find joy in the journey

dinnertime success

Anna loves sloppy joes.

aytr goodies

Today I got a package full of goodies for my AYTR class!  Actually, it came yesterday but the Fedex man didn't knock on my door or ring the door bell.  So I didn't find it until this morning when I pulled out of the driveway and saw it propped against my front door.  I have to tell you that was painful to actually drive away knowing it was just sitting there.  But we needed to get to school.

The foundation for the scrapbooking part of the class is this 12x12 calendar album.  The bottom is obviously a calendar page that I can jot notes on and the top is a sheet protector where I will put my class assignment layout.

The other stuff, starting at top left and moving clockwise:

* "just for looks" pink idea book -- it's 95 pages of pure ideas.  All Heidi's layouts, no ads, no articles, no commentary, just stuff to look at.

* the heart bling -- she says that she originally created this with our class in mind and then decided to add it to her product line.  They are hot off the manufacturing line and she says that we are the very first people to receive them!

* those 3 squares -- I don't know what to call them but they each have a work on the front (thanks, bliss, love) and then you open it up and it has a cool quote.  They're from a company called Compendium.

* the giant stickers sheet with square & circles -- I wish you could read all the little phrases on the stickers because they are so fun.  Heidi created these exclusively for the AYTR class -- you can't get it in stores, nowhere.  The stickers are meant to be used on the calendar pages as little accents and stuff. 

* "a year to remember" iron on -- it's sitting directly below the big sticker sheet.  Also an AYTR exclusive, I guess we're supposed to iron this on to the front of our album (which is black -- the iron on is a shimmery white).

* more sticker sheets -- just for fun.

* oh and the black thing up by the idea book is some ribbon to be used for tying the album closed.  There are grommet holes in the front and back covers.

It should be fun filling it up with memories from my year.  And what's best is if I never get around to scrapbooking any photos from 2007 on my own, I'll at least have this.

While I'm posting I wanted to share a couple recent online finds

• I love the new wallpaper for my desktop and I got it from here.
• I ordered Payton's b-day stuff online from California Fun Toys.  The selection of toys is pretty specific, but they had exactly what was on my list.  Anyways, I ordered the stuff on Monday and it arrived on Thursday with free shipping -- everything ships free.
• This entry on Lisa Bearnson's blog was so touching.  I want my boys to grow up just like this!
• For a daily quote and weekly color inspiration go to Big Picture Scrapbooking.  I love the blue and chocolate brown combination for this week.

sloppy

Payton's new favorite word is sloppy.

The other day he wanted to wear a hat while playing outside so his hair wouldn't get all sloppy.

I just gave him a hug and was wearing an angora-like sweater.  Then he said, "mom why is your shirt so sloppy?"  I think he meant scratchy.

He has an assortment of blankets on his bed that he chooses from each night.  There are 2 rag quilts which Conner & Scott call the fringy blankets.  But when Payton wants one he refers to it as the sloppy blanket.

just some thoughts I wanted to jot down before I forget!

in the sun he melted

The boys are outside destroying the remains of our backyard snowman and Anna's taking a nap.

This morning the head fell off of our front yard snowman.

Yes, as you can see the snow is melting.  We were hit with a 2nd storm on tues (jan. 16) which resulted in an entire week off of school.  Add that to the fact that Scott was out of town and I only managed to leave the house twice in 4 days, we were very close to losing it.

Thankfully Scott returned and on Saturday I was able to go grocery shopping.  By Friday morning we were rationing the milk and the fresh fruit was gone.  At dinnertime I told the boys they could have either a bowl of cereal (with Scott's leftover skim milk -- yuck) or a sandwich.  Conner voted for a sandwich but as I went to make it I discovered that our bread supplies had been depleted.  And a tortilla just wasn't an adequate substitute.

We also got out of the house on saturday for some fun errands.  At The Container Store we got some things to organize the garage, at Crate & Barrel we picked up some sorely needed new drinking glasses, then Costco for a look around, and finally picked up Chinese take-out for dinner at home.

I think I'm feeling sane again and ready to face another week.  It will be nice to be back into a routine and for there to be purpose & direction to our day.  Although, I went and messed that up by scheduling well-child checks for Anna and Conner today, meaning that Conner has missed yet another day of school.  Oh well.

Anna (almost 16 months):  31 inches, 23 pounds, two pinches

Conner (6 years):  46 inches, 45 pounds, one pinch -- but he was a tough guy

and a pic of Payton

video blogging

just trying out something new -- I would like to add the occasional video to my blog in the future.

So for now, sit back and enjoy a recent video of Anna performing tricks like table dancing, bye-bye, peek-a-boo, and Know Your Body Parts

jack

less than 9 hours until the premiere of 24 tonight!  Can't wait to find out what Jack has in store for us this year!  Aren't you just dying with anticipation?

it's me -- from A to Z

borrowed this from my friend Paige.

The letter A

What annoys you? When people eat with their mouths open or make a lot of noise while eating.  And although i'm surrounded by 3-4 examples of such each night, I just can't get used to it.

The letter B

Who is your best friend?  Scott

The letter C

What is your favorite candy?  Do I have to pick just one?  Licorice (red or black), Twix, Whatchamacalit, Reese's pieces, and swedish fish, just to name a few.

The letter D

Do you daydream?  YES.  And probably not at the best times, like when I'm driving.  I'll pull onto our street or the driveway and suddenly realize I can't remember the trip home.

The letter E

Have you ever been in the emergency room?  Yes, just once.  Had some heavy bleeding when I was 12 wks pregnant with Payton and it was a Sunday so the dr.'s office was closed.

The letter F

Do you use flyswatters?  No.  But when I see a flyswatter it reminds me of afternoons spent at my grandma & grandpa's house on the dairy where we swatted many a fly.

The letter G

Do you chew gum?  On Sundays or when I'm out on a date.

The letter H

Your height.  I think I was 5 ft. 5.5 in. at my last doctor appointment.

The letter I

Have you ever ice skated?  After tonight I'll be up to 2 times.

Do you play an instrument?  Piano and flute.

The letter J

What's your favorite jelly bean?  Pear and Rootbeer jelly bellies

The letter K

Where did you have kindergarten?  Gustine Elementary School in Gustine, California.

The letter L

Are you laid back?  That can vary from day to day, but I think that for the most part I am laid back.

The letter M

Do you like mangos?  Yes!  Love 'em fresh and the dried ones from Costco are sooo good.

The letter N

Do you have a nickname?  When I was little my dad called me "Princess Doll-baby" and then I told him that he needed to add "ground hog squirrel" at the end, so he did.  Some neighborhood friends would call me "sha-la-la-la-ding-dong" and "shala" for short.  And Scott calls me "shan" or "shanny".

The letter O

What's your one wish?  World peace and stricter sentences for parole violators.

The letter P

What one fear are you most paranoid about?  Me or Scott dying.

The letter Q

Are you quick to judge people?  Probably yes.  But I'm trying to do better and keep an open mind.

The letter R

Do you watch reality tv?  Well, in the last week I've watched Beauty & the Geek, the Apprentice premiere (but I don't plan to continue), and snippets of Grease: You're the One That I Want during commercial breaks of another show.

The letter S

What's your favorite season?  Summer

The letter T

What time did you wake up?  5:45 am (I typed this on Friday)

The letter U

Are you wearing underwear?  Yes

The letter V

What's the worst veggie?  Lima beans or sweet potatoes/yams

The letter W

Worst habit.  surfing the web, blogs, or refreshing my e-mail over and over again when I should be folding laundry.  Like, right now.

The letter X

Have you ever had an x-ray?  Yes.  When I was 16 and diagnosed with scoliosis.  It's not serious, but it was pretty funky to see my curvy spine on an x-ray film.

The letter Y

What year were you born in?  1979

The letter Z

What's your favorite zoo animal?  It's a toss up between the hippo and the monkeys.

today we played

a lot outside . . . .

a little inside . . . .

and a little in front of the camera . . .

okay, now that you've had a good laugh . . .  I actually took these photos as part of a class assignment from "a year to remember" (which will henceforth be referred to as AYTR).  And there's about 29 more where these babies came from.

a year to remember

We're one week into this new year.  I've been thinking about those resolutions -- yep, already broken a few.  But that's okay, I can always get back on the horse again. 

I'm so excited for this year and all the possibilities that it holds.  I've been thinking a lot about what I want to accomplish, things I want to do, places I want to see, ways that I want to grow.  A lot of this has been spurred by a year-long online class that I began last week.  It's called "A Year to Remember" and taught by the fabulous Heidi Swapp.  I'm just so excited about all that she is going to share with us and I can't wait for the "classroom" to open each thursday to find out what new things I'm going to learn that week.  But it's not just about scrapbooking and paper and embellishments.  The over-riding theme that she has laid out for this class and that she explains in her weekly audio messages is that we need to be conscious about the lives we live.  She has a favorite quote that she shared in the class description and it's from a book called "SHE" by Kobi Yamada.  It says:

"She designed a life she loved"

Heidi's comments on this: "To me, this statement is about choices.  It doesn't say anything about her circumstances, her strengths or weaknesses.  It doesn't mention her challenges or her triumphs -- only the fact that she made a decision.  That her life was HERs and she knew that it was too precious, too short and too wonderful not to LOVE." 

Each month Heidi is going to give us a "life challenge" and in January she started things off great with one that has really helped me to evaluate and push myself.  Like I said, this course has really gotten me to think about what I am going to do to make this a year to remember.  I'm looking ahead to what I already have planned and I'm feeling very happy about it:  a family vacation, I'll be walking in the Portland to Coast, my annual mother-daughter weekend, maybe a Josh Groban concert when he comes to the area, even the simple things like putting the boys in swim lessons this summer, and several other goals that I am working on.

In addition to all this I was also inspired by Ali Edwards' latest issue of her AEzine life artist newsletter.  She suggested that you come up with a single word to focus on and reflect on as you go about your daily life.  So, to sum up what I want for myself in 2007 I chose the word "play." (And although this was Ali's "word" last year, I'm not a total copier -- I had already been thinking about this in my new year's resolutions.)  For me I want to play more, I want to have more fun, be more fun.  It's about remembering to be a little more playful or light-hearted in my day-to-day.  It's also about making myself more open to people and experiences and letting it all just mesh into one happy good ol' time.  Just thinking about it makes me smile, anticipating the playful happenings that could pop in and out of my day.  And that's where the fun begins -- just focusing on each day.  Then those playful days become weeks, and months, and soon the memories of my life.

It's all good stuff.