Andrea

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-12-20T09:28:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since I posted anything for Scrapbook Saturday, but I'm back! If you would like to see more SS participants, please visit MammaDawg.

This is a first...

2008-12-18T13:43:00.001-05:00

12-09-08 Dear Santa
Originally uploaded by primamomma

I actually scrapped a picture of myself. This one is me all snuggled into my favorite blanket on the couch, trying to catch some rest during nap time. I really love my naps, I just wish I could get more of them.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-17T10:44:00.001-05:00

Santa Collage small size
Originally uploaded by primamomma

Credits: Holiday Spirit by Valorie Brown for Funky Playground.

I am in a rut...

2008-12-16T20:18:00.007-05:00

I haven't done much scrapping these last few weeks. I think Thanksgiving wiped me out. Now with all the Christmas planning I am exhausted. I guess that's the price I pay for wanting everything to be perfect for the holidays. Oh well.

I have done some scrapbook shopping though. I recently purchased these goodies from my fave store, The Funky Playground. (click on the thumbnails to be taken to their page at the store)

The Totally Eclectic Biggie Kit by Corina Nielsen.

I received this one - Dedicated To Papa by Corina Nielsen - free with my above purchase from her store.

Holiday Spirit by Valorie Brown. So festively sweet!

Heaven & Nature Sing by Krystal Hartley.

Wordless Wednesday: Nap Time At My House

2008-12-10T09:33:00.000-05:00

Ho Ho Ho Santa's Gone To The Dogs...

2008-12-08T21:27:00.003-05:00

We did the funniest thing this past Sunday. We went to our vet's office to visit Santa. You could bring in your pets and they could take a picture with Santa. They also gave the pet a bandana and a treat and had punch and cookies for the humans. It was hilarious!
We are rotten animal parents cause we only took one dog, but in our defense the other one is still a maniac, I mean puppy. So we took the one that is calm and everyone loves to see, oh and our 4 year old son who immediately told Santa that he wanted a Batman cave for Christmas...

It feels like Christmas...

2008-12-05T09:52:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I may not be in the mood to put up the tree or decorations, but it does feel like Christmas morning for me today. I was doing a little shopping at Funky Playground, I love to check out the dollar deals they release every Thursday. I found that they have a promo right now; if you spend $2 or more in Lauraskathi's store you get her Evelyn kit for free. Well sign me up cause I just fell in love with two of her dollar deal items.

I bought this adorable alpha...

And this festive kit...

Plus here's my sweet freebie...

I feel like Santa just flew by. I'm sitting here downloading all my new digital goodies with a big smile on my face. :)

Wordless Wednesday

2008-12-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

Not all that wordless, but it works...
Credits: Date tag and journaling block from Kindergarten Crafts from Peppermint Creative, papers, tree, ribbons and apple grid overlay from The Sky is Falling from Funky Playground.

Whew! It's been a while...

2008-12-02T20:11:00.003-05:00

Things have been hectic since Thanksgiving. First there was the whole hosting dinner for 18 people thing, then an eye injury and two people in my house getting some puking virus...it's been wild and crazy as usual around here. Low and behold during all that, December rolled in. She came in with a blast of freezing wind and a few snow flurries here and there and of course a new desktop for my pc, take a peek....

I downloaded this desktop from Shabby Princess and added a pic of my son and some text...so simple and festive!

Sneek peek...

2008-11-26T11:46:00.002-05:00

I'm working on some custom calendars for Christmas gifts and thought I would share a glimpse of some of the designs I have made...

These are so simple to make and fun too, I just hope the recipients enjoy their calendars. I think they are really cute!

If you want to create and give photo gifts this Christmas, I recommend Arts Cow.

Make Something Monday

2008-11-24T08:00:00.001-05:00

My submission this week is a scrapbook page of dinner with Mickey Mouse at our local Big Boy Restaurant. It is so fun when they offer dinner with different characters in the Winter. Something we can actually do with a little kid and still get a decent dinner out.

Credits: Clubhouse kit by Andrea at Here A Scrap There A Scrap.

China Cabinet Makeover

2008-11-23T09:06:00.002-05:00

Yep, here it is, that time of year again! Hardly seems like it should already be here, but it is.

Although I may not get the tree and all the other Christmas goodies up in time for my Thanksgiving guests this year, I am sure to put out the snowflake dishes and snowmen in my china cabinet.

One side holds my china and the other usually looks like this...

Yesterday out came the...

The plates and mugs went into the freshly dusted and windexed china cabinet...

Snowmen joined their snowflake dish friends and the transformation was complete...

Bring on Turkey Day! If nothing else gets decorated, I am ready!

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-11-22T08:14:00.002-05:00

My entry for Scrapbook Saturday this week is a page using a quickpage that I only slightly embellished. I really loved the quickpages that go with the Road To Nowhere kit created by Shabby Pumpkin.

Everyone needs a theme song...

2008-11-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

The other day my friend Toni posted her theme song for the day and asked that her readers follow suit. It has taken me a couple days to work it into my schedule, lol, but here's mine. It should be the theme song for my life since I am a professional worrier, but it's one of those things I continue to work on and try to improve about myself.

Book Review: The Wednesday Letters

2008-11-20T08:00:00.001-05:00

The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright is an inspiring story about love, family, secrets and forgiveness.

I was skeptical about reading a story that should be an emotional journey of discovery written by a man. I'll be honest and admit I think there are few men that can describe and reach the emotional levels most women can. I have read stories with the same principles written by women and they tend to draw me in and leave me thinking about the characters long after I finish the book.

I was surprised to find that this author was able to do that as well. Sure the emotional detail was not as deep as it could have been in the situations the characters faced, but it was still captivating.

I enjoyed getting to know each character better throughout the book. I enjoyed the unveiling of each secret and twist of the plot, one or two of which brought tears to my eyes.

Overall I found this to be a great read. Its 280 pages short and moves along quickly. I didn't want to put it down. The ending is sweet, but left a few unanswered questions in my opinion.

I think I'll be looking for Christmas Jars by Wright as well at my library this week. I'm off to finish an old yard sale find first though, True Blue by Luanne Rice.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-19T10:31:00.001-05:00

The exciting (read dangerous) way to whack the pinata.

For more WW submissions, visit http://www.momdot.com

Have you read these?

2008-11-18T11:52:00.002-05:00

I wrote a series of articles about digital scrapbooking for MomDot. I am really pleased with how they turned out and feel all the effort I put into them was worth it. I love digital scrapbooking and love to talk to other scrappers and share and gain inspiration from them. I hope these posts inspired even one reader to get creative.

Part One: Choosing Software for scrapbooking
Part Two: Digital Freebies
Part Three: Let's Go Shopping! and organizational tips
Part Four: Templates and Quickpages

Also, this week is National Board Game Week, so I used my weekend craft post at MomDot to highlight some homemade board game ideas. I know my family likes to play games together and I hope the ideas I provided will inspire some family fun in other families. Check out this post for information!

Make Something Monday

2008-11-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

My submission this week is a scrapbook page I made for an album I am making for someone on my Christmas list. I wanted to make one page with a bunch of pictures from the month of July. There were so many great pics that it was hard to choose, but I managed to come up with something I like.

Credits: Papers and elements from Nature Walk, button from Yellow Polka Dot Bikini, word art from 9 to 5 Chic, all from Funky Playground.

How did I miss this???

2008-11-13T10:18:00.003-05:00

There was a post about the Christmas of Dreams at MomDot that I overlooked for some reason. Prolly cause the last few weeks have been beyond busy for me. Anyway, I am glad I found it...

If you are not familiar with MomDot and the Christmas of Dreams check it out. They have all these fabulous and generous sponsors donating a gift to one lucky reader at the end of this month...

Sponsors are (and subject to be adding more as the month goes on):
Dyson
BabyPop
The Shrunks
Soda Club
Kadi Prescott
Uncommonly Cute
Lollipop Book Club
Kuster
Silly Monkeez
LA Plates
Natitys Design
Little Black Box
Koshas
Kidz Sunglasses
jaC Jewelry
Appledonia
LeapFrog
Mutsy
Kushies
Huddy Buddy
Mimsi-Bags
BottleWise
Lets Go Strolling
DaBib
Sassy Baby
Baby Legs
Scentsy
FeeFiFoto
Randi100
Organic Blankees
Shi Shu Style
Georgie Tees

I will definitely be posting my comments on why my family deserves a Christmas of Dreams, and you should too.

Day Two of the Christmas of Dreams party...

2008-11-13T08:59:00.005-05:00

My friends at MomDot are hosting a Christmas of Dreams blog party for the holidays. Have you noticed the button over there---> Day two is sponsored by LaPlates and Lets Go Strolling and Natitys Design. Today's question posted by Alicia is a request to share our family traditions...

A Christmas tradition started a couple years ago by my dad when he gave my son the story "Twas The Night Before Christmas". Now he reads that to him ever year on Christmas Eve after dinner. So sweet!

Another Christmas tradition around here is that Santa does not wrap his presents. He usually hides them downstairs as well. We open Aiden's presents from us under the tree, then we head downstairs to see what Santa brought. We have another tree down there and that is where we have the presents my husband and I bought for each other. While Aiden checks out his Santa loot, my husband and I exchange our gifts. Then it is off to the kitchen for some bacon and pancakes.

Santa brought this last year, it was fun!

We tend to do things the same on every holiday each year. Seems like our little family is carving out their own traditions as we go. This Easter we spent the night at a local Best Western with an indoor water park. I would LOVE to make that an Easter tradition. We had such a great time there. My son really loves to swim and it was hilarious to see him in the pool and playing with all the slides and the lazy river. Hopefully we can do it again next year!

Day One Post is here.

Day One of the Christmas Of Dreams party

2008-11-12T10:35:00.005-05:00

So, here we go...my friends at MomDot are hosting a Christmas of Dreams blog party for the holidays. Have you noticed the button over there--->
Day one is sponsored by La Belle Toile and This and That by Randi.
Today's question posted by Trisha is a request to introduce our family and share pictures from past holidays...

Here's my family...

My fabulous husband, my energetic son and myself.

And for pictures of Christmases past, I have this cute little collage of our visits to see Santa since my son was born. I cannot wait to see his reaction this year and take a new picture to add to the collage. Last year he was really excited and got right up there and placed his order, it was adorable.

Awards...for me?

2008-11-10T14:26:00.003-05:00

Ok, I know I am horrible at picking up and passing on awards. It takes time and I generally schedule my blog posts or they come out late in the day, like todays. lol

However, a new bloggy friend of mine has passed on three awards to me recently and I better post them on here before I forget...Thank you Felicia at Go Graham Go!

For the Kreativ Blogger Award I am also supposed to list 6 things about myself, so here goes...
I am totally grossed out by mayo
I don't ride roller coasters
I love to swim
I miss having a cat
I like to read
I am addicted to sweets

And now for the tricky part...passing them on to my fabulous bloggy friends...I believe I am supposed to pass on the Kreative Blogger Award, so here goes...

Make Something Monday

2008-11-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

This week I am posting instructions and a picture of a craft I created for my son's birthday party this past weekend...a Spiderman Pinata.

Materials you will need:
1 regular balloon
1 big bottle of glue
newspaper, torn into 2" wide strips
party streamers, whatever color(s) you need for your finished design
water
a couple bowls
ribbon
craft foam
sewing needle
acrylic paint
tissue paper, the kind used in gift wrapping

Step 1: You will want to mix 1 part water to 3 parts glue, starting off with 1/4 cup water to 3/4 cup glue is good. Blow up the balloon and set inside a bowl. Coat your newspaper strips in the glue mix one strip at a time and layer them on your balloon. Cover the entire balloon with two layers of newspaper strips leave a 4" hole at the bottom and allow to dry a day or two.
Step 2: Create glue mixture again. Cut colored streamers into about 8" lengths. Coat the streamer strips in glue one at a time and layer them over the newspaper on the balloon. Apply at least two layers, more if desired. Allow to dry for one or two days.
Step 3: Pop balloon with needle or scissors, it will deflate and you can pull it right out. Using needle, thread some ribbon through two holes in a 3.5" circle cut from the craft foam. Thread this through the top of your pinata from the inside with the foam up against the inside top of the pinata. The foam is there to ensure the ribbon does not rip right through on first wack. Tie the ribbon so you have a loop that you can use twine to hang your pinata from.
Step 4: Using acrylic paints, decorate your pinata with your chosen design. For my Spiderman pinata I painted on the web design and the black part of the eyes and used white copy paper for the whites of the eyes.
Step 5: Fill with candy. After putting in candy, wad up some tissue paper and put that in to protect your candy from getting glue on it in the next step.
Step 6: Cover the hole at the end of your pinata using the glue mix and more pieces of streamers. Apply a couple layers to ensure it holds the weight of the candy. Allow to dry.

This project sounds like a lot of steps, and it is, but it is not difficult at all. In the end it costs about $3 to make the pinata, not counting the cost of candy, versus the $20 they charge for an empty pinata at the party supply store. Please note, humidity will affect drying time. You can also print out any picture or character you would like and glue that on instead of painting on a design. The options are endless!

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-11-08T08:57:00.004-05:00

Credits: Outta This World kit by Puuurfect Designs. Font is Leftovers.

A follow up from Wordless Wednesday...

2008-11-06T08:16:00.005-05:00

Some of you wanted to know how to make jam after yesterday's WW photo, so here's my recipe...

If you've never done any home canning here are a few tips:

sterilize jars right before use, either in a dishwasher on sterilize setting or in boiling water on the stove, keep warm until pouring in hot jam to avoid breaking jars with temperature change
purchase a funnel that fits inside the top of the jar to help avoid spills when ladeling in hot jam
purchase a set of jar lifting tongs, they really are the best way to avoid dropping hot glass jars
the box of Ball brand fruit pectin comes with a little recipe booklet inside, there are tons of jam and jelly recipes on that little booklet
please visit http://www.homecanning.com/ for lots of useful information and recipes
don't be afraid to mix fruits and berries, strawberry raspberry is a good combination as well as raspberry blackberry, yumm yumm!
I do not recommend EVER trying to make orange marmalade, it is an unGodly amount of work that will leave your fingers orange for days, I speak from experience

Happy Jam Making!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-05T11:01:00.002-05:00

Last week, making raspberry jam. If you would like to see more WW posts, please visit my friends at MomDot.

Winter means we have to get creative...

2008-11-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

The Winter is long here and cold cold cold. Sitting at home day after day stuck indoors when it gets really cold can get booooring. My son and I both get kinda cranky after looking at each other hour after hour each day.

So sometimes we have to get creative and come up with other ways to enjoy family time together. One of our favorite things to do is head over to Chuck E. Cheese. We used a coupon once and spent $10 and bought enough tokens to last through the year. Since our son is only almost 4, spending about an hour there is all he needs. I think we usually use about 15 tokens each visit. We don't eat dinner there, we've heard the pizza is not that great. Overall it's an inexpensive way to get out of the house without being out in the cold and have a little fun.

Oh, and who can resist cashing in those tickets at the end for some plastic toy that will break before we get home. LOL The kid loves them, so that's cool!

Here's some photos of one of our trips to Chuck E. Cheese back in January...

Credits: Chuck E. Cheese quick page from BabyYaks, font is Jester.

Make Something Monday

2008-11-03T22:21:00.005-05:00

I know my post is very very late, but it's still Monday here and this is my first chance to get on here. Anyway, I made a scrapbook page today for Make Something Monday. Take a look...

Credits: Sweet Summertime freebie kit by Andrea at Here A Scrap There A Scrap.

Welcome November

2008-11-02T08:00:00.001-05:00

I am totally loving the In The Neighborhood kit from Funky Playground. I used papers and elements from that kit, as well as the word "november" from the 9 to 5 Chic kit to create my own desktop for the month of November. I was not in the mood to mess with creating the calendar part, so I just made it as a table in Word and pasted it in. Not too shabby for my first attempt. I really love how the photo of my son seems to jump off the screen at me.

I hope to enjoy the month of November as much as I am enjoying glancing at my pretty desktop.

Do you use one of these desktop wallpaper thingys? If so, which one are you using for November?

Happy DSD!

2008-11-01T09:22:00.002-04:00

I'm coming down from my Halloween sugar rush and the excitement continues because today is Digital Scrapbooking Day. There are specials and sales galore today and I plan to take advantage of at least a few of them.
I thought I would share with you some of the great deals happening in celebration of this super fun holiday...

Everything in the Orchard is 35% off this weekend, except the Mystery Mega.

Peppermint Creative is offering 30% off their whole store all weekend!

The Designs In Digital girls are hosting a treasure hunt, you can start here.

Every item is 15% off at DesignerDigitals this weekend.

Almost everything at MyScrapShop is 60% off this weekend.

Scrapbook Bytes is offering 50% off all Jennifer M. Trippetti designs this weekend.

Also, don't forget to hop on the Halloween Blog Train by Sunshine Studios and Scrap Orchard designers. This freebie train has a lot of stops, but is so sweet it's worth the download time.

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-11-01T08:00:00.002-04:00

Credits: All papers and elements from In The Neighborhood from Funky Playground, Font is Boring Showers.

This awesome collab kit is on sale for $1.75 at Funky Playground right now, check it out and grab one for yourself.

Freaky Friday The Final Edition

2008-10-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween!

Today should be a fun day for us. My son is 4 and has a fun day planned at preschool. Parents are invited to stay for the first 30 minutes and see all the kids in their costumes and watch them sing some songs. I have been getting little previews of the Halloween songs at home and I am sure it will be cute when all of them get going together.

We will be trick or treating tonight as well as passing out candy at our house. Some of the grandparents are sure to come by to see our little guy in his costume. It will be a great day!

My final item to share for Freaky Friday is pictures of our pumpkins we carved this Monday evening. I was sick with a cold, so it was not as much fun as years past, but they all turned out great and we can't wait to light a few candles in them tonight.

I look forward to seeing everyone's Halloween pictures on their blogs soon!

What have I been up to???

2008-10-30T08:00:00.001-04:00

Take a look... I have been crafting magnetic picture frames and treat bags for my son's preschool Halloween party tomorrow.

Here's the treat bag topper graphic I made...

Credits: Eek from Funky Playground.

This has been a fun project. I cannot belive my little guy is having his first holiday party at school! He is growing up so fast. I want to make it special for him and all his classmates. I know they will enjoy all their treats tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-29T13:52:00.002-04:00

This is what my 4 year old son calls carving a pumpkin without help from Mommy.

Eeeek! It's Tuesday already...

2008-10-28T15:20:00.002-04:00

Sunday morning I woke up with a cold, nothing major, but it really kicked my butt yesterday and I was down all day. So many things needed to get done, but they didn't. Oh well, cause the rest helped me feel better today, I am still stuffy and sleepy, but I am not feeling like death, so that's good.

So today I am getting caught up, or trying to at least. While I'm doing so, I just have to say Yippee! for Printworks Premium Matte Photo Paper.

Yes, I realize it may seem strange. I'm sick, I'm busy and frantically trying to get things done and what do I want to share? I want to share my love of photo paper with you. Seriously I am odd, but this stuff is fantastic.
Part of my to do list today is printing all the treat bag toppers for my son's preschool Halloween shindig on Friday. I need to get this done today! While we made a mad dash to the local superstore for pull-ups and allergy medicine, I remembered I needed photo paper. I grabbed a box of my fave kind and off we went.
After lunch I set off to the office to print and as the cute treat bag toppers rolled off the press (aka my color inkjet printer) I remembered how much I love this paper. It hold the color well without too much saturation and it looks fantastic. It brings my fun creations to life!
So, if you ever decide to do a hybrid project with your digi scrap supplies, I definitely recommend using Printworks Premium Matte Photo Paper. Check it out!

Make Something Monday

2008-10-27T14:20:00.000-04:00

This week I am posting a tutorial on how to make a simple Halloween Foam Magnet Frame. I made these for my son's preschool class. Yes, I made 20 of them, but they are so easy that it did not take long at all.

You will need several large (11x17 I think) sheets of craft foam, a couple different colors, some tacky glue, scissors or a craft knife, Halloween foam stickers, adhesive backed magnet strips, and some 3D paint (aka puffy paint). I also used a white gel pen for drawing the lines to cut out on the dark colored foam.

The first step is to measure and cut out 5x7 rectangles of your foam. You will need one for the back and one for the front. I used black for the back and orange for the front of this one.

Second, you will need to cut a rectangle out of the center of the front piece of foam for the picture to show through. I made my rectangle hole 3x5.
Then you will add a bead of glue to the back piece of foam on three edges, leave the top edge unglued so it will be open in order to slide the photo in. Tacky glue will grab quickly, but still let you wiggle and reposition if needed.

Now it's time for the fun! Decorate with foam stickers and 3D paint. My son helped me at this step, he decided what stickers would be used and helped me place them on. He really liked being in charge of how they were decorated.

Once the glue and paint has dried, apply a couple pieces of magnetic strip to the back. That will allow your frame to be hung on the fridge so everyone can see your little goblins in their Halloween costumes.
Please visit Go Graham Go and Jolly Mom for information about this new meme.

Sunday Girly Sunday

2008-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Being the mother of a boy, I barely get to do anything pink and girly. So when it comes to my niece, I am all about the pink. I could not resist using this deep pink paper to scrapbook her birthday pictures from this past September. I think she would like it too!

Credits: Alpha from Nature Walk by Valorie Brown Designs for Funky Playground. All other papers and elements from Penelope by Sara Ellis for Funky Playground. Font is MA Fishy.

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-10-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

Credits: Papers from It's Time from Two Peas In A Bucket. Acutal movie tickets scanned. Kung Fu Panda embellishments from LaurasDigitalScrap.

Freaky Friday Part 2

2008-10-24T08:00:00.001-04:00

Welcome back for the second edition of Freaky Friday. Today we are going to take a look at the items I have outside my house in honor of Halloween.

1. A decoration hanging on my front door. My son painted these wooden shapes last year and I strung them together with some Halloween ribbon.
2. Two nice big pumpkins for carving.
3. My scarecrow, isn't he jolly?
4. Mini hay bales with some fake mums, some mini scarecrows and a metal jack o lantern head that holds a candle.
5. This is a wire angel that sits on my porch year round. I change the flowers in her pot for each season. Of course she has a few pumpkins nearby as well, we hoard pumkins around here.
6. Almost impossible to see but this little stake has a scarecrow on it and says Harvest Time.
7. A giant spider web spanning the shrubs in our front yard.
8. A giant spider we made to go on the shrubs with the web.

Halloween's supposed to be spooky, right?

2008-10-23T08:00:00.006-04:00

This is as spooky as it gets when you have a preschooler. I so look forward to the days when he wants to wear something ghoulish with fake blood and guts. I really get into that stuff for some reason. I hope he does too when he gets older. However, for this year I will settle for another cute costume.

His first Halloween he was a skunk. We used to call him "stinky" so it was quite fitting and too cute for words.

The following year I made him a lion costume. Oh how I hated brown yarn after making that mane. Again, a very cute kid on Halloween though.

Then came his first time choosing his own costume...and of course it had to be a pirate. He's quite the pirate fan so it was fun and we all got in on the act.

I was happy to play along, even though it meant wearing a skirt in the cold to trick or treat.

My husband enjoyed it too, despite the pout he's flashing me here. Not sure what his problem is, maybe the clip on earring was hurting him. hehe

And of course the bulldog didn't want to wear his pirate shirt, but too bad, and the lil bugger is so lazy that he kept laying down every couple houses when we were trick or treating (as seen here).

That brings us to this year. This Halloween promises to be even more fun than the last. Now he's almost 4 and really getting into the whole idea of trick or treating and spooky stuff. He loves the Toy Story movies and said he wanted to be Woody. However, one day in Target he saw a Buzz Lightyear costume and HAD to have it. We bought it and tried it on at home, but it was to small. So off I went to find one that fit. I ended up at Toys R Us, and they had the deluxe costume that had wings as well. I KNEW this was the one. He LOVES it! So, while it may not be spooky or creepy, it sure is going to be a fun Halloween.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-22T10:44:00.001-04:00

Credits: The Sky Is Falling by Krystal Hartley for Funky Playground.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-10-20T16:31:00.002-04:00

This week's menu has a repeat from last week that did not get cooked, but should be enjoyable and easy to follow.
Sunday - Tuna Noodle
Monday - Tacos and spanish rice
Tuesday - Ravioli, green beans and garlic bread
Wednesday - Chicken, mashed potatoes and corn
Thursday - Beef stew in the crockpot and bread
Friday - Dine out (woo hoo)
Saturday - Home made pizza and salad

Make Something Monday

2008-10-20T16:00:00.000-04:00

Felicia from Go Graham Go told me about a new crafting meme she and Jolly Mom are starting. I could not resist joining in on the fun and hope you will too!
Hopefully they don't mind digitally created items, cause I made a digital scrapbook page of course.

Credits: Pumpkin template by IsaScrapsForever, Cardboard alpha, flower, pine branch and pollen sprig from 30B by Lauraskathi at Funky Playground, Papers, string, apple orchard word art, red apple, and metal bracket from Caramel Apple by Babyyaks, Date Font is MA Brownie Too from Digital Design Essentials

It's Sunday...

2008-10-19T14:11:00.001-04:00

and I feel silly! So I thought I would share this with you guys! It cracked me up:)

Kitty Criminal (Cat Music Video) @ Yahoo! Video

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-10-18T09:38:00.003-04:00

This weekend I decided to take a little tour around Scrapblog and finally see what that was all about. It's a neat online application and you can make some quick and cute collages to share online with family and friends.

Freaky Friday Part 1

2008-10-17T16:05:00.002-04:00

There's only two more weeks until Halloween! It's coming up fast! I have yet to share all the freaky, spooky fun we have around here for Halloween. So, I thought today and the next two Fridays would be "Freaky Fridays". Today we will start with the inside of my house, mostly the playroom, and I will show you all the Halloween stuff we have out and about.

Click on image to enlarge.

1. Spider egg sack with baby spiders, directions here.
2. My son's play table with his pumpkin placemate, tiny real pumpkin, and Halloween book.
3. Again in the playroom, my son's Halloween tree that he loves decorating each year, a pumpkin tray and a skull candle holder.
4. On the kitchen counter, a lil scarecrow next to my Kitchen Aid mixer.
5. Pumpkin buckets used to store toys on the playroom shelves.
6. A candy corn tray with my son's pirate pumpkin, of course in his playroom.
7. A pumpkin and skull candle holder in the playroom next to the toads and the mantis.
8. My Bath & Body Works pumpkin soap pump at my kitchen sink.
9. Chairs in my son's playroom adorned with a spooky faced orange balloon and his little trick or treat bag.

Halloween is so much fun around here, my little guy really gets into it all, so I have to have things at his level that he is allowed to touch and enjoy. No fancy stuff here, at least not until he is older, at which point it will be all about adult Halloween items. Mwah ha ha ha!

Next Friday...meet me in the front yard for pumpkins and a spider you wouldn't want to find dangling over your bed at night.

Fall Leaf Fun

2008-10-16T14:45:00.003-04:00

Today we made Fall Leaf Collages. I'm sure I did this at some point in my childhood, but I cannot remember when. Following the instructions I read on Mom Spark by Renee, we heated our iron and got to work. My son was totally not into this idea today, but too bad. It was still fun for me. He did enjoy seeing the finished product.

Sorry these don't photograph well when it is cloudy outside. They look great when sunlight shines through them though, I promise!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-15T10:55:00.000-04:00

One of our pet toads, stalking his dinner.

It's officially Fall!

2008-10-14T16:32:00.004-04:00

Well, it finally feels like it at my house. Today the weather was cool and breezy. We put a pot roast in the crock pot for dinner (recipe here). Then we made Pumpkin Bread.

I love pumpkin bread and make it every Fall. Today my son helped me mix it, well he helped for like 5 minutes. I baked 3 loaves and 18 muffins. We'll be eating this all week. LOL Actually, a bunch of it will be taken to work by my husband and some to the preschool teachers and family and friends, so we wont be overloaded by it.

Here's my recipe...

click photo to enlarge...papers and ribbon from Grateful by MickeyB Designs, Pumpkin by Candy's Treats

Some pictures of the pumkin bread baking action that took place...

Even though it's officially Fall and that makes me smile, it is also a sad sad day here in my kitchen. My oldest and most beloved spatula suffered a fatal blow while scraping the bowl of pumpkin bread mix. Blue Handled Spatula will be sadly missed and very hard to replace (I can never find another one like it at the stores, the new ones are too floppy).

So, as I sit here eating warm pumpkin bread with a little smear of butter and a glass of apple cider, I feel excited at the thought of pumpkin carving, roasted pumpkin seeds, jumping in piles of leaves and Halloween being right around the corner. I also hope someone in my family can find me a new blue spatula for Christmas or there may be a shortage of baked goods around here next year. (hint hint)

Lil Stinker Layout

2008-10-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here's a little something I made last night...

This is my dog, Rocky. He seemed quite pleased with himself when he learned how to get onto the sofa, so I had to capture the moment.

Credits: Lil Stinker papers and elements from Funky Playground.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-10-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

This week's menu is:

Sloppy Joes

Pot Roast

Chicken Breast

Tacos

Dine Out

Hot Dogs

Tuna Noodle

Fairly simple and filled with stuff that is easy to make and all of us like, well minus pot roast being something my son will not eat.

However, the best part is I plan to make these this week...yummm.....

Credits: Background Paper, Sugar Button and Ribbon from Sugary Sweet at Funky Playground. Apple from The Sky Is Falling at Funky Playground.

I am already looking forward to Thanksgiving

2008-10-12T08:00:00.003-04:00

We host Thanksgiving dinner at our house for my family and my in-laws. Things can be hectic this time of year, especially if I look at my calendar and to do lists longer than a second. However, when we sit down to eat dinner on Thanksgiving day, my whole body breathes a sigh of relief and then I scarf down my delicious food. The afternoon is spent cleaning up of course, but my stomach says it is worth all the work. I love Thanksgiving dinner and here are a few things I am looking forward to making and eating...

Credits: recipe card paper and elements from Autumn Dayz by Twinky Dezines.

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-10-11T08:00:00.003-04:00

This weekend's layout was lifted from a layout I drooled over on Stacey's blog, Havoc And Mayhem. Take a look at the inspiration she provided here. I so loved what she did with her Crafty Crochet layout and I put it to good use on my layout above about our visit to George George Park over Labor Day Weekend.

Thanks for the inspiration Stacey!

In case you didn't know...

2008-10-10T09:00:00.000-04:00

I have started writing a weekend feature for my friends at MomDot. I am contributing a weekly craft post, providing ideas, links and instructions. This past weekend was all about apples. I shared a project my son and I made last week using an apple stamping technique. Perfect activity for children and very festive for Fall. You can see the pics of my finished product at MomDot. Here's a sneak peek...

Creative gift wrap

2008-10-09T09:11:00.000-04:00

I love giving gifts. There's something so fun about the excitement I feel when I choose something for someone and cannot wait to see them enjoy it. There's also something fun about wrapping it cutely and making it look perfect.

Last week I gave my husband a small present, a Hallmark Ornament. I'm sure he was thrilled (insert sarcastic smiley here). I choose a grilling snowman since he is King Of The Grill around here. I thought it was adorable and thoughtful since he has like zero ornaments. How can that be? My mom gave me one every year and saved them for me. Anyway, that's a whole other topic.

When I got home from the store I wanted to wrap it and decided the brown Hallmark bag would be perfect wrapping paper. I used the backside which was plain. I used masking tape to secure it because I thought that would look better than invisible tape.

Then I made a little label with lip/kiss marks and his name for the top. These are Avery Round Baker Labels that I design in Microsoft Word and print out.

So simple, inexpensive, custom and cute!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-08T07:02:00.000-04:00

Credits: Paper and elements from Tropical Popsicle by Peppermint Creative, font on popsicle stick is Minion Pro.

Birthday invites made simple...

2008-10-07T20:57:00.003-04:00

My son's birthday is coming up and I usually make his party invitations if I can. This year I decided to use my new Adobe Photoshop Elements program to make them. It was almost too easy.

I found a free image online of Spiderman and plugged that into a 4x6 size blank file then added some text and a free image of a spider at the bottom. Quick and simple! Then I uploaded them to Walgreens photo center online and had them printed at my local store. (sorry about the black lines being added for privacy)

The cost of a pack of 8 invites at Party City was $3.99 and to have these printed as photos at Walgreens was $2.42 and I got twelve of them. Yay for saving money and doing it myself!

Crossing over to the DARK SIDE...

2008-10-06T11:32:00.001-04:00

Ok, so I am so sick of all the political ads on tv and radio and the long blog posts about everyone's opinion. I just want to vote already! But, I saw this little video and it really is simple and sums it all up, plus it has some pretty celebrities to look at so it's not totally boring. Just thought I would share because I enjoyed it.

Hello Photoshop Elements 6!

2008-10-04T21:39:00.005-04:00

Where have you been all my life?!
So, my extremely generous and loving husband gave me PSE6 for my birthday this week. I had mentioned I would love it, but I doubted he would go for it for a birthday present. I am so blessed!
Also, I am totally in LOVE! It's an overwhelming kind of love, because there are so many neat tools and things to figure out, but I have confidence in my clicking ability. Today I figured out how to use the Magic Extraction Tool, which I have always been jealous of since I did not have this capability until now.
Here's a little something I made using the Magic Extraction Tool on my pup, Ruby...

Credits: Papers, elements, and black alpha from Funky Nature by Lauraskathi & Tara Dunstan.

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-10-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today I am posting the first layout I tinkered with in Photoshop Elements 6. My husband bought me the program for my birthday. I am so excited to learn more about it, seems to have an amazing amount of creativity to offer. Anyway, here's a layout I whipped up about my mini van we brought home back in August of 2007, I still love my van a ton!

Credits: paper and elements from Catch Me If You Can by Le Journal De Scrap.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2008-10-02T10:00:00.001-04:00

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-01T14:32:00.002-04:00

If you want to see more nice asses in person, take a field trip to Westview Orchards.

October Desktop

2008-09-30T21:27:00.003-04:00

I am totally addicted to these adorable "wallpapers" you can use on your pc/laptop desktop. For October I will be using one from Funky Playground. I am adding in a picture of my son and I from last Halloween, but they also have one without the photo option if you are not a digi scrapper. Check it out!
Here's mine...

Here's the one where they put an owl in the photo window, so even if you do not have digi scrapping capabilities, you can still have a neat desktop...

You can download one of your own here. Don't forget to mark my 30th birthday on the 2nd of October when you download the desktop calendar. hehe :)

Lost & Found

2008-09-27T14:20:00.004-04:00

I am a novice jewelry maker, but I have been trying it out more and more this year. I have fallen in love with this line of charms, chains and stuff I found at Michaels and JoAnn's, it is called Lost & Found by Blue Moon Beads. They have the neatest charms, here are some of my favorites...

These birds appeal to me of course, because I have a bird obsession that I cannot explain.

This metal heart locket, which I bought today and will be using to make a Christmas present for someone.

These wire wrapped acrylic beads make me happy as well...

And there's just something about these fuzzy velvet covered bead strands that I cannot resist...

If you like to make jewerly, head to JoAnn's today because all their supplies are 40% off right now. I snagged up quite a few adorable baubbles to make a lil something this afternoon. Off to my craft room I go....

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-09-27T10:49:00.003-04:00

The journaling seems tiny and hard to read on here, but full size is fine. It is a Rascal Flats song that I love and think about my son every time I hear it.

Momma's gone CSI

2008-09-25T18:09:00.002-04:00

That's right, I am collecting evidence. Evidence of how horrible my dogs can behave. Evidence of how sloppy my child and husband can be. Evidence of why I should be sent to some tropical paradise for a month long vacation without any of them.

I got out the fancy Canon this afternoon and my rubber gloves and hit the path, the path of destruction they tend to leave throughout the house and yard.

What sparked this CSI-like hunt you ask? Oh, just a little thing called 'the sound of breaking glass'. Yep that's where it all started, right here....

This was a glass of Kool Aid I left unattended on the patio as I snuck inside to go to the bathroom. God forbid I go alone and leave the child or dogs without strict supervision for 2 minutes. This was the handy work of my 5.5 month old doberman.

It's just a glass of Kool Aid, right? I got it cleaned up and no one cut themselves on the glass. However, that was just the beginning, see the following evidence photos for more destruction caused by my lovely little doberman friend (all caused this week of course).

She completely tore up her dog bed. Yes, her crate is in the garage because she would not stop howling/screaming at me the other day when I put her in there to calm down.

She chewed on my cedar planters.

She dug a hole, wait make that two holes, and took a poo in my flower bed. Thankfully it is closed for the winter so I do not have to go weeding around in her poo.

She stole my pen and highlighter and ran off into the grass to chew them up.

She brought dirt into the house and deposited it on the kitchen floor I just mopped yesterday (twice mopped because right after I mopped she came in and muddied it up).

Then there's my husband...Apparently the 5 feet walk from the shower to the laundry room is too much for him, so he stacks up dirty wash cloths on the shower floor for me to gather each week.

He leaves his smelly socks all over the house when he strips them off after work.

He also cannot seem to put his hair products back in the drawer, instead he likes to leave them all over the bathroom counter for me to take care of.

Then of course there is the child, the sweet, caring, snuggle bug child, who has me pulling my hair out this week with his wild behavior, loud voice and constant rebellion against all rules and chores.

This here is a pile of toilet paper in our main bathroom. Yes, it is on the floor. When I saw this I asked him "what happened to all this toilet paper?"...his reply "it is for my dog to poop on". That would be his stuffed dog, not our actual puppy. Where does he come up with this stuff and why does it require such a mess?

There were many more messes created by the child this morning, however they required yelling with frustration like a drill sargaent until he cleaned them up. After which, the following sign was made, discussed and hung up in his bedroom to remind him what to do every day.

Now when you see me on Court TV trying to get these boys and dogs locked up or on trial for something horrible because they did not cooperate with me and I lost my mind, you will know that there is evidence of what I have been dealing with. I am not crazy. Well maybe I am, but if so, it's their fault for pushing and pushing and making me clean up after them. Right?!

A Minty Sale

2008-09-25T08:45:00.004-04:00

Peppermint Creative is having an incredible Re-Launch Sale. It seems everything in their shop is on sale right now. You can snag up some incredible kits, paper packs, alphas or element sets at great prices. And their new site looks great!

I absolutely love the latest freebie they have available as well. Go download it now!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-24T08:00:00.001-04:00

Homemade Fun

2008-09-23T08:08:00.003-04:00

Yesterday at preschool my son received a Batman ring on top of a cupcake the birthday boy of the week brought in. He was excited about this ring. Then when we went to McD's for lunch he received a Batman toy in his Happy Meal. He was beyond excited about this! He wanted to know if we could make a Batman mask at home, I told him we would try after lunch. This is what we came up with.

I happened to have a big sheet of black foam in my craft room. I freehand drew the mask and wings on the foam with a silver gel pen and cut them out. Then I hammered in a couple eyelets to hold some elastic cord in order to hold the mask and wings on. He wanted the eyes to be white, so we compromised with a silver ring drawn around the eye opening (poor kid didn't realize if we filled in the holes he would be a blind Batman).

He really enjoyed this craft. I did all the work and he enjoyed it later, like all afternoon later, running around pretending to be Batman for hours. It was really easy, only took ten minutes and the craft foam is about 99 cents at Michaels, so an inexpensive project as well.

Plus, how cute are these pics? I love them!

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-09-19T12:47:00.007-04:00

Credits: Background paper from Schoolin at Two Peas In A Bucket, redish mat from Grunge at KJoi Studios, black mat from For The Boys at Funky Playground, red border from Grunge at KJoi Studios, beaded wires and eyelet from Grunge at KJoi Studios, preschool font is INdian Poker, Other font is Pegasus, tag is from School Scribbles by Pineapple Plantation.

I believe I created this layout entirely from freebie downloads. Some may or may not be available for free download at the above mention sites.

Fabulous Freebies

2008-09-19T12:47:00.005-04:00

Happy Friday!

I would love to share with you the fabulous digi scrappin freebies I have come across today.

Autumn Fun Quick Page

Catch Me If You Can Kit

Football Frenzy Papers

I forgot to mention...

2008-09-18T09:18:00.006-04:00

I am totally WILD about this contest I won on MomDot. It is for a Wild Planet Animal Scramble Game. I totally laughed out loud watching Charlotte play it in the video on MomDot. I went and checked out the Wild Planet website and fell in love with the Animal Scramble and the Pirate Treasure Hunter. So I enterred the contest and was so excited to hear I won!

Fall crafts I WANT to do...

2008-09-18T09:18:00.002-04:00

Fall is my favorite time of year. There are so many great crafts out there to try out. Here are a few I am planning to attempt this Fall.

Apple Prints on fabric as seen on The Crafty Crow.

Crockpot Applesauce as seen at Crockpot 365.

Jar-o'-Lanterns as seen on Martha Stewart. I actually started these little guys last week.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-17T09:00:00.000-04:00

Our pet praying mantis eating a cricket.

Meme Time...Formerly Meme Monday...

2008-09-16T14:00:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I am not sure when I am supposed to post this, but here goes...

I was tagged by my friends Mimi and Melissa.

Where were you 10 years ago?
Ten years ago today I was in Florida, staying with my cousin and her husband, working as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens and battling serious anxiety and panic attacks. I was missing home, my mom and family and friends, but I was totally thankful to have the opportunity to take the time out for me and work hard at improving my life and beating anxiety.

What is on today's to-do list?
Return Charlotte's Web to the library, return some pants to Meijer, get printer paper, clean house, do laundry, cook dinner, make sure my child has fun and learns something and we all survive the day.

What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Oh geez, what wouldn't I do?! I would pay off our house, our parent's houses and cars and set up my son's education. I would set aside money for my son to be able to travel the world before college. I would buy Adobe Photoshop for scrapbooking. lol I would then let my husband decide what to do with the rest, cause he is the financial guru in our home.

Name 5 places you have lived:
Clinton Township, MI
Warren, MI
Sterling Heights, MI
Mt. Clemens, MI
Hudson, FL

Name 3 of your bad habits:
I eat too many sweets.
I collect too many piles of receipts and papers and junk.
I cry a lot.

What are your favorite snacks?
Cookies, or anything chocolate.
Chili cheese Fritos.
Popcorn.

Who will you tag for this meme?
Debateur
Heather B.
Karyn

Trying out something new this Tuesday...

2008-09-16T09:00:00.001-04:00

I have seen many layouts where the scrapper used a photo as their background. I thought I would give it a try because I always like the look when I see other people use this technique.

So, here I used an up close shot of my son set to be a bit transparent, with a colored and aged paper in the background. I really like how it turned out and will probably use this technique on future layouts.

This is also a great way to incorporate more photos into your layout. I am a pic queen and take so many and want to use them all, it is hard for me to discard some and only use a few for each page.

Credits: Paper, No. 9 and brackets from the Grunge Kit at KJoi Studios.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-09-15T21:16:00.002-04:00

Ok, I totally planned my menu, really I did. But it is way over there in the kitchen and I am too lazy to go get it. So, here's what I can remember...

Monday - we had turkey tetrazzini (it was sooo good)
Tuesday - Meatballs, gravy, mashed potatoes, corn
Wednesday - Chicken Noodle Soup
Thursday - leftovers and whatever we find
Friday - Dine out
Saturday - Chili
Sunday - Pork chops

Wow, I cannot believe I remembered it all. LOL The best part of this week's menu is that I planned it all while I was sitting in Panera eating a bagel with cream cheese. I took myself out to breakfast right after I dropped my son off to preschool (yay preschool!). I brought my cookbook and a notepad with me so I could plan the menu and shopping list. It was a nice little break.

If you would like to enjoy a leisurely menu planning session like I did, head on over to OrgJunkie and get with the program.

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-09-13T10:33:00.003-04:00

This layout is very simple, but I enjoy it. I used papers and elements from the Peppermint Creative Tropical Popsicle kit.

She did what to a cereal box?

2008-09-11T15:58:00.004-04:00

I have officially crossed over into some sort of crafty twilight zone. My brain is slowly being reprogrammed. Today as I was about to toss a Cocoa Crispies box into the recycle bin, I had an idea to reuse the box instead.

I headed down to my craft room and spent half an hour with my friend Aleene's Tacky Glue and some Cosmo Cricket paper and created a box for take out menus.

If you want to make one of your own, here's what I did...

I used my craft knifed to cut off the top of the box. I did this freehand leaving the back side a bit taller than the front.
I loosely traced around the sides of the box onto my scrapbook paper. I used Cosmo Cricket Fleuriste Dew Drops and ColorMates Dark Awesome Aqua. Cut those shapes out and glued them onto the box, inside and out.
Then I used white paper craft ribbon to cover all the edges (this can be found in Michaels near the rafia and comes in several colors).
I added the words Take Out to the front using Provo Craft white self adhesive chipboard letters.
Then I stapled a little ribbon on the inside to hang it from,since I plan on hanging this on the wall in my utility hallway off my kitchen.

This was a very simple craft and only took 30 minutes. The only product I definitely recommend using for this is the Aleene's Original Tacky Glue. This glue is thick, dries clear and has an instant grab with the ability to still move your item, totally perfect for cardstock paper. Everything else could be swaped out, you could use real ribbon instead of paper ribbon, you could even cover it in fabric or felt and you do not have to hang it, this box would be cute sitting on a buffet or counter top.

First Day Of School Goodies

2008-09-10T15:01:00.003-04:00

Inspired by Wendy at The Shabby Nest, I made a first day of school banner for my son. Today was his first day of preschool at the elementary school he will attend Kindergarten at next year. I was so excited for him to experience this and I wanted to make it a special day.

Here's my version of the school banner hanging in between my kitchen and dining area. I used the trianlge drawing tool in Microsoft Word to make a triangle template, traced and cut that out of different scrapbooking papers, used Avery round labels to print the letters on and some red and yellow ribbon to string it. I think we will be hanging this up on the first day of school every year. So simple and festive.

I also made a little treat bag using some of the same paper, labels and ribbons. I put a little prize in there for him to have after he got home from his first day at preschool.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-10T10:35:00.002-04:00

Ok, so, I totally swiped my WW idea from my friend Trisha at MomDot. I did put my own scrapbooking spin on it though.

Birthday Mania...

2008-09-08T21:02:00.003-04:00

My family and friends know I get really excited about my son's birthday each year and plan him a sweet party. Well, this past April I got a chance to throw a birthday party for my husband as well. He was turning 30 and I wanted to make it special. That same month our English Bulldog, Rocky, was turning one. I just could not pass up saving him a cucpcake and making him wear a party hat while we sang happy birthday to him. And of course, I could not resist taking a few pictures and scrapping them. So here it is...my dog's first birthday...

Credits: Papers and elements from the Faith Sisters designer try out freebies Let's Celebrate and Birthday Bash.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-09-08T14:39:00.002-04:00

Menu Plan Monday has been awesome. I love knowing exactly what to buy and not constantly forgetting stuff at the store. My husband loves knowing what's for dinner each night by looking at the list on the fridge. Thank you OrgJunkie!

Monday - Cheeseburger Pie (this is a fave of ours from Betty Crocker), mashed potatoes
Tuesday - Chicken Quesadillas (trying a new recipe), salads

Wednesday - Steak, Grilled taters and veggies

Thursday - Cheese Ravioli, garlic bread, green beans
Friday - Pizza or Carryout

Saturday - Grilled Chicken Breasts, corn, rice

Sunday - Super Quick Minestrone Soup (trying a new recipe)

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-09-05T21:08:00.005-04:00

Credits: Paper and elements by Raspberry Road the Big Boy collection. Fonts: Toy Train and Twentieth Century Poster.
Are you participating in Scrapbook Saturdays? Let us know!

Mmmm mmmm good...

2008-09-05T12:50:00.003-04:00

We just got home from running errands and I was starving, so I popped some leftover vegetable beef soup I made for dinner last night in the microwave. OMG so good! Even better than last night!

This was a new recipe I tried for dinner last night from the Food Network site. Here it is with my modifications...

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 to 3 pounds boneless chuck roast
4 quarts cold water
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons dried parsley
2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra for seasoning
2 bay leaves
1 cup diced celery
6 cups frozen mixed vegetables (green beans, corn, carrots, peas)
2 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the roast in the skillet and cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the roast from the skillet and cut it into 1 1/2 to 2-inch cubes; discard the fat. Place the beef cubes in a large stockpot.
Add the water, tomatoes, onions, dried parsley, beef bouillon, dried Italian seasoning, House Seasoning, seasoned salt, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, black pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot; reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers, and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender.
Add the remaining vegetables and the macaroni and return the soup to a boil, stirring to distribute the ingredients. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Just before serving, season with salt and pepper to taste. To remove excess fat from the surface of the soup, swirl a lettuce leaf around the surface—it will pick up a lot of the fat.

House Seasoning: 1 cup salt 1/4 cup black pepper 1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Awe shucks...

2008-09-03T16:44:00.003-04:00

I'm not feeling all that creative this week. The only thing I am really motivated to do is clean the house, so I am capitalizing on the mood and getting things done around here.

I did spend a few minutes this afternoon working on some scrapbooking at the computer while my son napped. Here's a page I whipped up...

Created using the Let's "Owl" Go Retro freebie by Inspiration's Creations from the Teacher's Pet project at Funky Playground.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-09-01T20:21:00.003-04:00

Inspired by Menu Plan Monday over at OrgJunkie, I really enjoyed this last week and I am going to try to continue with it.

Monday - Grilled Hot Dogs, Chips N Salsa
Tuesday - Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas (trying this recipe)
Wednesday - Tuna noodle casserole, salads

Thursday - Vegetable Beef Soup (trying this recipe)
Friday - Pizza or Carryout

Saturday - Grilled Burgers and potatoes

Sunday - Roast Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn

Summer Memories Contest Winner

2008-09-01T11:20:00.002-04:00

I really loved hosting my first giveaway here and I love reading all your summer memories.

The contest is now closed and we have a winner...
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

4
Timestamp: 2008-09-01 15:19:28 UTC

#4 qualifying comment came from Sarah at the Mommylogues

Congratulations Sarah...I will leave a comment for you on your blog, please reply to set up the mailing of your album.

Thanks to everyone that participated!

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-08-30T16:11:00.003-04:00

Credits: Happy Birthday Dad kit by PimpYourScrapbook.
Are you participating in Scrapbook Saturdays? Let us know!

It's a felt loving Friday...

2008-08-29T16:23:00.002-04:00

Felt is such an easy material to work with. You can cut a straight line by eyeballing it for the most part and you can glue things to it, which I love. Last night I hit my felt stash and whipped up a little pencil holder for my son.

He is starting preschool in a week and is not too happy about it. So I thought a colorful, pirate skull adorned pencil holder might help his "no school" attitude. He seems to love the pencil holder, but his dislike of the whole preschool idea remains. Oh well....I tried....

Thursday Thirteen

2008-08-28T15:36:00.004-04:00

Thirteen Things About Andrea
13 Things I Have Done Already Today
1. Took my son to Tim Hortons for bagel breakfast
2. Went to Meijer to look for 3M Command Adhesive Hooks and a shoe organizer
3. Installed hooks and shoe organizer in the closet
4. Loaded the crockpot for mac n cheese for dinner
5. Baked up some oatmeal cranberry raisin cookies
6. Made cheesy beefy nachos for lunch
7. Watched cartoons with my son
8. Hollered at the dogs all morning long
9. Took a shower
10. Made the beds
11. Played with my son
12. Visited the mommy board
13. Fell asleep on the couch

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Who moved my cheese?

2008-08-28T15:28:00.004-04:00

Ok, well not the cheese, but the hostess for Scrapbook Saturday will be Jessica at Nothing But Purple this week in MommaDawg's absence.

I admit I am new to this meme, but I love it. I hope more and more scrap minded bloggers will hope on the bandwagon as well.

If you are interested, here's some great places to start.

Scrapbook Saturday HQ at MammaDawg

Scrapbook Saturday Buttons at MammaDawg

A Great Way To Find Digi Freebies Is At DigiScrapDepot

Happy Scrappin!

Totally crazy thing I love...

2008-08-27T23:45:00.002-04:00

This one is off the wall and out of left field, but ya know I love to see my friend Trisha pimping herself out in lingerie...yep that's right, she's half naked, just to get your attention and vote, check her out here....
http://momdot.com/tester/?p=40

Vote for her here!
http://www.momdot.com/?p=954

Then please, someone give her a robe, cause I'm scared what she'll do next in the name of Hot Blogger Calendar Fame.

Two more pages, oh my!

2008-08-27T22:37:00.003-04:00

As a follow up to last weekend's Scrapbook Saturday post, I am showing off the final two page layout of my Nature Center photos.

It is rare to have four pages dedicated to one activity or outing, at least for me it is. However, all the photos from the Nature Center were so cute and we had so much fun, I could not choose just a few.

Also, all papers and elements used are from the Backyard Explorer kit by Mommy Scraps. Check out her awesome blog!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-08-27T11:23:00.001-04:00

Me rockin' the pigtails back in '82.

Menu Plan Monday

2008-08-25T14:39:00.008-04:00

I'm finally jumping on the Menu Plan Monday bandwagon over at OrgJunkie. This is something I have been attempting to do for years now but have always made it too complex to accomplish. So this morning I sat down and simply made a list of dinners for the week, including three new meals in the rotation.

Monday - Taco Salad Bowls (recipe courtesy of Laura at OrgJunkie), Chips N Salsa
Tuesday - Grilled Chicken Caesar Salads
Wednesday - Alfredo Bowtie Pasta With Ham & Broccoli (a spin off from one of Laura's recipes)
Thursday - Crockpot Mac N Cheese (something new for me to try from A Year Of Crockpotting)
Friday - Grilled Hot Dogs, Chips N Salsa and Salad (a mish mash of somethings old and something new)
Saturday - Pizza or Carryout
Sunday - Grilled Chicken Breasts, Mushroom Rice, Corn

Scrapbook Saturday

2008-08-23T09:58:00.008-04:00

Are you participating in Scrapbook Saturdays? Let us know!

Scrapbook Freebie Links...

2008-08-21T22:57:00.002-04:00

I am downloading some freebies this evening and just thought I would share the links to some items I like....

http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/freebies/theme-kit/sweet-coconut/1037084.aspx
http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/freebies/theme-kit/jungle-george/1037049.aspx
http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/freebies/paper/5-freebie-swirl-papers-for-aug-kit/1036959.aspx
http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/freebies/overlay/spooky-halloween-overlays/1036926.aspx
http://www.digiscrapdepot.com/freebies/paper/paper-pack-sleepy/1036921.aspx

And that's is for today. It is late and my eyes are tired. I will have to unzip and organize my new treasures tomorrow. Happy Scrappin!

Thursday Thirteen

2008-08-21T12:06:00.004-04:00

Today's Thursday Thirteen is about celebrity pictures...good and bad...

1.

Way to go Matthew McConnaughey for turning your own lens on the stalkaratzzi.
2.

Seriously now, Elton John, I know you can afford a nice pair of jeans.
3. .

My husband thinks its time for Brooke to hang up her pearly whites and hit the wrinke cream and stop acting. I disagree, what do you think?
4.

Paula Paula Paula, she never ceases to leave me shaking my head and wondering what she's on.
5.

I did not know Gwyneth and Madonna were pals, this is strange to me for some reason.
6.

Now here's a man that can actually pull off a pink shirt.
7.

Ok so from behind something just didn't look right about the Ellen wedding....but then I saw them from them front and thought...awe...

Is it just me or does anyone else think "drag queen" when these two are photographed together?
9.

Um, is Leah winking or are her eyelashes falling off?
10.

Can someone please get this poor reality tv star some shoes?
11.

Her hair looks nice, but where oh where is the rest of her shirt? I do not want to see her pale white freckled midriff. Ick.
12.

Love the new hair!
13.

Last but not least, this is one angry spandex wearing preggo.

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Is this the secret?

2008-08-20T14:07:00.004-04:00

I have two dogs. Right now they are both puppies, one is 1 year old and the other is 4.5 months old. My house feels like a zoo at times.

I have been a doggy mom for many years now though and often found myself watching The Dog Whisperer marathons late at night on National Geographic. I continue to be amazed by Caesar Millan and what he can do with crazy canines. His calm manner, his straighforward approach, his lack of a temper...he is incredible. (the exotic accent helps a bit too)

Today while I was at Petco trying to find a food my allergy ridden bulldog can eat (that's a whole other topic), I came across a rack filled with Dog Whisperer products. They carried fortified water for dogs, dry food, treats, beds, collars, leashes and books all created and marketed by Caesar Millan.

One item on the shelf was very interesting though...Dog Whisperer by Cesar Millan Relax Systemic Support for Dogs. Here's what the bottle claims...

What to Expect?
Reduced symptoms of stress and anxiety
Naturally helps your pet find its own level of calm without dulling or drowsiness

Hhhmmmmmm, a liquid supplement that is supposed to help relax dogs? Is this the trick he uses to work his magic?

I don't doubt he has a wonderful approach to working with dogs and their owners to develop behaviors that are healthy, but now I am wondering if all the dogs on the show have been given this magic potion. I can see it being used as an aid to get the dog in a state of calm enough to absorb his instruction and influence. However, I am feeling a bit less amazed at this point and a smidge ripped off.

I will never be able to watch The Dog Whisperer again without wondering if the dog was given a little shot of Caesar's Systemic Support Elixir before the training began.

~pop~ (that's the sound of Petco bursting my lil bubble)