Gas - URGH!! For the truck - not me LOL!!!

I know you have probably seen these before, but since I just put $65 worth of gas in my truck and didn't even get to half a tank I thought these were appropriate LOL!! I also have a winner picked for the RAK and since I already have her address, I will post a pic of her gift later this afternoon and you all can guess who is getting it LOL!!!!!!

Where Did My Babies Go???

So, I have about 100 or so rolls of film that still needs to be developed. One would think that I would be bringing in a roll or 2 every week, but not me LOL!! They are put away so I rarely remember that I have them LOL!! But I did remember yesterday bcuz Walgreens had a coupon in their paper that you could get a roll developed free. WOOHOO - I brought 1 roll in the morning and the guy said that I could also use the .99 CD coupon as well - so the developing and the CD only cost .99! WOW. I love the CD's, especially with film that I know is older. With the CD, I can edit and crop and take out red eye, etc. So anyway, DH brought a roll to another W and they wouldn't let him use a coupon for the CD since the developiong was free :P LOL! but my girls brought in a roll each to the same place I went and they were allowed to use them - who knows. So in all, I got 4 rolls developed free, 1 roll I paid for, and then I have 4 .99 CD's!! I was a happy girl - so here are a few of those photos - the rolls were back from 2000!!! OMG! I really need to start getting these developed!!!!!!!! But as you can see my babies are not longer babies - scroll done for current pics. These picutures are a bit grainy because I enlarged them.

A at 2

The Girls

S was 7 and M was 9

JJ just turned 5 - it's his b-day in the pic

And finally - T was 3

Where has the time gone!!!!

READ THE POST BELOW AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE RAK - LEAVE A COMMENT BY APRIL 15TH!!!!!

New Layouts and Books and Scrapbook Goodies and a RAK!!

The sun is finally shining today and even though it is chilly - it's not too bad! A little warmer (30 degrees) and it would be the most wonderful day!! My typing is getting better - as I have better control over my fine motor skills - the fingers get tired very quickly though. So along with the caps in my post - there will probably be several typos!! :P

Mandi finally decided on a prom dress - holy cow - the $$$$ - but I guess you only go to prom once and to the girls it is a huge deal, and it makes her happy, and she is paying for most of it LOL!! Not that is funny, but she is learning very fast the value of money. She has the one in the middle - it is aqua in color and is gorgeous!! The "poofy" styles are back in - I haven't seen them since we (meaning my age) went to high school - and even then - I didn't have a "poofy" gown. There are going to have to be a few alterations in the hem because she is so darn tiny. I really like that a lot of the dresses now have lace up backs, like this one. Not so many alterations have to be done on the sides then because you can adjust the lacing.

I went shopping the other day and bought tons of new stamps. Generally I am not a stamper, but I have seen so may gorgeous cards online lately, that I couldn't help myself. I have so much as far as scraps of paper is concerned and I hate to toss it - so I think cards would be good!! And the fact that there was a really GOOD sale at the store that I went to helped LOL! I also bought a new embossing folder for my Cuttlebug - I love this machine and have since gotten rid of my hand squeeze quickutz, the sidekick and the big red sizzix machine. I don't think I have had an easier die cut machine with more possibilities than the Cuttlebug.

These 2 sets are my FAVORITE!! Of course the cupcakes would be LOL! but I love the birds and owl on the other set - I also just ordered some stamps from Verve Visuals. I just had to have it after I saw Amber's cards that she made with it.

http://stampingscrapbooker.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/scrapnextras-da.html
Someday, I promise I will learn how to make the link just say one word LOL!

I have not made may cards, but have been so inspired by Amber's blog and her cards and then to blog surf through hers - oh my!!! Those girls are TALENTED!

NEW LAYOUTS

I BOUGHT NOTHING NEW FOR THESE!!

I am sort of on a mini spending freeze as far as scrapbook supplies are concerned. I did a quick inventory of my office that you can hardly walk into and decided that I have enough papers and "STUFF". So now I am limiting myself to stamps and cuttlebug products. Oh and some of the new quickutz revolution die cuts BUT those are things that I will use over and over and over again!

BEAUTIFUL SARAH

BOYS AND THEIR TOYS

SUMMER SASSY SARAH

PUPPY LOVE

SPIRIT

PRACTICE

BASKETBALL SUPERSTAR

The girls and I also had some great crafting time together over Easter. We altered some frap bottles for gifts. Sarah didn't get to make any because she was working and homework, but I guess I could just drink some more so she can have some bottles to work with LOL!!

The first bottle with is done with Easter egg fabric appliques and bling! This one was for Mary. The second bottle with the blue eggs was for Pam. The bottles that Allie made are in the 3rd picture - how cute are those - the flowered bottle was for me :) and the superman was for DH (everyone calls him Super Dave so we "collect" superman stuff for him lol! - and notice the CRAB on top of his LOL!!!!!). The last picture of the bottle is on that I made for Linda (with the bunnies) and the one with flowers - Mandi made for her boyfriend's Mom. She gave it to her on Easter Sunday as a hostess thank you. They had tons of family over the guys started calling her Mini Martha LOL! So I do have some more bottles in works - some have Charlie Bears going in to them (doggy treats) and one has a ring of monkeys on it, and you never know where they may end up - my house - your house - the neighbors house LOL!! So if you leave a comment - make sure you tell me your favorite candy!

FAVORITE READS

And of course I have been reading as well!! When don't I??!! I can't wait for this one - The Hollow by Nora Roberts. It is the 2nd book of the Signs of Seen Trilogy and is due out on May 6th!! You gotta read it!!


And Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyers is coming out on August 2nd! This is the 4th in the Twilight series - There is Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and now Breaking Dawn. Now I know that typically you would think that this is a teenage/young adult series. It really is not though. The characters are younger - but I think that the series are suitable for ALL ages to read. I let my 12 year old read them, as well as my 14 and 17 year olds. AND ME - but I'm not gonna tell you hold old I am! LOL

Currently, I am reading The Mane Event by Shelly Laurenston - I just started it, but it seems like it will be ok. It is about a Pride of gorgeous shapeshifting lions and about all I know so far is that the "mane" character is a retired Navy Seal and has to shave his head everyday otherwise his mane grows back LOL!! and he is hot for the female detective that is investigating a murder at his sister's house. If I like this one, the next in the series is

This one is dependant on if I like the first one enough to read it. It is different in the fact that it is a Pride of lions - typically, in these types of stories, it is wolves as the shifters.

So if you know me - even semi-well - you know that I am not a big fan of Martha's - not that I don't like what she does or what she makes - it's just that I don't have a lot of time or patience for the projects she does. A lot of her projects and recipes are older-fashioned IMHO and there are just not enough hours in the day -(that is one reason why I don't do flower arranging anymore - not cost effective enough for the time that it takes) BUT when I saw her new COOKIE Book, I was in heaven!!! I had to have this book - it has some of the yummiest cookies ever!!! So as I try new recipes, I will let you know how they are. Oh and although I never watch her show, I did happen to catch a glimpse of it on TV last night AND she was making CUPCAKES - so i watched my first Martha episode last night and then went to her website this morning to find the recipe for these coconut cupcakes she was making and am going to try them this weekend!! cupcakes and coconut - what could be better??!! And she has this video slide show of all her favorite cupcakes and cupcake shops! I am slowly changing my mind about watching Martha - at least for her cupcake week!! Cupcakes and cookies are the one thing that I will spend more than 30 minutes in kitchen for!!!
http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3e37788aa306c4df62fc95103373a0a0/?vgnextoid=d5a9080aae2e8110VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default

Ok, so I am off to do some spring cleaning. My littlest DD has grown soooo much over the past year that I HAVE to go through her clothes and get rid of. Plus - and I know I am not the only Mom who does this - BUT I still have all my kids toys so we are having a HUGE garage sale this spring - everything is going - none of the girls play with barbies anymore, the boys don't play with any toys so all theirs can go - it will be HUGE!!! Do you all watch the show "CLEAN HOUSE" on the Style network - OMG this is my new favorite show - I LOVE IT!! http://www.mystyle.com/mystyle/shows/cleanhouse/index.jsp If you have not watched this show, please try to catch an episode - they have some really good tips and budget-wise design style!! I love the newer cast - the designer is awesome! So I am doing a "CLEAN HOUSE" on my house - now granted my house does not look anything like the ones on the show (well, except maybe for my office and Al's closet, and the sunroom LOL) but I am taking a lot from the organizer and putting it to use in my home! Maybe I'll post some before and after photos! and maybe not LMAO!! They also have a cool yard sale kit on the site we can download for tips to making some $$$.

Ok, last but not least, since you have read this entire post LOL! I am giving away a RAK. It is almost a year since I have had my blog, and you all have been sharing my stressed and not so stressful times with me, so I am going to thank you by offering a RAK - just leave me a comment and on the 15th - Allie will pick a winner. And don't forget to tell me what kind of candy (that would fit into a bottle) you like just in case you are on the "list" to get one.

Don't send a lame eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

College Bound

I just read a post on another blog about a mom bringing her daughter back to college after spring break. M has 1 more year of high school left and then she is off to college. This past week, we brought her for a tour of one of the biggest colleges here which is about 1 1/2 hours away. Not a horrible drive so we could go get her on the weekends, but the campus is sooo huge. 983 acres of land. It is so huge that they have an "urban" side and a "country green" side. And that is exactly how our tour guide described it. It is a beautiful campus right off the lake, but I just don't know if I am ready to let her go yet LOL!!! I know I can't stop her from growing up and am so proud of her for her high school accomplishments, that I know that she will succeed in college, but is just hard to let her grow up and move out. Oh well, better get used to it as there are 4 more after her URGH! LOL

Happy Easter to All My Bloggin' Buddies!

What LoriAnn Means

You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow. You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily. Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is. You are well rounded, with a complete perspective on life. You are solid and dependable. You are loyal, and people can count on you. At times, you can be a bit too serious. You tend to put too much pressure on yourself. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Lots of Things

wow, it has been awhile since i last updated!! i am getting over the last of pneumonia - YUCK! that really sucked!!! still have the cough and don't like to be outside - the cold helps the lungs but then as soon as i walk back inside i cough for 1/2 hour. - will be glad when it gets a bit warmer - and stays warmer so this totally goes away - the coughing in no way helps my back or neck AT ALL!!!! anyway, what's been going on??!! well, first of all, i have some pics for mary!!! haha lol!!

told you i would think about you while eating krispy kreme doughnuts!! lol! really, i only ate the bottom two - i only like the maple frosted ones. but the kids and dh devoured the rest - m came home with 2 dozen of them.i have also decided that i have a new addiction to cupcakes - not that i want to eat them, but the cake decorating techniques on them are amazing - and i love the cupcake towers - i think this is a much better way to serve birthday cake - especially to little ones lol!! so i went to the competitors book store over the weekend and picked up

i am going to start collecting cupcake cook books. i think eating a cupcake is a bit healthier than eating a piece of cake anyway - this way i can control the portion size that my kids are eating. if i make a 9x13 cake - i have caught jj eating 1/4 of it at a time - he says he can handle it cuz he is 5'6" and only 120 lbs. - but how am i supposed to explain to ty who is about 4 inches shorter and 30 lbs heavier that jj can have it but he can't - they are only 11 and 12 so they just don't get it yet - so cupcakes are solving that problem - although i was thinking that if i make 24 cupcakes, jj will just eat 3 of them and my friend mary pointed out that if i don't frost them all, i can freeze the rest!!! and with cupcakes - if i try a recipe and the kids are not thrilled about it - dh can bring the rest to work - i would never send a half-eaten cake with him, but cupcakes - yeppers!!

while at the "other" store i also picked up

now i would get these at my store - IF we carried them - but we don't - we usually carry papercrafts - but i have not even seen that one lately. so i got my fix of scrap magazine. ya know, if i was smart, i would just get subscriptions to them and save $$$$$ - but i don't always want each month - some just don't thrill me - i supposed it would still be cheaper and i could RAK the ones that i don't need.

so on monday, i got a fabulous package in the mail from RITA!! she had an 80's song challenge on her blog and i guessed right on one of the songs and her dd picked my name YEAH!!! here is a pic of all the great things that she sent me.

lots of rub-ons and chipboard, which are 2 of my favorite things to scrap with! thank you so much rita - you are tooooo awesome!! so since you have totally sparked some mojo - i did some pages with these great items - on the first one (kiss) i used the chipboard and rub-ons from rita and then some flowers from nancy! the second (life) i used some chipboard from rita and letters that i had received from nancy in a swap. and then the third (chicks dig me) was just one to fullfill the march commitment club - it was actually the one i had done first lol!

other than that, not much else has been going on. i went back to work - two, 4 hour days a week - and basically - i don't move for the rest of the night after getting home. i am dealing with this but is getting old really fast!! the back pain is no better - legs still go numb - and at the most inconvenient times. can't get out of my truck, right leg first cuz the leg gives out - can't go up and down stairs, can't lift anything - really sucks, but we will get through this - will just take some time!

oh, i have also been reading - (what's new right lol)

i just finished Sylvia Day's Heat of the Night - Dream Guardians, Book 2 - this is a great book, but i think needs some better editing. ok, so i speed read, but i usually don't miss details and there just seems to be some small gaps. i swear i read where they were standing on one side of the room and then in the very next sentence they were on the couch but never a statement as to why/how they got there - just a bit choppy - but that could just be me - however, this is a great story and i think she will have an awesome series here. i think there needed to be a bit more of the good vs. evil fighting - it went very quickly in this second book. i read the entire 256 page book in less than 3 hours, and than included me making dinner while reading. i think it would do much better as a mass market size instead of trade - i say this because a lot of my paranormal customers just will not buy a trade size book - they feel they can wait the 9 months to 1 year for it to come out in mass market. why spend $14 on a book when there are so many to choose from and they can wait and then pay $8. all that being said - she has hit upon a great series here - hot good guys - potentially very evil bad guys - basic and raw "extracirricular activities" without being overly done and drawn out - no wierd stuff - plus she has enough characters to continue with a kenyon type series. each is an individual, but needs the previous stories characters to complete the entire line. i didn't loose track of what happened in the first book and she gave great hints as to what was coming in the third.

i also am half way through Dakota Cassidy's Accidental Werewolf. Dakota's books are usually extrememly spicy but she has hit mainstream with this one and toned it down a bit - and you know what - it is not missed. like i said i am only half way through and i feel there is a bit too much "thinking" by the main character (marty) - but then she has just been bitten, and turned into a werewolf so i suppose there should be a lot of irrational though by marty. i am totally loving said irrational thoughts by marty - Dakota is hilarious as she describes this "tail" of a dilemma (you'll have to read the book to know what that means lol)
If you are looking for something real - and i mean really real - you should check out A Women in Berlin. this book was written anonymously for obvious reasons. it is an sad story that i would never have picked up myself, but a friend that i work with had recommended it to me. check it out here http://www.amazon.com/Woman-Berlin-Eight-Weeks-Conquered/dp/B0013TFBJM/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205332322&sr=1-11

and last but not least, Janet Evanovich's FEARLESS FOURTEEN will hit the bookshelves on June 17!!!!!!!!!

i am off to catch up on my favorite blogs and get some pork in the crock pot - see ya!!!!!

been tagged

i have been tagged by miss rita

The tag works like this --
1.Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2.Open the book to page 123.
3.Find the fifth sentence.
4.Post the next three sentences.
5.Tag five people.

ok, um can't repeat this book, or this one - JUST KIDDING LOL!!! well, maybe
actually, the closest book to me is not one of mine. It is Double Fudge by Judy Blume

"i remember." he looked up at me. "how about you, pete? where you ever famous?"
ok, so that is four sentences, but i had to finish the quotes!! I tag - missy, jolene, mary, valeri, and jen!!

Older Layouts

i thought that i would post some of my favorite older layouts. i have many more than just this, but this is what i could get to quickly. there is a surprise in this slide show for missy!!! i have been getting my cute little punchart girls and boys from missy for a long time - all the way back to the jangle.com days lol! she is such a talented artists and i just love her paper piecings. i have purchased other paper piecings online and unfortunately never remember who they came from, but i can always tell one of missy's. now she is also making the cutest tear bears. i do have a post somewhere on this blog with pics of those that i have gotten from her. missy has an ebay shop, and if you want to visit her and get any of her gorgeous tear bear creations, here is her link http://members.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid=missymadeit
in the above slide show, there are layouts featuring a gingerbread man, a baseball player, raggedy ann - missy style and a little happy birthday dude. like i said, this is not all i have from her - i will post more as i get them ready!


also, in the news - lol - my friend mary has started a new blog which she will be reviewing some of the books that she is reading. i will also be contributing to this new blog with reviews. and since we both work in a book store, eventually, there should be a lot of reviews on this blog. mary typically reads cozy mysteries and i have been a bad influence on her and have gotten her hooked on paranormal romances - sorry mary - NOT!! lol!! she also keeps more up-to-date on author happenings and releases than i do, so if you are wondering about something - check out her blog and she may have already posted an answer. http://booksmaryfindsinteresting.blogspot.com/

new layouts for the week

these are the layouts i did this week - the grumpy so fits dh!!!! the sarah is for my bom - book of me - i want to do a page with each of the kids. and i know the first two in this post might seem a bit odd, but they are also for my bom. in an effort to start feeling better, i have decided that whatever lifestyle changes that i can make, i will do. and since the dishes were so yummy i had to scrap them. i am trying to journal on a daily basis how i am feeling and thought that this would be a good idea to remind me that is not hard to eat healthier. i have not journaled the names and details yet, but i thought i would add the recipes to the back of the page. and yes, i did make all of those dishes myself. we have been eating a lot of whole wheat pasta and shrimp lately. and i also found that when i made the fried rice, if i serve it as shown i don't need to have anything else with it. my kids thought it was cool to eat it like a taco in the romaine leaves. hey - whatever works - cuz eventhough we love egg rools and crab ragoon - i know we don't need the extra calories and fat. the marinara on the shrimp is a recipe from tyler florence at foodtv.com and actually the fried rice is from there too. it is from robin miller's show. of course i did have to change them a bit to fit our tastes - and boy did they taste good lol! the dish on the 2nd page is a recreation of something that my dh got at the outpost health food grocery store. if anyone would like the recipes, leave me a coment and i will post them in the next week.

this is going to be a very short post tonight - i have to go pick up my kids at the movies. s came home from work tonight and decided to take ty and al to the movies - how sweet!

almond blueberry cookies for valentine's day

so, dh and i were supposed to have a lovely romantic lunch for valentine's day and then he was going for a root canal - but they moved his appointment up to right after work so we had to postpone our lunch. he asked for it last night, but i would not make it because he could barely chew cottage cheese, let alone steak and i had gotten a bottle of wine - which is extrememly rare for us - and he was on pain meds, so i did not want to mix the two. he has already called me this morning to make sure that i was making it today lol. anyway i had already started this new recipe that i saw on everyday italian on food network, so i had to finish baking them. when i was making the dough i was drooling all over because they smelled soooooo yummy. i changed the recipe slightly, so if you want the original, you'll have to look it up on foodtv.com, but i don't think i changed it enough to change the taste from her recipe.

one of the changes i made was the amount of lemon zest - i could not find my zester, and my hands were not working well enough to cut it into small enough pieces.

next was toasting and chopping the almonds. mandi gave me the papmered chef chopper last year for my birthday - it is the most awesome thing for things like this - and if you don't chop toasted almonds often - it is easier to chop them after you have toasted them. they are at a softer stage while they are still warm.
you can see i couldn't the lemon zest very small, lol - but dh said it did not matter.


these come out to be pretty big cookies so i only put 6 on at a time. i used the big scoop from pampered chef and it makes the perfect size cookie - about 3 1/2 inches - YUM

and here is the final product - lol - they are almost gone - only made about 18 cookies, but that is ok. i like them because they are very fresh tasting with the blueberries and lemon. the only tip that i have is to use frozen blueberries - which i did - but i think using them less thawed out would be better. when folding them in mostly thawed, your batter will turn purple and that looks kinda funny. so i put mine in still half frozen. the batter has to sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking, so they even if they do not completely thaw - your still sticking them in a hot oven. so here is the recipe the way i made it - like i said - not a huge change - only the extract, milk, and the addition of lemon juice. i also used a large scoop so i baked mine for exactly 15 minutes.

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg york

1/4 milk

1 1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoons lemon zest

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted

1 cup frozen blueberries, just slighlty thawed and drained

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Add egg and beat to incorporate. Add milk, almond extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the almonds, then the blueberries. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. When to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Dollop mix onto cookie sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.