More Layouts!

I was really in the grove yesterday! So I made a bunch! I love digi-scrapping.

 

This is a picture of my Sister-In-Law and my nephew Isaiah! I love this picture! The little guy actually sat still long enough for me to snap the picture!  I love it! The background paper in my favorite!

This was a real quick one!

This one took a bit longer. It's a double 8 X 10 layout. I do 8X10s for printing reasons. Our local print shops don't offer 8.5 X 11s. On the 2peas message board,I read about Scrapbookpictures.com. I'm thinking of giving it a try. The price for a 8.5 X 11 is very reasonable and with shipping is only slightly more expensive than printing out an 8X10 at our local shop. Their selection of print sizes seems to be really good, even 12X12. Yay! I store all of my layouts in a 12X12 ring binders. I like the look of having both sizes together.

Michael and I are visiting churches today! Yes, I said churches. We are checking out 3 today. I have dubbed this "Church Day #1." 

Try It: Scraplifted a layout from "52 More Scrapbooking Challenges" book.

A couple of months ago I picked up "52 more scrapbooking challenges" by Elizabeth Kartchner.  I instantly fell in love with the layout on page 21. While I wish I could show you the original layout from the book, I would be getting into all kinds of copyright laws and blah blah! So... just take my word that I found a lot of inspiration for this layout from the one in the book!

  

Here is another layout that I made today!

Menu Planning and What I'm Reading

Menu Planning

Fed up with eating out far to often, I have decided to actually plan meals. To many of you this may not be the most earth shattering idea. For our family it has really made a big difference. We are consuming much healthier foods.We are wasting less time thinking about what to have for dinner every night. Not to mention the less last minute trips to the grocery store eating up time.  

Each evening has a different theme.

Monday: Breakfast for Dinner

Tuesday: Crock Pot Dinners

Wednesday:Pasta or Casseroles

Thursday: World Food Night

Friday:Sandwich night!

The food is simple.With our busy work schedules it feels so nice to have a plan!

What I'm Reading!

I've recently been reading "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin. It is just what I need to be reading this time of year. The gloomies tend to creep in this time of year.Just by reading this book and thinking of the concept of being happy is making me happier. Speaking it into being? Maybe!

The author strives to make her life happier. Is that even possible? Without moving to a private island or other such radical life changes she wants to make her everyday life happy. She sets monthly goals such as  "Being Serious About Play" and "Pursue a Passion" to give her project a nice framework. 

The author came to the realization that she was in danger of "wasting her life away." I can relate to this. We can let the blah and drudgery of everyday get to you. Life can seem dull when all you do is just "exist" in a haze and not take the time to notice all the truly wonderful things going on. Being mindful and deliberate in the way you choose to act and feel. 

This book has been a real joy to read. The author writes in a manner that is easy to connect to. She is transparent and shares her challenges as well as her successes. I have been inspired to step out of my own "hum drum" life and try something new. 

So I am going to strive to try/make something new every week. A new recipe! A new craft project! Meeting someone new! I plan to document in this blog what new things that I am trying!

Off to bed!

Emily

1st Layout of 2010!

I have been slacking on scrapbooking. Here is a layout from my MIL's birthday weekend!

Things I've Learned

* Packing a lunch to bring to work can actually be easier than going out everyday (and cheaper and better on the hips and tummy)

* It's OK to be 30

* Being girly is fun (Like having a pink cellphone)

* Liking Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, and Rihanna music is OK! 

I usually listen to the radio on the way to work. There is this song called 

"The Climb" that just has such an awesome message. Never knew who the singer was until one day when the DJ announced that the artist was Miley Cyrus. So much for my street cred! :D

* Dancing around the house while cleaning makes the act bearable!

* Ziploc bags are genius! (So are Mr. Clean Magic Erasers) 

* Being "JUST OK" is not enough in life.

* Forget about "Street Cred"! Like what you like! Dislike what you dislike! I like country music, Facebook, books, National Public Radio, scrapbooking, taking pictures,blogs, and Star Gate!

* Just be yourself! Its easier than remembering who "they" think you should be!

A Disclaimer ( A Proclamation): I was in no way compensated by any person(s) or companies for including links to their websites. All opinions are the soul opinion of ME. If any companies such as Ziploc, Campbells, or Snapple would like to pay me, I might agree to some kind of payment arrangement! Ha! Ha! I would love to have a life-time supply of Ziploc bags!

Have a good night everyone!

Emily

Another Snow Day!

Yay! Another snow day! Woke up super early to get ready for work. I packed up my stuff and trudged to the car. Michael helped clean off the car for me and begged me to call into work. I had to at least give it a try to get to work. The school I go to on Monday is about an hour and ten minutes away from home (in good weather). So was not looking forward to the drive. Headed out! Took a half an hour to get to the grocery store that is a mile from home. Not a good sign. While in the grocery store, I got a call from work telling me to not risk trying to make it in from Ketucky. Phew! I called the Hubby to let him know I was on the way home. In that brief trip, I hit the curb and spun around. Thankfully the roads were empty. There was nobody around. Very strange! Another thankfully is that no damage was sustained and no injuries!

Michael and I finished the back room.Shhhhhhhhhhh.....Michael did most of the work. I sorted the stuff that he didn't know what to do with. Now the room looks amazing! Now he is attacking the closet in the living room! I think he has cabin fever!

My job is to go through my very large collection of magazine and take out the articles and things that I want to keep. I'm having a  hard time with all the scrapbooking magazine "SPECIAL ISSUES". I feel the need to keep them all.

Well, off to go make waffles for dinner! Monday night is "Breakfast for Dinner" night!

I'll leave you with a few picture that I took today!

Valentine's Day is in the little details

I love Valentine's day! Pink, Red, Lace, hearts, glitter,what is not to love? A few weeks ago in Scrapbooking club the kids made valentine wreaths. The room was aflutter with hearts, paper, glue, and ribbon! Tons of fun! I really love what the kids came up with. The blue and green wreath above was made by a 5th grade boy! Its exciting to have boys so excited about scrapbooking and paper crafting, just as much as girls!

This past week, the kids made valentine using the pictures that I took the week before. ADORABLE!

 Holidays in the classroom are one of the things I miss the most about being a classroom teacher. There is so much excitement in the air. The day of the holiday parties are usually the most crazy. This year was no exception. 

 With my current position as the traveling storyteller, I get the opportunity to visit over thirty classrooms each week. I really enjoy seeing all the little valentine details in the classrooms! The bulletin board where the teacher asked her Kindergarten class what they would do if they were cupid was especially darling.

I "crashed" a few of the classroom parties. 

This week in the storytime, the preschool children played "Pin the Lips on Mr. Heart". 

 

The Pre-Kindergarten children were very excited to work on a candy heart counting project. I gave each child a bag of fifteen candy hearts. They separated the candies by color and counted how many of each color they had. They then made a graph representing the amount of candy hearts for each color. The best part? Eating the candy hearts of course!

 

The best part of my job is getting to share books with close to 500 children each week. It warms my heart to see how excited the children get about books and reading. The children in this picture squealed with delight when I brought in this Big Book in with me.  They kept pointing at i and saying, "BIG BOOK!"

 

Here is a little treat that I made for Michael. It's super yummy!(I've had two pieces already!)

Goodnight and have a lovely Valentine's Day!

Snow and Kitchen Scissors

 

 This is what I woke up to outside my window. A lovely blanket of beautiful snow covering the ground and trees. I love snow!

Cleaning and organizing the kitchen took up most of the afternoon and early evening. There is something about having an organized house that can make you feel so much better. The only problem with that is actually keeping it clean. During the week things get so busy. By the time I get home at 7:15pm I'm usually pretty worn out from the day and the driving. The last thing I want to do is clean the house.Keeping organized is something that I struggle with. It's something that I've always struggled with. I remember my Mom throwing some of my stuff out on the front lawn because I forgot to put it away. I think she may have thought that would get me to pick up my stuff, but it didn't. I never really learned how to clean. My mother was so good at cleaning. I never took any interest in learning how to do it because she was just so good at it. I think cleaning and organizing was a hobby for her. Crazy!

Now that I've been married for 2 1/2 years and the ugly head of disorganization has shown up. I think if I could learn HOW to be organized I could be less stressed. I would be more productive in my work and creative endeavors. Where to start?

I've heard to start at one corner of a room and work around. I've heard to walk around with a basket and collect 35 things that are out of place and put them in the basket. Then put them away. Then you start again with another 35 things. Then there is the "Keep, Give away, and throw away" method. I have so many organizational books. I think part of my clutter problem has to do with the books that I buy or get from the library to help me deal with clutter is actually creating clutter. Ha! Ha!

While cleaning out the cart where we keep our tin foil, plastic wrap, and wax paper. I found 5 boxes of plastic wrap. Who needs that many boxes of plastic wrap? What can I do with that? I also found 3 boxes of wax paper. Now the cart looks so much better. Anybody want any plastic wrap?

 

Ode to My Kitchen Scissors!

 

Lovely red handles that match my kitchen colors

Cool steel blades

You are sometimes difficult to find

Cutting through those annoying plastic packaging with ease

You cut through cable ties like butter

I love how you make creating a bouquet of flowers a joy

Making a meal without you would be impossible

Thank you Kitchen Aid

Thank you Red Kitchen Scissors 

I think that we should get another pair.

Oh the joy of two pairs of Red Kitchen Scissors!

Hmmmm....Thats interesting

The other day I was at Kroger picking up milk, when I came across this, ummmm... interesting product. It's called the LilRinser. The idea behind this product is excellent. It made to keep shampoo out of children's eyes while their hair is being washed. What a great idea. My only pause is the whole look of this product. It seems to resemble a plastic mixing bowl sawed in half. It has a handy handle as well. I give the idea an A+. The look of the product gets a C- for just plain creepiness .  LilRinser has a very entertaining website. The videos are pretty humorous!

I wonder what parents of young children think about this product. Have you used it before? Does it work? 

 

That is the time I arrived home from work! So exciting! We are in the midst of a little snow storm here in Cincinnati. At about 3:15pm, I was told that I should go home to "beat the crazy rush" back to Kentucky! How nice was that to actually be home before 7:30pm. Yahoooooooooooo!!!  I picked up Michael from work, we went grocery shopping, and got Chinese food. I was actually eating dinner at 6:00pm.  It was fantastic what a special treat on a Friday afternoon.

Is it me or is everyone expecting a baby right now?

It seems that the stork is circling the schools where I work. Everyone is expecting, except me and the 6 or so men who work there. Ok...I may be exaggerating a little, but it seems that a baby bump is the new style statement at work. Some people are even joking that it must "be in the water". I laugh, but I long for it to be me.

I have been reading "What to Expect Before Your Expecting". Very informative and overwhelming. All the things you have to think about would make anybody dizzy. We are not actively trying. To be honest the whole idea scares me. While I really long to be a mommy, I fear trying and failing. Does that make any sense? By not trying, I don't get hurt or disappointed. On the flip side you can't win the game if you are not playing.

 

My yummy breakfast made me happy today. I love oatmeal with bananas! Soooo yummy and so comforting!

Daily Happiness

Ms. Vickie gave me this necklace today! What a lovely surprise!

Daily Happiness Days 1-3

Working on a new take on the project 365. Everyday I want to remember something that brought be happiness!! Here are days one through three.

Michael and I surprised  his mother for her 60th birthday! She was shocked when we showed up on Friday afternoon. On Sunday, we had a surprise party for her at Applebee's. When we walked in she was excited to see all of her grandchildren. Then she noticed some other people waving at her. She thought she recognized them. In fact, she did know them! It was great to surprise someone who had no idea!

On Monday we drove back to Kentucky. Michael made me happy by doing most of the driving! Being able to sleep made me very happy!

Three days a week, I have a scrapbooking club for school-age children at some after-school programs. This week I am having a photo shoot of the kids holding a large paper heart. With my photo editing program I went back in and added in the "Happy Valentine's Day!". Next week the kids will be making valentine's cards with their pictures!

Yahoo!!!!

Back home in Kentucky after surprising my Mother-in-law for her 60th birthday! We got her good! Back later with a full blog post!