last day of the month

I'm so happy that it really is the last day of January. This has been such a wild month and I hope that February ushers in a calmer less intense month for myself and my family. Only 1 layout to go for my month long picture a day project.

The good thing that I did today was to clear out a huge stack of scrapbooking papers that have been sitting in my "maybe" pile. Maybe I'll use them or maybe I'll donate them. Well a girlfriend called me up with a scrapbooking question and she needed a couple of pieces of cardstock...and since I practically have a store in my house... Any way, I decided to pack up this huge pile of paper and bring along the 2 pieces of cardstock that she needed. I told my girlfriend that she could have it all , that I was culling the herd and taking out stuff I know that I won't use for one reason or another. She was thrilled and wouldn't just let me give it to her. Hey I made some pocket money, had a wonderful mug of real made from scratch hot chocolate (it was seriously delicious!!!). I had a great afternoon and spent it in good company!

Now I'm off to clean up after dinner and to hang out with my husband and children. Did I mention that I started making our change of address cards? Oh yeah! Now to work on getting a new address, LOL!

Where do we go from here?

That question has long been on our minds. So we found out what's going on with our move...basically nothing. So it's now official, we're staying here and our son can finish all 4 years at the same high school. Just about every move we have ever done has been with the best interest of our children in mind. When you think about it, our decision to live on base was about the kids going to the best schools in the area. So now with the news that we'll be finishing out my husband's Air Force career here, why not buy a house and still live in the area with the best schools. Now it's official...we're looking to buy a house!

A day without Hot Water

There's nothing quite like an icy shower to get you up and screaming first thing in the morning. For some time now our water heater has been acting a little finicky and today it just didn't want to provide us with any hot water. We had someone come out form housing maintenance to work on it...lets see if it produces hot water now. It could be that the thermostat has stopped working and might need to be replaced. So in a couple of hours I might be able to get a shower...I don't know yet.

This morning it's cold outside, a whopping -8º with the windchill index...w/o the windchill it's a whole 0º and that's just too cold for me! I'm going to make some Chai Tea and maybe whip up some scones...that sure sounds yummy! Then it's off to the computer to get some photo printing and journaling done for my picture a day project.

Thought of the week...

"Humor is everywhere, in that there's irony in just about anything a human does."  

 

~Bill Nye  

 

 

It's Monday like no other...

As I look at this blustery Monday I have my friends here at Ellsworth AFB on my mind. This is the first full day that their husbands and wives are gone on their 6 month deployment for the war effort. I know that for many of the spouses that this is their first deployment. Six months is a long time, but with the many support groups here available to them they will make it through this tough time...none of them are alone in this. I will be doing my part as a friend, key spouse and mentor to help these families to maintain a level of harmony and happiness in their homes. I've been there, I know how lonely it can be, especially the first deployment...it's rough. Please keep these families in your thoughts and prayers.

It's blustery, there's no doubt about that! The wind is howling around 40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. In other words...if you don't need to be outside, do go outside! I went and chased down my neighbors trash cans and brought them back to the front of her house. Why her sons don't help her out is beyond me. But I'm not about to let those garbage cans go flying down the road and damage someones automobile and then have my neighbors get in trouble for it...there's no need for it. So, I suited up against the freezing temperatures and got those cans!

We have Girl Scouts this afternoon and our topic today is eating disorders. I can't drive this topic home enough. Eating disorders start in girls as young as 10years old. It's scary to think that they could see themselves being anything other than normal, but it happens and more frequently then we care to think about.

I went to a crop on Saturday afternoon with the ESG (enlisted spouses group). I had a terrific time! I plan to attend their monthly crops. They meet at the chapel annex the last Saturday of every month. I'm trying to talk them into a pot luck where we all bring something to share and the organizer of this event (my friend Heather) seemed to think that it was a good idea. And you know that I'd make a "special" chesecake for them :-)

Okay now for some HOT tea because it is cold city USA out here today!

Award Banquet...

Here we are, My husband Lucien is on the left and our friend Joe is on the right. It was a wonderful awards ceremony and it left me feeling good about the Air Force and everything about the military. I love seeing civilians and military members being recognized for their hard work and especially the volunteers and their work in our military community. My friend Heather won an award for civilian volunteer of the year...way to go Heather! I'll be seeing Heather tomorrow at a scrapbooking crop hosted by the enlisted spouses group here on base, that reminds me...I need to get some stuff together for the crop :-)
Alright...it's time to get changed out of the fancy clothes and get the ole pj's on, grab a hot mug of tea and unwind from a fabulous evening. I still have an ear to ear smile on my face about seeing Joe again...he's still the same...just as humble and as nice as he ever was :-)

Another formal event...

I love getting dressed up for these formal military events. Everyone in their best looks, and the military mess dress is so sharp looking! I'm bringing my camera tonight as I am hoping to get pictures of folks that are dressed up and one of my husband and I would be nice to have and maybe General Mudd will let me take a picture of Lucien and him together too.
Tonight our speaker is Brigadier General Joe Mudd, the exciting part is that we actually know this guy! We know him from Lucien's assignment at Loring AFB, Maine (that base is now closed) back in the days when my husband was a B-52 Navigator. AAhhh the memories! Well off I go to get dressed and to be ready when my spouse gets home.

No School Today

I never remember having days off from school like my kids do. Today is an in service day for the teachers. That must really be hard for those that have children at home, especially when both parents work or a single parent home. I suppose that's when you either take your kids to work with you or you have a friend take them under her wing for the day.

Here we are...it's windy (when isn't it though). Yesterday was a beautiful day reaching 58º now today is not going to be as warm and delightful as yesterday was but I will encourage my kids to ride their bikes to the park none the less.

I shall work on the pile of scrapbook projects that I didn't get time to work on because of my gabbiness at yesterdays crop. I did manage to get some things done but not to the extent that I had planned for myself. I will finish up my picture a day layouts. I saved them especially to do at this crop and all I managed to do was to crop the pictures and cut the journaling blocks into size...nothing else.

My coffee pot is calling me...Oh do I need some more of that wonderful brown liquid!

My Cookbook Nook: Sandie's Turtle Cheesecake

My Cookbook Nook: Sandie's Turtle Cheesecake

My Cookbook Nook: Baked Potato Soup

My Cookbook Nook: Baked Potato Soup

Fun Fun Fun!

WOW! We had an awesome time scrapbooking today! I laughed and laughed! Lunch was great, the Baked Potato Soup was superb and the Turtle Cheesecake was out of this world! Friends Kristine and Georgia brought extra pages to work on, Kim was just in time for lunch and then we made the recipe pages. I was so happy to see that my friends liked what I had put together for them. I’ll take pictures of the pages we did and post the recipes to my cookbook nook blog. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy having these ladies over and putting this kind of thing together for them. It’s fun to let your hair down and to just have fun with your friends while doing things that you all enjoy. I feel so motivated that I’m going back upstairs and am going to finish what I started in my scrapbooking frenzy today. I saved up all of my picture a day pages to put together today. I cut the journaling and the pictures cut to size, now to stick it all together.

I give thanks to the Lord for good friends, good food and good conversation. It’s moments like these (spending quality time with good friends) that I truly cherish.

QuicKutz

I don't know about you but I'm a gadget and tool person. From the kitchen to the scrapbook nook I love gadgets and tools! My QuicKutz tool and dies are no exception. I'm not saying that it's better than my Sizzix, no not even close. What I am saying is that they compliment one another, I can't think of one without thinking of the other. I love the compact shape and the portability aspect of the QuicKutz but seriously folks...I'm not about to take it to a crop. It's just one less thing to worry about losing or getting broken.

So today we're making recipe pages for our recipe scrapbook. The die cutter of choice today is QuicKutz. Why QuicKutz instead of Sizzix, it's the dies themselves. The garden tools dies (a spade and a hand rake) are perfect for the Baked potato soup recipe page with has garden themed paper on it, which happens to have a hand rake and a spade (too cute). The other is the Honu, the Hawaiian word Turtle. The design is of a Hawaiian origin of a Sea Turtle. When we were in Hawaii in 2005 we saw this design everywhere we went. So I thought that it was very appropriate for this recipe layout.

The variety of shapes and designs from QuicKutz is amazing! Granted they are small but you know what, they're perfect for making cards or when you need a small accent on a scrapbook layout. I called the lss (local scrapbooking store) that carries QuicKutz dies and asked if they had the die I was looking for (the spade and hand rake) they did and they put it aside for me. I grabbed the car keys and I was out the door! There's nothing like a 25% off sale when you need a little tool! I didn't buy any scrapbooking anything but that die! So I'm staying with my plan of not buying supplies. A little die now and again won't hurt my budget or my plans to reduce the paper and cardstock supply. Actually it helped me to reduce the pile a bit :-) So with that in mind, I want to tell you all that I made 14 page kits with paper and cardstock that I have on hand. I feel pretty darn good about getting this paper out of my scrapbook nook and into a great project! I used up some of my terrific scraps of Bazzill cardstock for the die-cuts. I feel pretty good with it all today! Yup I'm reducing and sharing with others...what a great feeling! Hey here's an enabler alert...need some QuicKutz dies? Head on over to Scrappin Ladies 2 in Rapid City (Pierre too for that matter) as they have all QuicKutz items on sale for 25% off!!!!

Bazzill Basics Paper Company

Ever since I was first introduced to Bazzill Cardstock in 2000 I was hooked on it! I instantly fell head over heals in love with the rainbow of colors and the texture (talk about out of this world) not to mention that it was a "meatier" cardstock. Unlike the no name brand that I had been using that came from places such as Michael's Arts & Crafts and Hobby Lobby, this stuff was something else! It seems that they would come out with something new every few months. I remember when they came out with the monochromatic packs of cardstock...I bought every single one in 12x12 and the 8½x11 packs! Granted I was working at the time at a scrapbooking store and received a terrific price on the stuff.
It's now 2007 and let me tell you, Bazzill Basics Paper Company still rocks! The myriad of colors and textures that they produce is phenomenal! I can't seem to get enough of it! I'm happy with the fact that all 3 scrapbooking stores here in town carry Bazzill Basics Paper. Check them out at a scrapbook store near you, I think that you will find that you will LOVE it! Now only if they would sell some of the fancy edged cardstock from Bazzill...LOL!

Toss, Sell or Donate...just do it!

Yesterday afternoon I started pulling out all kinds of scrapbooking items and sorted them by what I wanted to do with them... I have the following piles of stuff; give away to friends, donate to a charity, sell it on e-bay or our local thrift shop and of course the ever so popular just toss it in the trash!. I have idea books (hard cover), albums, paper, embellishments and more. These are things I'm keeping around Why? If there aren't at least 10 ideas in any one given idea book that I want to try out then why bother keeping them, they are just taking up space. And as you all know, space is at a premium here in My Scrapbook Nook. I figure that some of these can fetch a decent penny and others...we'll I'll check to see if any friends want them, if not then off to the trash they go!

Lets face it, as women we hold on to all stuff (be it scrapbooking stuff or old clothes) because of the following reasons;
1-we remember how much we paid for it
2-Oh the memories
3-it looks cool on the shelf or on the hanger
4-Wow how impressive to show everyone how much cardstock I have (even though more than half of it is of inferior quality that you would never use in a million years)
5-someone gave it top you and you don't want to insult them by getting rid of it
6- it might come back in style


I say lets work past these reasons and just get rid of it!!!!

You won't believe what I just found...

I'm so embarrassed but I'm confessing the truth and am admitting it right now...I just found 4 more albums, 1- 6x6, 1- 8x8, 1- 8½x11 and 1- 12x12 album. Oh yeah, it's a sickness, Scrapbooking supplies Hoarders disease, LOL! I have no clue as to what I even was doing having them where they were. SO here we go, I'm going to give these gems to a good home. Maybe I'll sell off some of the extra stuff I have and make a few $$. By them time I get round to using some of this stuff I'll be in my 90's, LOL!!!

Alright I'm going back into the trenches...I'll keep you updated on other long lost treasures that I find.

Taking Inventory of My Scrapbook Nook...

I bet if we all started to take inventory of what we actually have on hand we would be floored! I started going through my stock of empty scrapbook albums. Oh my gosh! I have 16 (that's sixteen) 12x12 empty albums, I've got 11 (eleven) empty 6x6 albums and 2 more that are in the process of being filled. Then there's my 8x8 albums...Oh my gosh I've got almost as many of them! And of course the odd ball 8½x11 album, got it at an OSC function. I've got to get off of my duff and get cracking on these albums! I have all sorts of little projects running through my head for these small albums. I am a bit taken back with how many albums I currently own, that's a lot of albums!

Now for me to start going through things like printed paper, cardstock and of course embellishments. If I know what I have, I am less likely to go out and purchase more. I think that everyone would be less apt to spend money knowing that they have the same thing or at least something very similar at home. I've got a stamp inventory, so I know what I have there. Creating that inventory was an eye opening experience, until then I never really realized how many stamps I truly owned. I've not bought a stamp since September 2006, not even one that was on clearance.

Now as you're all wondering... how does one amass a collection like this? Well it certainly wasn't done all at once I can tell you that much. It's nothing more than shopping at good sales and buying items that went on clearance. I know that the majority of my 6x6 K&Company album collection came from the clearance isle at Hobby Lobby. They were seriously marked down deals that I obviously couldn't pass up, LOL! It's a lot of money that I've spent over time so it doesn't feel like I spent that much. Start adding up what you have and you'll soon realize you've got a small fortune tied up on those unused supplies that are hanging out gathering dust and taking up space. So lets get on it and make the commitment to use what you have!!!

Making a dent in my scrapbooking stash

Okay I took the weekend off now what...I'm back in my scrapbook nook working on getting my overlays into 12x12 page protectors and into a 3 ring album for storage. I read an article on organizing and this was one of the suggestions...I like the idea but don't know if I really have room for it in my scrapbook nook. I have limited space and frankly a 12x12 binder of sorts just will not fit in here, LOL! But I have room in one of 2 places, my armoire or the linen closet. Well the more I think about it, I think that the linen closet is nearing maximum capacity. I don't know how much longer I can stand being in such confined quarters. So with that very thought in mind I'm making every effort to use the supplies that I have on hand to make a dent in my stash and hopefully free up some space in my scrapbook nook.
I admit it, I'm a scrapbook supply hoarder, it's a harsh word but there it is. I've really got to stick to my no buy commitment use up these supplies and not buy more paper or embellishments other than adhesive to complete a project that is in the works. Lets face it, the scrapbook industry thrives off of those of us that buy the merchandise but never use them or only use a select few items that are in our stash. Why are we saving it in the first place? LOL! I subscribe to Big Picture Scrapbooking newsletter, and frankly there's a class that has captured my interest in a major way..."Product Playground". It's something right up my alley, it's for those of us that have resolved to using up more of our scrapbooking stash in 2007. It's $35 for a 6 week course. I'm going to bring this up at the crop on Thursday. It's something that I think my friends and I need...trust me I know which ones of us hoard supplies...Kim, Susan, Theresa and most of all myself! I admit it, I'm terrible when it comes to hoarding supplies. I have more "stuff" than I could use in a year! If it weren't for me being do darn anal about having to have cardstock matching my printed papers ever so perfectly I would have made a bigger dent in the old stash 2006. But by being OSC Historian I've actually started to make a small (and only noticeable to myself) dent in my own personal stash. My picture a day scrapbooking project is helping me to use up embellishments and cardstock scraps that have been hanging around here for ages. Even with those projects I need to push myself into getting more done and making my way through the tons of photo's that I have that need to find their away into layouts and albums.
So who's with me? Lets all make a commitment to using up our scrapbooking supply stash in 2007 and limiting our scrapbooking purchases.

50 questions...or there about

I'm hosting another OSC scrapbook group meeting here at The Cottage on Thursday. I'm wanting to encourage members to come so I make lunch for us all, always trying out a new recipe for something super yummy. This week will be no different. I need to make my scrapbook page up for this recipe and let others who are interested make recipe pages too.
One thing that I've wanted to do and have now gotten done is to have a scrapbooking related question basket. I've got some 50 plus questions typed and printed out, cut into strips and soon to be folded and tossed into a basket. These will be our topic starters. I started thinking about this and started jotting questions down on note paper on Saturday, then on Sunday evening (during football)I made myself sit at the computer. I started writing and the questions/topic starters just flowed out of me. I just know that this is going to be a lot of fun! There are questions for newbies as well as advanced scrapbookers. I even have a short quiz...how many places in town are there where you can buy scrapbooking supplies? This certainly will stump all with exception of the hardcore scrapbookers of the group...or should I say hardcore scrapbook supply collectors. I'm trying to get some of these ladies motivated to use their supplies and to get back into the groove of scrapbooking. Heck using up my stash is one of my big goals for 2007!

Off I go getting those kids of mine reading for school! It's picture day for those with children in AFJRROTC...that's Air Force junior ROTC. I have every intention of putting these in Andrew's scrapbook!

Taking the weekend off

I took the weekend off to be with my family. Saturday I hung out on the couch or in the recliner. Reading books, magazines articles or watching TV. It was a lazy day and I relished every moment of it. Sunday we attended church chatted with friends afterwards then off to shop at the commissary. While grocery shopping I ran into at least a half dozen (if not more) people that I knew. My friend Theresa was there with a list of ingredients for a recipe from a new cook book. I had to crack up with her list of items, items that she's never bought before. Pancetta and shallots top the list. Even though I giggled, I let her know that the commissary didn't carry pancetta but she could get it at Safeway downtown and I took her by the hand to show her the shallots. I love seeing friends branching out and trying new recipes and new things. Which reminds me...I need to send out reminders for scrapbooking group today!

My first scrapbook layout...ever

Do you remember the first scrapbook layout that you ever made? How about your 2nd layout?Well I recently came across mine and let me tell you...it gave me a good laugh! When you see this you are going to laugh out loud (and I do mean out loud). And to think that I created these layouts with a Creative Memories Consultant's one on one help...no wonder why I have bad memories of certain CMC's, oh my gosh this certainly is something to behold. We all have to start somewhere right? And here's my start...

It's Friday!

I'm so happy that it's Friday! Today is print out the pictures and journaling day for my picture a day scrapbook project. As a new years resolution sort of thing I decided to do this for an entire year.

I'm going to make an album just for these layouts over on my webshots page...heck I should make a blog just for my layouts here on blogspot, LOL!

I'm off to get dressed and to work in my creative space I lovingly call My Scrapbook Nook.

my messy little scrapbook nook

So here it is, my messy little nook, actually it looks the same as it did the other day. So now for me to get in there are put that album back together. I was giving some other brands of page protectors a test drive and well none of them worked. So with that in mind, now to stick the layouts all back in the original page protectors.

What a wonderful evening

Our OSC Chef's Bingo was a terrific event! Many great prizes and the boutique table was chuck full of some truly great items. I've yet to upload my photo's to my computer (I hope that they turned out well). The gift bags on the tables were a terrific hit! Every person whose name was drawn loved their "loot bag". The contents of the bag consisted of the following;
*a spring form pan (one of either of these sizes) 8, 9 or 10 inches
*a gourmet cheesecake recipe that is pan size specific
*a nice wooden spoon that has a wide spoon face
*an 8x11 wooden cutting board one side flat the other side has the groove to catch juices
*a sheet of reusable parchment. This is very much like a silpat with one exception that you can cut this down to fit in your pans without hesitation. The price was only $6.50 for the reusable parchment versus the $40 price tag on a silpat of the same size.
* last but not least is the beautiful gift bag that can be reused

Bingo prizes were-
*a gift certificate for 6 meals from My Girl Friends Kitchen
*professional 6 quart Kitchen-aid mixer
*Kitchen-aid Blender
*Cuisinart grind and brew coffee pot
* a panini grill press (I didn't catch the brand but should be able to tell from the pictures)
The food was fabulous! It was a brunch with Amaretto french toast, blueberry blintz and many other yummy breakfast items. The club really did a fantastic job hosting this event for us. Now for me to look at the pictures and to get them scrapped and into the albums!

Quickutz

Quickutz is retiring some of its dies. Here’s a link to see which ones are leaving the line up on February 28^th, 2007

 

http://www.quickutz.com/index.asp?CartId=&Show=shapes&selProduct=Retiring&FSCat=220

 

  

 

The ABC's of Life

This is what I’m going to be reading tonight at our OSC function as our “thought of the day”. These words truly are…the ABC’s of Life.

Accept differences

Be kind

Count your blessings

Dream

Express thanks

Forgive

Give freely

Harm no one

Imagine more

Jettison anger

Keep confidences

Love truly

Master something

Nurture hope

Open your mind

Pack lightly

Quell rumors

Reciprocate

Seek wisdom

Touch hearts

Understand

Value truth

Win graciously

Xeriscape

Yearn for peace

Zealously support a worthy cause

Sandie's 2007 scrapbooking goals

It’s come to my attention that I never posted my Scrapbooking goals for the year. I’m not into having number goals as those are just put an undue amount of stress to crank out pages. I want to devote my time to making quality pages, the numbers will come together on their own.

My scrapping goals for 2007 are as follows...

*to schedule time each week to do nothing but work on layouts or scrapbook related projects.

*to buy less ...no more stock piling of printed paper, cardstock or stamps. And when I do make a purchase it is so that I will use it immediately when I get home.

*to use more of what I have on hand. Heaven knows that I own enough merchandise to start my own store.

*to either sell off or donate the items (tools paper, stickers, etc) that I am no longer using or interested in keeping around.

*to host more crops in my home and making it an enjoyable experience for my girlfriends

*to finish our vacation albums.

*to put more pages in my husband’s career album

another day in my life...

Okay so much for the news, so we received the wrong date for our B-1 bomber story and we saw a small piece on the RIVET plane. So now for me to hunt down the correct date for the B-1 Bomber story., and get back here and post it so we can all watch it together.
Today will prove to be a rather busy day for this Air Force wife. I'm getting food and other pantry items for the Diamond Mart. What's the Diamond Mart you ask? It's a food pantry run by the 1st Sergeants organization here at our Air Force Base. Lets face it, sometimes paychecks can get pretty stretched especially when you have a loved one on deployment. When we have families in need of assistance we step up to the plate. We have food, diapers, soap, detergent and so forth available to these families, at no cost. We don't question their situation, we just help to make ends meet. This is our (AF) way of pitching in and looking after our own. My dear friend Kim has tied this in with our function this month...bring items for the Diamond Mart and get an extra Bingo card...I know that every OSC member is all over this one! I am so lucky to call this woman a friend of mine... Kim is awesome at getting us involved in worthy causes. Next month we're having "Baby Love" and we're all to bring in items for babies...diapers, baby food, formula, blankets and so forth. These items go to the families of newborns here on base. Another very worthy cause! So there's my friend Kim worrying about how she was going to be able to entice our membership to donate to such a worthy cause after they donated this month. I decided that this was a moment for me to step up to the plate, to get involved. So what was it that I was going to do in helping my friend get our membership to donate these much needed items? I'm making a cheesecake, but not just any ole cheese cake, oh no that just won't do! I'm making "Sandie's Death by Chocolate Cheesecake" and you won't find that recipe anywhere on the Internet, trust me I looked! So there is it, bring 5 items (or more) and you are entered in the raffle to win the cheesecake. I hope and pray that this turns out to be a huge success for Kim's community service project for us.

There's an OSC (Officer's Spouses Group) function tonight "Chef's Bingo". So as you know, this is where we're all bringing our food and pantry items. Our programs director Angela has yet another fabulous event planned out for us. We're going to have some speakers from "My Girlfriend's Kitchen" come talk to us about what they do and of course there's our Bingo...where the prizes are out of this world! When Angela was giving me the run down on them I was floored! Mission Support Group is the host this month and let me tell you, I've never been more proud to represent a group of spouses. I've always been a bomber wife, been active with the various bomb squadrons because my husband is a flier. I've only really seen one aspect of military life and that's the aviators view of it. So I do welcome this change of view and am throwing myself into it. I love it! I love seeing the support side of the mission, to see the behind the scene work that goes on in taking care of our military families. This sense of fulfillment washes over me every time I do something with this wonderful group of people. It's knowing that I do make a difference in the lives of others around me.

So anyway...Mission Support Group Spouses are hosting this month's event. We're also in charge of the Boutique table (that's where we sell things that we all donated for this) and we have table decorations as well. I'm so exited about tonight! I got all of the goodies together for the table decorations, everything tucks nicely into a good sized gift bag. We have the following items in the gift bags; a spring form pan (one of either an 8,9 or 10 inch size), a recipe for a fancy cheesecake, an 8x11 wooden cutting board, a wonderful sized wooden spoon perfect for stirring cake batter, and a sheet of reusable parchment paper. This are things that I thought we items that everyone could use! I hope that everyone who receives one of these tonight as a door prize enjoys it tremendously! I've also got some fun items for the boutique table...a Wilton Checkerboard cake pan set with mixes. I love making these types of cakes and I hope that others will enjoy it too! Of course there's that basket of Coffee and last but not least a New York Cheesecake! I can hardly wait to see what others are bringing for the boutique table.

B-1 bomber on the news

If you want to see something of interest catch Fox News (Special Report w/Brit Hume) at 1600L today to see a feature on two of our deployed B-1 aircrew. The show will run again at 0100L. L is for local time since I'm on Mountain time that makes it 4 pm and 1 am. This is the air plane that has been a big part of my husband's military career, before that it was the B-52 bomber. It's pretty exciting stuff when you know the people being interviewed and so forth. Our little ole bomber doesn't get a whole lot of press time. I'm going to program my DVR so we don't miss it!

my camera...

Do I love my camera? Yes I suppose that I do. As I see it, It helps me to put the world on paper. My digital camera is a Kodak easy share DX7440. Now it's probably been replaced with something else better and slimmer because that's what the industry does these days; but hey I don't care. A friend asked me if I liked my camera and they way it took pictures, of course I said yes. But what I didn't tell her is how durable the darn thing is. I have dropped it and I mean hard! At least 4 times now (each time on concrete too). I know that I had Angels watching over me each time I dropped it, trust me dropping a camera the way that I did would normally do some serious damage.

When shopping for a camera look at the consumer reports guide and see what's been written up on the camera that you are interested in buying. I'm not into all of the bells and whistles, I don't need to dial in aperture settings and such. I just want to point click and snap! Okay so on occasion I zoom in and take micro shots of flowers with bees buzzing around the,, but I'm able to do that as well. Play with the ones on the display stands, how do they feel in your hand? Think about the kinds of things that you want to take pictures of and go from there.

Being a Positive Light in a moment of darkness

 

"It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are."  

 

~Roy Disney 

 

I can’t begin to tell you how strongly I feel about this quote. It’s so very true of my every day life.  As a mother and wife of a career military husband, doing what’s right isn’t always easy and probably never will be. One thing remains through it all; it’s easy to remain true to ones self if you know what your values are. I remain faithful in my dedication to making a difference in the quality of life in those around me. First and foremost I am a mother and a wife. I value my family above anything else. Secondly, it’s to be a good friend.  To be a true friend means to be there through the thick and the thin of things, not just for the good times and laughs, but to be there when your friends need you the most. For me, I try to be a positive light in a moment of darkness. I give of my heart freely without expecting anything in return. I share with others because I truly enjoy doing so. I hope to inspire others to be the best person that they can be, to be a positive influence when there seems to be so much negativity surrounding us at every turn. To show compassion by sharing a meal with a neighbor or though making  lunch for my girlfriends to let them know how much I appreciate them for who they are…Angels on earth.

 

 

How I got started scrapbooking...

Most of us that have been scrapbooking for 8 or more years were introduced to scrapbooking through a friend having a Creative Memories Party in their home. I know that was how I got started in scrapbooking. I was happy with creative memories products, but you need to remember that was back when they sold Sakura pens and Mrs. Grossman's stickers and I forget the name of the company that manufactured their paper and die cuts...but anyway that was before Creative memories had their name stamped on everything. If I needed extra packages of Mrs. Grossman's stickers, I waited for a sale at my local Hobby Lobby. Funny thing was that I would also see my Creative Memories consultant stocking up on her sticker supply too.

It was after seeing my first scrapbooking magazine using products and ideas other than what was in those CM idea books. I was hooked! I still wanted to use the CM albums because I felt that at that time they were the best made. But my CMC had a royal fit about me using products other than creative memories brand because those weren't archival safe. I did my research on this subject and I learned a lot more than my friends that sold CM products could have ever have told us at any crop. Soon I was using the latest scrapbooking tools, one of my favorite was the Coluzzle. Lettering templates from EK Success and punch art was all the rage. Yup I'm talking 1999 and early 2000 here folks. I was in scrappers heaven! Still the only stores I had to shop from were Hobby Lobby and Michael's Arts and Crafts. Not a lot to choose from, but at least it was someplace that had sales.

Now about my friends that Sold CM products, I soon found myself banned from attending crops because 1- my books were a distraction. I was using products other than CM brand and that was seriously frowned upon. 2- I brought products with me other than CM products 3- I told the ladies at the crops where they could buy the products that I was using. Yup that did it, I was no longer welcome to cropping with those ladies. There were other things that went on with the ladies that sold CM...always on us about the evils of using other brands. I was tired of the sarcastic remarks from people who I thought were friends that sold Creative Memories products... "why would you want to do that in your books?" or "You know that Creative Memories isn't going to guarantee that page" and one of my all time favorite remarks "What a total waste of time". And I soon realized the fact that they were into that "slap it on get it done" mentality of scrapbooking. To me that wasn't scrapbooking, that was quickly getting something down on a page and getting on with the next one. And the contests of getting the most pages done in a month...come on! Like getting 100 pages scrapbooked in a month was a good thing? NO way! I was about quality work, I saw my artistic potential come alive when it came to getting our vacation photo's, Christmas and birthday pictures into a scrapbook. I had been scrapbooking for about 4 months when I just said to myself...this is it, I'm going to use what ever I want and no one can stop me. I felt free and was happy with my work. I've never looked back. And in a sad way those that I thought were my friends really turned out not to be, the only friendship that was there was based on how much money they could make from me.

Our move to Virginia brought so many new opportunities...for me it was that there were a plethora of Scrapbooking Stores. Every town had at least one scrapbook store, I was in paradise! I could not believe the selections of merchandise, printed paper, card stock this was when I was introduced to Bazzill cardstock. Oh yeah life was good! I've gone on to develop my own style, I know which kinds of papers and products that I like to use most. I even worked at a scrapbook store teaching classes and working with sales reps...It was like a little slice of heaven!

I do have to hand it to those Creative Memories consultants and the crops that I attended back in 1999 and early 2000 before I was banned from attending them...the lack of interest in creativity and personal style of those that sold the product was what pushed me into wanting and doing more with my pages. I love the idea of getting together with others to work on our scrapbook pages like old time sewing bee's. But for me it's a time to socialize, to be creative, to help others to be creative and most of all to have fun! When I host crops in my home it's about bonding with others that have similar interests in scrapbooking. I certainly don't expect everyone to scrapbook like me or even want to scrapbook like I do...it's about being together with friends.

my messy little scrapbook nook

Oh my gosh I've been in my scrapbook nook for hours putting things away in there. When I get to working on a project I make a mess! I'm also taking this opportunity to go through things, toss what I know I will not use, put stuff in a "donate" bin and sort my paper scraps and put them away.

I read a couple of scrapbook room article and looked at some magazines. I tell ya, the one room I saw done all in beige...eeeek! Where's the color? Where the life? The creativity???? I saw that and thought, wow what a snooze-a-rama looking room! I love my room being a bright sunny yellow, it inspires me to create. I have an online friend that painted her walls to look like SEI papers when they first came out...it was cool looking then and it's still cool looking now! I've seen scrapbook rooms with fire places and others with tons of built in cabinets. The ones that I love the most are the ones that get creative with their space, that use color and decorate with their supplies. Jars of ribbon, buttons or Primaflowers along a shelf or a spice rack filled with bottles of MM paints (just too cute). Yeah, I've got some scrapbook room envy, but you know what...I won't be in the utility closet for forever!

Fonts better yet FREE Fonts!

How many fonts do you have on your computer? Are you a certifiable font junkie or just mildly addicted to collecting fonts? Do you actuually utilize them all or just collect them? My plan for 2007 is to use more of my fonts. To date, I've only used a handful of my fonts. I've not even really skimmed the surface of my "collection". So with that in mind I've made it my mission to use a different font every time I use my computer for journaling.
Here are some sites to get some FREE fonts
www.dafont.com
www.1001freefonts.com
www.free-fonts.com
www.fontfreak.com
www.1001fonts.com
www.dingbatdepot.com
www.fontfile.com
www.acidfonts.com
www.webpagepublicity.com/free-fonts.html
http://www.thefreesite.com/Free_Fonts/
http://www.abstractfonts.com/
http://betterfonts.com/

Okay lets start with these. You can use Google and look up "Free Fonts" and it will hook you up with oh so many wonderful sites. Enjoy!

My ipod and Me

I received an ipod shuffle for Christmas, one of those cute clip on ones. Let me tell you I LOVE that little thing! I can be seen wearing/using it in my scrapbook nook all of the time! Here I am, rocking out to tunes only I can hear...I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy that little bit of privacy. I'm not interrupting anyone else with my noisy "mom" music, LOL! Thank goodness there's a flashing light on my phone or else I might not notice it ringing, LOL! I tell you all that this product rocks! I bought my husband an ipod nano last year for Christmas and he got the cool alarm clock and speakers set up from one of his brothers that same year. What a fun item to that has been for us!

It's a lazy kind of Saturday, sure it's cold outside and it even snowed a wee bit. I have no intention of going out of doors today. I've been doodling around in my scrapbook nook since around 10 am. I come out every once in a while for a cup of tea and a snack of some sort, then back I go. So here I am letting you all know that I'm alive and well, LOL! Lucien's Uncle Tom is doing better but is still in ICU, my mom is hanging in there. She needed some blood so that has set her back a wee bit. So she may have to be an extra day or two in the hospital. My daughter has a friend spending the night tonight...look like a girls weekend to me!

Agatha Christie

As part of my self improvement goal for 2007, I’m making time to read more novels. Of all of the writers out there, I enjoy the works of Agatha Christie the most. With her Belgium Detective Hercule Poirot and her little old lady Miss Marple, I find myself taken to another place in time. One of her most famous novels is Murder on the Orient Express, first published in book form in 1934.

I’ve rearranged the furniture in our living room and have made a small book nook reading area. I bought an OTT Lamp to go next to my recliner in my little reading space. I’m still looking for a small sized book case to hold my favorite books. All that's needed for a comfy afternoon of reading is to grab a soft cuddly lap blanket to curl up with, a good book and a hot mug of tea!

Some Days...

When it comes to getting ready for school in the morning, there are days when this place becomes a three ring circus! Today I can tell is going to be one of those days! It's 6:30 am and I have kids in each shower...dueling for the hot water. So much for me getting a bath until at least 8 am...nothing like an ice water bath to get you going in the morning, ugh!

At least it's Friday and we're gearing up for a 4 day weekend...no shower duels until Sunday morning.

It's a whopping -4° without the windchill with the windchill it's -23° nice huh? Oh yeah I'm driving my kiddos to school! None of this standing in the freezing cold for them! I love my babies and will drive them without hesitation when it is THIS cold. It's kind of sad that the snow missed us and ended up down in Nebraska. We've got cold weather link no one knows, but none of the white stuff. I suppose that I should be grateful as we don't have to shovel anything.

What a morning!

It's not even noon yet and it's already been quite the day! I just want to let you all know that trying to track down phone numbers on the Internet is not as easy as one would tend to think, ugh! Then once I finally get a phone number I get a recorded message that the hospital has changed numbers...AUGH!!!!! Okay I finally get to speak with a real live person and she tells me that there are no patients there by that name...so I spell the last name again be deliberately and very slowly and surprise, there is a person with that last name there (insert me rolling my eyes here).

Okay now for the latest news...My husbands uncle Tom is in the ICU at a hospital on a respirator and is thought to be near death. All of the family is there by his bedside. He's had quite a few health issues in the recent past and was hospitalized back in November with heart related issues. I haven't told my husband this news, I'm waiting to hear more from my sister in law as the day progresses.

Last week one of my dear friends had a death in their family (the grandmother who raised her husband), this week another good friend (and co-worker of my husband) had a death in the family (his mother passed away). Then there's my my mom in the hospital; who is doing well, I just talked to her and wished her a Happy Birthday (it's today) and of course my dear old Dad who is "in care" due to having advanced Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's.

I've said prayers for everyone and I leave it all in God's hands and if you're a praying person please keep everyone in your prayers. It's heartbreaking not being able to be physically near my loved ones, but then again if I really need to be somewhere fast...California is only a 3 hour plane ride away! It's during times like these that having family living on both coasts is a bit difficult. I pray for my friends who have lost parents this past week, that they may find comfort in knowing that their loved ones are no longer in pain and that they walk in the gardens of heaven with Jesus.

it's going to be a Cold Day on the Prairie

Okay, so I didn't get to do exactly what I had planned on doing, but I did get to read through an entire scrapbook magazine!

Now for today's list of things to do...make something yummy for my family to come home to. That could include baking some chocolate chip cookies :-) Or maybe some yummy cupcakes. I do need to give my new cupcake pan a test drive. It's one that looks like ice cream cones (by Nordicware). My others new cake pans are also by Nordicware...I'll write more about them over in my new blog all about cooking. http://mycookbooknook.blogspot.com Check it out when you have time. I haven't done a great deal to it yet but I have plans to make it a fun read!

Currently it's -10° outside and yes that includes the wind chill, we always factor in the windchill out here...you have to or else you'd freeze to death! The wind is howling something awful right now and it's only supposed to get worse as the day goes on. Yeah this is something I want to be out and about in...no thanks! But I am driving my kids to school in this weather because;1-I don't want to have them waiting out in this weather for the bus because frost bite sets in rather fast in these conditions and 2- the buses are NOT heated and that's also putting my children at risk. So I'm going to brave it and go outside and warm up the kid mobile to it will be toasty warm for all of us to drive to school (reminder to self to turn on seat warmers).

and update on my mom and her surgery

I received a call from my mother's neighbor late last night...the surgery went well. Although my mother's surgery delayed quite a few hours and didn't occur until 4 pm in the afternoon.
So now she is in hospital resting comfortably. Hopefully this surgery will be the last of them for her.

Lets make something FUN!

So here I am thinking WOW, a day to myself? Well I do have things to get done but not to the extent that it's going to take all day. Contact a couple of doctors, write out a check or three, put away some laundry...you know that sort of daily stuff that always needs to get done.
So after that I'm off to my craft room to create something, what that something is I do not know, but I want to make something FUN! I want to make some nice greeting cards to send to friends, to let them know that I'm thinking about them, something nice and thoughtful looking. I also should print out the journaling and the photo's to go with my picture a day album. I now see why the person who did that project did it all at once at the end of the month. When life gets hectic, getting it all done at one time can seem a rather daunting task.
I found out last month that the Enlisted Spouses club Scrapbooking Group meets once a month at one of the chapels here on base. I think that it's the last Saturday of the month and it's an all day long scrapbook meet up. I think that I could have my photo's and pictures printed and just put them all together there. It would give me something to do and I can socialize at the same time. Hmmmm I need to think some more about this.
Alright I'm off for another steamy mug of coffee and to get my chores done so I can play in my scrapbook nook!

Just being there...

I received a phone call from a girlfriend this morning (just after I finished blogging). Poor thing was having a rough time with it today. Her husband is deployed and it was one of "those" days when things start off wrong and it just escalates into what seems to be one very bad day. I had things to do before I was able to go over and I let her know that I will be there but it's going to be at least an hour until I can get over to her house. Poor thing let me know that she went back to bed during that time. I can tell that she was pretty stressed out. Playing the single parent game with 3 kids and no family near by to help you out can be rough. You don't want to impose on your friends yet there's no other way of getting things done with 3 kids who are all in sports programs. I know that I've had days where I just need to vent to a girlfriend...and today was my friends' turn. I'm truly glad that I was able to get there for her and I hope that I was able to leave her feeling better about herself. She feels that she's let her kids down during this deployment...I let her know that they love her no matter what. So she overslept this morning and one of her boys missed basketball practice...who in their right mind has kids playing basketball at 6 am anyway? Sheesh! I think that showing up with goodies in hand and us having brunch together was a good thing and that we should do it more often.

Yup, it's another thing to put on my list of things I want to do in 2007...schedule "quality time" to spend with my girlfriends. Having brunch or lunch and just hanging out together for a hour or two makes all the difference in the world to how one feels on the inside. Knowing that there are friends that care about you and listen to you and help you to feel better when you're feeling down, yup that's what friendship is all about!

My Parents

I haven't talked much about my parents, they too are sort of a private thing. But I know that some of my dearest friends read my blog and I want to keep you all informed of what has been going on with regards to my parents.

My dear Mom is going in for total hip replacement surgery today. In December 2004 she had emergency surgery and had a partial hip replacement, July 2005 she fell again but on the opposite side and broke the other hip (getting old sucks). She had such a bad year in 2004...she was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer of the vagina and rectum, chemo and radiation left her frail and weak. Hence her slipping, falling and breaking her hip the first time. So after falling in the garden in July 2005 they called the ambulance right away and off she went to get pins put into her hip. Okay it's been over a year and her leg has never been right. She's been in pain and after many doctor appointments and x-rays they figured out that the pins are the problem. So today my dear old Mom is having total hip replacement surgery. Last night on the phone with her I told her that she's now going to be known as Bionic Granny, she laughed. I pray that things go well for her and that this surgery will leave her feeling better and not in pain.

About my Dad...it wasn't until July 2005 when my Mom fell in the garden and broke her other hip that problems with my Dad's health were revealed to myself and the rest of our family. My Dad had collapsed in the bathroom and was unconscious and or unable to get up from the floor for 3 days. It wasn't until my urging of some family friends either to break into the house to to call the police and have them do it that my Dad was discovered near death on the floor. Things haven't been "quite right" with my Dad for a while...a long while. But as you grow old together you aren't willing to see all what is wrong with your life partner, you're there to pick up where the other can't go on, it's how we're wired. While my Dad was in hospital is when we got the news...he has advanced Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. I can't begin to tell you how everyone took that news. Some family members were in denial about it saying that the doctors are wrong. So here's my fragile Mom with a 2nd hip surgery under her belt, having been through stage 3 cancer, chemo and radiation therapy. There is no way on this earth that she could take care of him now. I flew out to help my Mom during her recovery from her 2nd surgery and to help her with the decision of putting my Dad into a permanent care facility...is was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. It's hard for me to think that this is how my parents are spending their life savings on...a health care facility. I have always seen my parents a healthy vibrant active people then "this" happened, if you look at it from the outside, it seems to have come out of no where. But after getting my mom to open up to me more, it's been something that been gradually coming on for years, she always thought that it was because they were just getting on in their years. The signs of my Dad having Parkinson's has been around for at least a decade same goes with the Alzheimer's. It's all very sad. Most times my Dad remembers me as an 11 or 12 year old girl other times he remembers me when I was in college and there are times when he remembers me as I am now, the protector of my family the woman who won't take crap (as in being bullied or pushed around)and stands up for what is right...even when it's not the popular thing to do so.

I love my parents with all my heart and will always be there for them. I think about them every single day, always have them in my prayers. I let them do what they want to do, after all they are adults :-)

Are you able to see your Blessings in Disguise?

How do you pray? Are you always asking God for something? Better yet what do you pray for? Is it to win the lottery? Is it for that brand new car you've always wanted? Is it for monetary gain or material things? Or is it something more? The way I look at it, prayer can be a 2 way street. We're always asking God for things but why can't it also be a way for us to give back?

I'm usually not so sharing when it come to my religious beliefs, I keep it tucked away close to my heart. But I want to share more. So here are some things that I ask the Lord to help me with...

*to be a good friend, to listen and to be able to be there when people are in need...not just of money but to have a truly caring person there by their side through good times and bad.

*to have patience...with my children, my husband, friends and family. To have patience while waiting for news from the Air Force if and or when we will be moving.

*to have grace...to be able to carry myself well during trying times or better yet with people and situations that try my patience.

*to be more understanding of people and situations.

*to be charitable...not just with money but with my time. Most organizations don't have a problem with funding, it's getting the people to commit their time to the community.

But most of all I want to be able to see the blessings that are not always clear. To be able to appreciate them for what they are. A year ago all I could think of was to get out of here, to be able to get to New England to be near my husbands family. But the more I think about it, the more I know that it would be highly beneficial to stay here. Our son is really starting to open up and make friends here and that's not something that comes to him easily. I fear that another move would have him clamming up again. He would once again be at a new school in a new area having to make new friends all over again. Andrew isn't like Hannah, they are two very different people in regards to making friends. Hannah is an open bubbly sort of child more like her Momma who can find friends where ever they go But our boy Andrew , he's more like his Dad, quiet and reserved. Always assessing the situation, not putting his emotions out on his sleeve for everyone to see.

I've opened my heart to the Lord and I am here to accept what ever it is that the Air Force hands to us. I will not take it as a huge disappointment but accept it for what it is...just another opportunity.

Can you say Garage Sale?

Can you believe it? It's Monday...wow the weekend went by fast! I've made the decision to really look through the stuff that I have hanging around here and see what can be sold at a garage sale, at the base thrift shop or donated to Good Will or Salvation Army. As I went though the pantry area last week I pulled all sorts of stuff out of there and put it into a big box to go into storage. Then this morning as I'm having coffee and I'm looking at the box with packing paper hanging out of it, it came to me...why am I putting this stuff into storage? I haven't used this stuff since we moved here, it's time to let it go. I am going to have one heck of a garage sale with all of this Tupperware stuff that I am getting rid of. I have glass jars like no one knows...those are outta here too! So I'm putting aside things that can be sold or donated. I want to clear this stuff off in a major way! By making myself have a garage sale I can get rid of a lot of unused unneeded "stuff" that's been hanging around. I feel energized by this idea...I'm going to act on it and get the extra stuff outta here and ready to go into someone else's home :-)

Insanity is hereditary...you get it from your kids!

Another cold day here on the prairie. It was snowing for a while but it looks to have stopped. The spouse and I went out driving around Box Elder to see what is available as far as houses are concerned. One thing we quickly realized is that none of them had any curb appeal...none what so ever! Sure, I'm picky but then again you would be too when looking at a house that is only half finished (half of the interior of the houses here are not finished) and there is major landscaping to be done, no fence and we're looking in Box Elder...ugh! $250K for a house in Box Elder...all because we don't want to change schools but want a bigger house. I must be insane! Our kids are a bit bothered by the idea of living off base, they said that their freedom to ride their bikes around would be gone...no more being able to ride to the shoppette or to the big park here on base. NO more riding their bikes to Burger King, the teen center, youth center the base pool or the commissary to get me onions, bread crumbs or bags of frozen peas (apparently my son still remembers his last mission to the commissary for me). I don't know what to do...maybe the older bigger homes would be something to consider. I need to see if the Been's are moving this summer...maybe we could get their house (they have central a/c). I shake my head as I do not know what to do or which way to turn. I will leave it all in God's hands, he knows what we need better than we do.

here's a picture of us

Okay here it is...the first picture 2007 picture of Lucien and Sandie Grisé

Work is a 4 letter word

And house work is the worst one! It's amazing that this little house is always in need of some attention. Laundry, dishes, putting stuff away, making beds cleaning out the garage and so forth. I've got a box in the dining room that needs to be taken out into the garage. It's full of items that I took out of the pantry to make room for other items that I use more often.

I look at the carpet that we have in this military house of ours; it's cheap apartment grade that needed to be replaced years before we moved in here. There are mysterious stains that reappear a week after we clean them. Oh well what can you do, you live with it that's what. If I owned this place I'd be pretty upset, then again I would have installed a better quality carpet and padding than the cheapo apartment grade stuff that the military housing folks put in here.

So what am I looking at getting done today? My Scrapbooking Nook is in need of some attention. I've got another month long series to pictures and journaling to get done. I need to print out the pictures for the 29th and the 31st of December. Have the journaling done but no picture...too funny!

Tonight I have a 3 hour long Heart Link session to attend. Here at these kinds of meetings we get the real scoop on deployments and such. They really are a worth while event to attend.

Is it just me or...

Is it really cold outside? Yesterday we had some freaky weather. First it was rather calm outside then it started to rain a little then a bit more and by the time I got back to the house from my walk it was pouring pretty hard. Then of course the rain turns to snow that started coming down so hard I could hear it hitting the windows. Yes it's true, it really is possible to hear snow hitting the windows.

I was able to talk with an old friend yesterday and we talked about military stuff. This lady can always make me laugh at most anything. It's the waiting and not knowing that gets to me. Some days I feel as if we're a yo-yo being pulled up and down. As my darling husband said to me this morning...one way or another we WILL be moving out of this house. So it's with that very thought in mind that I'm thinking about today. Either way I will need to buy a refrigerator, LOL!
This is the one that I'm looking at buying...a Kenmore Elite by Sears. This has the water dispenser on the inside...love that option! The drawer on the bottom pulls out, this is the way to go! The double opening doors and the inside shelves and drawers are awesome! I love love love this refrigerator!

One way or the other...

Have you ever been in one of those moods where you're not unhappy but your not happy either? I just feel "there". Last night my husband and I talked about what our moving situation is looking like. Will he get that job at that East Coast AF Base or will he not get that job. Well with the moving freeze that is now upon all military families and the 48 month minimum that has been imposed, well we've come to the very real realization that it looks like we will be here for quite a while longer. If there's anything I dislike it's not knowing, the being "in limbo" so to speak. I just want to know something one way or the other, it bothers me to wait and wait for something that just isn't going to happen.

Our children have been thriving here, there's no doubt about that. Our son Andrew likes school now and he's even allowed himself to make a best friend. Hannah will thrive anywhere, we're convinced of that. So with this in mind we've decided that we can't live in this dinky cottage any longer. If we really are going to be here at least until Andrew graduates from High School, then we might as well look into buying a house in the area. To give ourselves the freedom of living in our own home (what a concept-yes I'm being sarcastic)). One thing I do look forward to is shopping for a refrigerator...one that is larger than what we currently have here in base housing :-)

I have so many things going on in my mind...I need to go to the gym and ride the life cycle and just mull things over in my head.

is it Wednesday or Monday?

Well I know that it's Wednesday but it's feeling like a Monday to me! I had to meet with the school nurse at Hannah's school, then meet with the school nurse at Andrew's school...all before 8 am. Of course my husband forgot something and I need to bring it to him at work, I have a board report to write (did that). Now to finish up a layout stuff it in an album and bring it with me to the board meeting I need to attend at 9:30 am. After the board meeting we have a budget review meeting...my historian position needs more funds (I think that I'm down to abound $30). Meanwhile I have to figure out how I'm going to get to the post office before it closes, take Hannah to her post operative appointment and get some other things done around here...all before 12 noon.

I really do wonder how women who work outside of the home get things done. Stuff has to be deferred, there's no way about it. The home must be a mess unless you're just a total nag about it to your family OR you have a house keeper. My friend Jane who worked a really long day (longer than most folks do) had her kids out the door by 5 am and off to before school day care, then she went off to work. She was home by 7pm with the kids, slammed out some dinner then off to bed they went. It was like this 5 days a week. The weekends were all about getting caught up with "other things" such as soccer games, laundry, grocery shopping and house cleaning. She once told me that she felt like a visitor in her own home because all she and her family did was sleep and eat there, as we (meaning the children and myself) actually live in our home. I think that I would have a nervous breakdown if I had to do what I do now and work full time...there is no way I could swing it, not at all! As I see it, I have a full time job (and then some) just taking care of my family and their needs. I don't need the pressure of trying to make my time stretch even more to attempt to put more things into my day than I already do. I have my priorities set, I know what is most important to me and it's my family...they will always come first. I enjoy scrapbooking and card making and being the Historian for the Ellsworth OSC has been a lot of fun. It's not high pressure and I continue to have fun with it :-) Volunteering is important to be as I feel that we all need to give back to our communities...in one way or another. Giving of ones time seems to be in great need no matter where you live.

Well I've got to finish up something then pack up and get ready to meet my husband and go to a board meeting....

Our boy has braces

Now he can stop asking when he's getting braces and start asking when they'll be coming off. I'm sure that his teeth/jaws will be a bit sore later on today, but for now he's doing okay.

Our daughter has a new OG appliance that she is to wear during the day (since she can't seem to keep it in her mouth throughout the night).

I had planned on taking my family out to dinner tonight BUT one small problem...it seems that the restaurant that I have a $50 gift certificate to is closed for "Winter Break". Personally speaking I've never heard of such a thing, they'll re-open on the 8th of January.

I've got to print out my pictures and journaling for the 1st and today. I've also got to finish making my embellishments for my month long scrapbook project. I'll call it "a year in my life", sounds good to me :-)

I picked up the OSC November function pictures today and will cut and mount them today. I've also got to write my board report for tomorrows board meeting. Which reminds me, I suppose that I need to attempt to figure out how much more money I will need to ask for during our budget review...as you see, I'm down to under $30 (I started with $300). I'm making four 12x12 albums, that's a lot of pictures, paper, card stock, embellishments, adhesive and more! Part of me feels bad because if I'm cornered into showing others the past historians work and comparing it to my own work...well it's going to look like I'm trying to show off. I want to give a nice looking "quality" made scrapbook. After all, I'm representing our Ellsworth OSC plus three of the albums are gifts, one to the president of the club, then the other 2 albums go to the honorary president and vice president who are the wind commanders spouse and the vice wing commanders spouse. I'm sorry but I can't give some wanky made album to these ladies, they've worked too hard and have volunteered so much of their time ...they deserve to have a nice well made album. I have to say it, the past historian did a horrible job, it's like she didn't care what so ever. For someone who sells scrapbooking supplies, she didn't do a good job, heck she didn't even do a mediocre job. It looks sloppy and there's no attention to details, no names of new members, heck very little journaling has been done beyond the menu...and who really cares about what we ate? I mean really? Years from now when I look at my album I don't want to read that we had a garden salad, ham, green beans almondine and scalloped potatoes for dinner, I want to know the names of the people in the pictures! That's why I've got a copy of our OSC news letter in pocket pages...one for every month! So we can look back and read about all of the other little details that weren't covered in the journaling.

Happy New Years Day!

It's New Years Day and with that in mind, we've taken down the last of the indoor Christmas decorations and the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. Our dining room is back to normal (for the most part). Now to get the carpet cleaned...again.

So what have I been up to on this first day of the year... First off I made some darling greeting cards, finished up my month long scrapbooking project and then I scrubbed down my entire kitchen, pulled out everything from the pantry/laundry room, re-arranged it, pulled out stuff that can go into storage, scrubbed the floors of the laundry room and kitchen...it's so shiny I can see myself, well not really but it is pretty darn clean, LOL! Then after that I made fudge, then I made a gingerbread cake using my nifty Nordicware gingerbread kinder loaf pan (it's just too cute!) and then I made some wonderful low calorie jello parfaits. I guess that you could say that I was in the mood for something sweet and call it good, LOL!

I like the idea of starting the New Year off with a clean kitchen. Bleach, hot water and a scrub brush really do the trick when disinfecting your kitchen!

Last night while at the Murder Mystery party I saw that our hostess (whose house is the same plan as ours) had these nifty wire shelves on the little pantry door. I'm going to give her a call tomorrow and find out where she got them as they are an unusual size (the door is quite narrow). I could really use some for our little pantry door...to store my bags of chocolate chips...I only found about a dozen bags of various kinds of chocolate chips while cleaning out my pantry today and frankly I need a place to store them in plain sight so I can use them up.

Tomorrow our son Andrew gets his braces...I'm bringing the camera for this momentous occasion. I see that Before and After pictures will be warranted, after all I AM a scrapbooker!

Happy New Year!

The fun part of going to a party on New Years Eve in your neighborhood is that you can get home right after the stroke of midnight to be with your children!

The party was a laugh riot! We all played different characters and in the end there were 5 characters that were main suspects in the murder. I tell ya, we were all laughing! Some folks really got into character and had us all laughing our socks off! If this is how we end one years and start the next year by laughing...then I'm all for it!