in HS and he says yes. Then he goes on to tell me how he will position the backpack when he is in High school and playing a game of tag. You gotta love the innocence.

When did we stop playing tag, or any of those games that we played just because there were more than three people around? It seems that life is so complex and scheduled now. Not just for me, it seems to trickle down to my kids. Even scheduling a playdate for them with a friend seems to be a monumental task at times. Simplify.

There is so much I can learn by watching my kids. Learn to play again. Learn to reach out and make friends just by asking. Learn to speak truth to people (although maybe with more tact than they do at times). Learn to change my attitude quickly. Learn to forgive easily. Learn to be moldable and changeable. Learn to learn.

You gotta love the innocence.

Yet another Eightcrazy Inspired Wall

A gal who I went to school with growing up saw my blog and was inspired to do the wall art project. She just sent me some pics and I wanted to share them with you. She said that she and her hubby have been trying to figure out for quite some time what to put on that wall and that even her hubby likes the result!

Birthday Archives

My family girls getaway weekend is coming soon and I've been SOOO busy with projects and planning. But like I said before I can't post anything about it until after so that it is a surprise for my family. So since many of you have enjoyed looking at the birthday parties I thought I'd post some pics from previous years.

This was Colt's 3rd birthday - Cowboy theme




Emily's 5th Birthday - Strawberry Shortcake

each girl colored thier own cup



I made a cake that looked like Strawberry Shortcakes hat and I made Emily a hat to wear to match. I just took a hat that I bought at walmart and painted it and then added the ribbon. The invites (not pictured) had little mini straw hats from the craft store that I painted and then glued to the front.

each girl made a beaded bracelet

Well, I still have projects to work on so I better get movin! Look at my countdown at the top of the page! I don't have much time.

Getting Creative and Having Fun

Last night I went to my friend Michelle's house and we had fun hanging out while we got creative! With some acrylic paint, spray paint, pens, white out, stamps, oil crayons....you get the point....we created these pieces of art work. Michelle is an amazing artist and she makes the absolute coolest clocks and gifts. Check her stuff out.



So after we were done with our art we took it one step further. We scanned it on the computer, shrank it down and turned it into a charm. This is the result of the charm I made for my daughter. Check Michelle's blog to see a charm she made a few days ago. It is so adorable.



This was a lot of fun for me. I'm so used to designing on a computer that it took me outside of my box to use paints and other supplies. FUN FUN FUN! Thanks Michelle! I had a blast!