Happie by Abbie: The Blog

Project 366 | January 22-27

2012-01-27T23:33:00.000-06:00

22/366 Asleep at the Orchestra. My son can sleep anywhere. Including large parties, baseball games, amusement parks and.... the orchestra. 1/22/12

23/366 White Balance Joy. Amazing what a neutral grey piece of laminate can do for your photography. My mind has been blown.... goodbye yellow photos! 1/23/12

24/366 Clean. The dishwasher is my friend. Except when I have to empty it. 1/24/12

25/366 99%. It's that last 1%... it seems to go the slowest. I think all electronics can sense when they're being watched and the charging process slows down just to taunt you. 1/25/12

26/366 Necky Lego Guy. This is, according to my little guy, "the weirdest Lego guy EVER." 1/26/12

27/366 Field Trip. Today was the ideal day for a ski trip. The air was brisk, the sky was blue and the kids were ready to fly. 1/27/12

Project 366 | January 13-21

2012-01-22T10:04:00.000-06:00

13/366 Ski lessons. My kids went on the coolest field trip with school - skiing! My daughter didn't know how to ski so this wonderful instructor took her around all morning and coached her. It was the sweetest thing to watch. 1/13/12

14/366 Sledding. January 12 was the first snow of the winter, very strange for Wisconsin. January 13 the kids went skiing. Then today they wanted more - so we took them sledding. Rather, DADDY took them sledding. :) 1/14/12

15/366 Beautiful Bella. Our friends and their baby came to visit today. AS IF I wasn't going to take pictures of this beautiful baby! Just look at those eyes! 1/15/12

16/366 Magic fruit. Sam and her art. Today it was magic fruit. I don't know what her inspiration was or how her mind works but oh boy, I wish I did. 1/16/12

17/366 Boots. It's winter. Finally. I needed a picture for the day and the boots won the drawing. 1/17/12

18/366 Happy calendar. I'm sad to say that this was a last second, panicked for not having a POTD and desperate to shoot anything. ANYthing, I tell you. Isn't this the most fascinating calendar you ever saw? (BTW, it sort of is... it's the Happiness Project Page a Day calendar. Yay!) 1/18/12

19/366 An accident in waiting. Every morning when I make oatmeal I think to myself, "Self, these two spice bottles right next to each other are an accident waiting to happen." I have a feeling that one morning my oatmeal will taste strangely of chili... 1/19/12

20/366 Earbuds. Most people use these hooks for things like, oh, I don't know... keychains. But not us. (Side note: there are only two of us.) 1/20/12

21/366 Soup. Cold nights call for hot soup. That is all. 1/21/12

Project 366 | 12 on the 12th | January

2012-01-22T09:30:00.000-06:00

12/366 12 on the 12th. 1/12/12

6:07a On the treadmill. I started back up on that Ease into 10K program. Again. Slow and steady wins the race...

6:58a Making lunches. Lunchables: a treat for my kids and for me -- they love eating them (for some reason) and I like throwing a pre-made lunch in their bag on occasion.

8:11a Parked on my corner at school. Oh yes, I have a corner. First spot behind the city bus stop, across the street from the school. Every morning I pull up, walk the kids across the (busy!) street and then when I go home, I turn right, leading me in the right direction. Perfect. Just don't steal my spot.

9:16a New slips. I'm feeling crazy in my new animal print slippers. Well, the way I look at it, slippers are an expression of your personality --- NOT!!! They keep my feet warm. That's all. Enough about my slippers.

9:44a More laundry. Sort of like the treadmill. Gotta do it and it never ends.

11:17a Just the beginning. Today is the first day of winter - amazingly, we have not had snow yet! This is only the beginning of what we are expecting...

11:19a Refill. Back at the computer, I am feeling grateful for my hot coffee and warm home.

12:23p Lunchtime. Ham sandwich and cottage cheese. At the computer. Side of crossed eyes, please. I'm working on importing all my nearly 20,000 photos into Lightroom today. No breaks allowed if I ever want to finish.

2:54p Oh, snow. I just emerged from the back room where the windows and blinds are sealed in plastic. I emerged to see... snow! Real snow. And I have to drive it that? Can't the kids sleep at school?

4:21p Bunny so serious. David, donning his new under-armor for skiing, turned this fireworks light machine into a Star Wars blaster gun. Natch. But there's Sam behind him giving him the bunny ears. Natch.

6:44p Dinner is served. I love crock pot days. The house smells good. Dinner is made. Tonight is Teriyaki Chicken. Yum.

7:38p Read by the light of the Force. David says he's "done with Star Wars." Mmm... ok. Here he is with his new lightsaber wall sconce nightlight, reading a Star Wars book, laying next to Chewbacca. Sure, David. Keep reading....

Project 366 | January 10-11

2012-01-22T09:00:00.000-06:00

10/366 All lined up. My daughter has always organized her candy.... M&M's, Life Savers, Smarties.... all lined up by color. 1/10/12

11/366 Funny glasses. My son got this fireworks machine that puts a 3D firework show on your wall or ceiling. It came with these awesome 3D glasses. He decided they should be worn all the time. What a goof.

Scrap Happie 2

2012-01-17T20:35:00.002-06:00

One of my new favorite things is to print scrapbooking photos small - like wallet sized or smaller. You can fit more on a page (duh) and all the small pictures can help feature a focal point picture.

On this page, I wanted to tell the story about the things that were making me "happie" - most importantly, my kind, supportive and loving husband. Because I used a larger photo to bring home that point, it wasn't necessary to blab on about it. It's pretty straightforward. Plus that cute sticker says it all.

CS Coredinations + PP Bella Blvd. + Stickers Oct PM, MM, EP + Rubons Heidi Grace + Journal Spots Anna Griffin + Brad MM

I made my card with some scraps from the page above. Rather, one scrap. I cannot get enough of this polka-dotted patterned paper. It's so adorable, I'm going to use every last square inch of it.

Push.

2012-01-11T14:12:00.001-06:00

So, if you have a photographic memory or you're my Official Stalker and you know way too much about me, you might remember me talking about not picking a word for the year....like two or three years ago! That was the last time I even gave it any thought until now. Let me take a step back and explain.

If you are at all even remotely familiar with scrapbooking and people associated with scrapbooking, you may have heard of (just a guess) a woman named Ali Edwards. If you are not the family scrapbooker and you're squinting your eyes at the screen to figure out who this is, I have an easy way to find your answer: go to the shelf where your wife/sister/daughter/mother/aunt/friend keeps her books about scrapbooking. There, I'll bet you a dollar, will be at least one book written by this Ali Edwards character.

Ali has not only written her own books, worked for scrapbook magazines and designed her own line of scrapbook supplies and fonts, she has created an entire movement in the industry. She has a distinct simple, graphic, story-based style that most scrapbookers could recognize in an instant. She loves telling stories.

And what better way to start a story is to base it on a single, motivating and inspirational word. Every year, people across the globe (I'm not being dramatic here, it's true.) choose a word - One Little Word - to sort of define their year. Each word is chosen for distinct reasons. For some it's motivating, for others it's meditative. For me, it's always felt restrictive. The last time I considered it, a few years back, I couldn't think of a word I felt comfortable enough basing my entire year off of. It felt like making a vague New Year's Resolution. I don't make resolutions. Why? Because what happened when you broke your resolution? You felt bad, disappointed in your failure. I don't need that. So I never picked a word for the year. Maybe I was being a downer to other scrapbookers, but at least I was being realistic with myself.

This morning I was on the treadmill. For some reason this idea of One Little Word entered my head. It hit me. In an instant I thought of a word I could live with, live for. I swooshed it around in my mouth for a bit, making sure I liked how it tasted. I think this could actually be something.

My word:

PUSH.

It's really pretty simple. I want to push myself to try harder, do better, learn more, succeed.

I want to push my husband to meet his goals.

I want to push my children to be the best that they can be.

When I think I'm done - exercising, reading, writing, baking cookies, whatever - I'll push myself to give a little bit more. I'll push myself not to defer to the easy answer, to laziness.

This isn't a life-altering word choice. It's natural. In truth, it's what I already try to do. Putting a label on it will just make me try harder. It will make me, yes, here it comes -- push myself.

Project 366 | January 1-9

2012-01-10T10:48:00.001-06:00

Here's to the start of another year of pictures. I am excited to begin this amazing, fulfilling, sometimes challenging project. It felt SO GREAT to complete it. Like I ran a marathon, except I wasn't out of breath...or film, for that matter. (Editorial comment from my husband: we may be getting short on hard drive space, dear.)

This year I plan on playing more. You may see pictures that have nothing to do with anything. Just for fun. On the days you see those, it was probably because nothing much was going on. Last year, those were my "tough" days - when I felt like nothing presented itself to photograph. If I play with my camera more this year, I will naturally find things to take pictures of. I apologize ahead of time if you see my cat more than a dozen times. I'm home, she's home, it's convenient. Especially when she's sleeping. Which is always.

So without further jibber jabber, here is the beginning of a whole new Year in Pictures.

Welcome, photographically, to 2012 and my Project 366 (leap year!)....

1/366 Twelve. I had David holding these metal numbers in his hands. Between his tired arms and the too-typical shots, we came up with this. I'd say it's both fun and different. What the heck! 1/1/12

2/366 Tradition. Every Monday and Tuesday when the kids get home from school, their karate uniforms await them on their beds. That is our little tradition. 1/2/12

3/366 Fresh. I have been dying to shoot these cute little Altoids with the "A" on them. Altoids are fresh, right? Or at least they lead to fresh... fresh breath! 1/3/12

4/366 Lashes. I had already set up and shot another photo for the day. Then I saw this and couldn't resist. So there you have it. A beautiful, quiet moment... captured. 1/4/12

5/366 My Model. I was playing with my camera settings and this pretty, little, half-painted thing got to be my model. There's nothing more to it than that. 1/5/12

6/366 Light Show. I was shooting the most awfully boring pictures of this stack of DVDs. I moved just a few inches to my right and was treated to a virtual laser light show. Amazing! 1/6/12

7/366 Winter Walk. It's January in Wisconsin and we were out for a walk. Unbelievable. On this walk, David decided to count his steps. All 2,000 of them. 1/7/12

8/366 Eggnog Cake. I baked it then shot it. Then I ate it. Go here for the recipe. Yum. 1/8/12

9/366 Luna. We saw the moon as it was rising and now I'm kicking myself for not pulling over to the side of the road. It was a giant orange orb, barely floating above the horizon. Stunning. So here's my picture, later that night, as I stood shivering in the backyard, crying over spilt milk. 1/9/12

Project 365 - Best of 2011

2012-01-09T12:49:00.000-06:00

I had a difficult time choosing my favorite pictures from the year. And once I did, I wasn't satisfied. I know why I chose my favorites - sometimes to represent an event, an emotion or a period of time. Sometimes it was because I simply loved the photograph. But I needed, shall we say, reinforcement. So I asked Pat to pick his favorite 12 from my Project 365 pictures. Following the funny look he gave me, he agreed. And then, like me, he had a challenging time deciding.

I love the pictures he chose - they represent our year very well. What warms my heart is that through his choices, you can see what is most important to him. Sure, he missed a lot of really well composed, photographically pleasing photographs. But these are the images of our life together in the past year - the loves of our lives, that is.

Pat's Top 12 of 2011

1/10/11 We both love this picture of our Evil Cat. It's on our mantel.

1/15/11 Kohl's Children's Museum in Chicago. Baby's growing up.

2/12/11 Fun with Sam in the snow, post-blizzard.

3/14/11 He's not wrong. This one is pretty priceless.

6/9/11 Captured the joy of the last day of school.

7/3/11 Too precious. That's all. And God Bless America.

9/11/11 This picture absolutely turns me into a puddle.
I think it's pretty darn special to Pat, too.

9/24/11 That look. Oh, that look.

10/8/11 David's gonna knock you out.

11/26/11 The night we put up our tree. Love.

12/22/11 Waiting to light the Hanukah candles.

12/25/11 Evan is really special to Pat. Plus, it's a great picture. In a quiet way, it's SO Evan.

Now isn't that awesome? To see what Pat sees? I love the pictures he chose for the year. They make sense and they are beautiful, each in their own way.

Now onto mine... a totally different angle. As the person who took the pictures, I considered photograph composure, what story the picture tells, what the picture meant to me at the time. I wish I could have eliminated one of those elements to make it easier on me. But that's just it - I can't. And honestly, I wouldn't want to.

Abbie's Top 12 of 2011

1/4/11 David's face is hidden but you can see his favorite hat, with his favorite Star Wars characters on it. This photo takes me back to the mornings we had together when he was in afternoon Junior Kindergarten. Honestly, this particular photo makes me long for those mornings.

1/29/11 This is a soft, quiet photograph of the untouched snow surrounding our vegetable garden.
I'm not a fan of snow, but this, to me, makes me believe it's beautiful.

2/2/11 I struggled with choosing this one. I love the image - the composure, the expression, the simplicity. You ache for her. But I felt bad that one of my favorite pictures of the year was one of my daughter while she was upset.

4/12/11 For a photographer, this is a rare catch. As a photo for the mantel, not so much.
But I adore this picture of my tired, lazy cat.

5/9/11 The light was bouncing every which way, making for some interesting imagery. I'm not in love with this because I'm so gorgeous - it was a hat day, clearly not one of my best! (Besides, you can't even see my face, just my hands.) Instead, I love this picture for the lights and reflections.

7/3/11 Aha! Looky here, out of 365 photos, we agreed on one! (At least...)

8/17/11 This set of rearview mirror pictures in Colorado were some of my favorites from our trip out west.
A unique perspective. And of course, a great memory.

9/2/11 This picture should make me mad. Our vegetable garden this year was a big fat fail.
But this picture is visually captivating. It always catches my eye.

9/11/11 See? I can't resist my boys.

9/27/11 A rainy September morning, sitting at Starbucks doing some writing. Actually, I took this on my iPhone. One lonely chair sitting out in the rain. Yet another picture that draws me in and makes me think.

12/13/11 This one makes me wish I could have holiday lights up all year long. They make everything prettier.

Even this happy little Nutcracker, all decked out in sequins.

9/24/11Again, the mere presence of light made me weak in the knees. And my little boy and his bear.

Scrap Happie

2012-01-06T12:49:00.002-06:00

Aaah.... back to the scrap.

I took a non-voluntary hiatus from posting scrapbooking pages because my scanner outlived my computer's operating system. But never fear, I got a new one! (If you are actually disappointed by that fact, there's a good chance you landed at my blog by accident. I'm just saying.) As with every new piece of equipment, there's a slight learning curve: don't you love that blue-ish discoloration on the bottom right corner, near the buttons? Darn.

PP Deja Views + Stickers Marcella by K, Lily Bee Designs + Rub-ons ki + Brads Memory Makers +Tag Office Max + Buttons + Pen (Yes, these photos are from 2007. Sam was four.)

I've said in the past that I like to make a card to "coordinate" with each scrapbook page. No, I don't need it to match. I'm lucky if I get two matching socks out of the laundry, so I couldn't actually intentionally match my scrapbook pages and handmade cards! No way. Instead, this is a matter of convenience and leftovers.

I already had the buttons picked out, the rub-ons were out of their annoying but somehow necessary cellophane packaging, and I already had the mess of tags clumped on my counter. So why not make the best of it?

Now it just needs to be someone's birthday.

CS JoAnn's + Rub-ons ki + Tag OM + Buttons

"Struggles" with My Photo of the Day

2012-01-04T21:42:00.001-06:00

In the Capture Your 365 group that I'm following along with, today's challenge was to use a wide open aperture. So I did.

In truth, because this is just how it goes with my POTD, sometimes the day slides by before I realize that I didn't take a picture. Today, for example, I had planned on bringing my camera to the library with Sammie after school. Forgot. Night fell and it grew dark and cold and my options began slimming rather quickly. Plus, if you've been to my house, you know we have The World's Worst Lighting. Not good for photographing anything.

So here it is, almost bedtime, the kids were getting overtired and cranky. I remembered my picture. I panicked. Then I thought. I came up with an idea....

I love that the focus is clearly on the word "photographer". I did no editing to this picture, except a few tweaks with coloring. This is purely aperture.

Then I sat down at the dining room table where my darling daughter was reading a book. I couldn't help myself.

I shot these with the focus on her eyes, in particular, her eyelashes.

Then when I was editing it, I thought, hmm... what would it look like in B&W? Gasp.

So now you can see my predicament. Just an average day, scrounging around for my picture of the day. I end up with too many.

Which one would you choose?

New Year, New Choices

2012-01-03T09:50:00.002-06:00

My husband and I have moved around a lot. It seemed like, at one point in our lives, there was always something going on. Whether we were getting married, moving to a new city or state, getting new jobs or having babies, we were always calling family "with news". Even little things, like meeting governors and rock stars were big news. Ha, turns out they're not so little after all: Sharkira and I have stayed in touch via My Space since our backstage meet and greet in Vegas and we are, like, totally, BFFs. Conversations with my husband and I about our goings on were always a laundry list of events and commotion and change.

Lately, we have not moved (thank goodness!) and we are done having babies (phew!). But as for the job front, my life has been in flux. In September, when the kids both started all-day school, as a stay-at-home mom with no kids at home all day I decided to dedicate myself to writing and begin working on a book. I shouted it from the rooftops. This was to be my mission. I was determined, impassioned and motivated. And yet, lost.

Working on a big project like a book feels endless, with no points of completion to aim toward. I felt like my routine was a mess, if there was any routine to speak of. I was not accustomed to having a 6-7 hour period of time to myself, for "work". Sure, I could have scrapbooked all day, read for a while, and then whipped out the latest novel I was reading. But that felt criminal and irresponsible. No, I needed a routine to hang my daily tasks on. When would I clean, when would I run errands and do the shopping? How would I balance writing a book with the tasks and responsibilities that I had to keep? Something was missing. I struggled for months.

Sure, I got some writing in. I made a routine for myself for a little while. But then my daughter's birthday came, Thanksgiving swooped in, and the Christmukkah season fell on me like a ton of bricks, crumbled into tiny, grainy pieces. I spent all my time preparing lists, shopping, creating, wrapping and organizing. I love this time of year but it truly exhausts me. And writing slipped away.

In the midst of all the holiday hoopla, my husband (who is the kindest, most patient supporter) somehow brought up the subject - again - of starting a photography business. I'd considered doing it before, months earlier, and before that, even more months earlier. I was too scared to dip my toe in the water. What if there was a piranha? What if it didn't take and nobody liked my work? My husband held my hand through all my doubts and shook his head. When you're ready, he would say to me.

So back to December, we were discussing it again. But this time, I'd had just enough conversations with people who did like my work and who did think I was worth it. I started to believe. Maybe I just could make this happen. You know that little girl in dance class who really, truly, has no rhythm or coordination but she tries so very hard to do her best? And afterwards, her family rushes to her side and showers her with compliments and positive feedback? So she goes on, taking more and more dance classes, never realizing that perhaps she should take up another endeavor and that her family was just being her family?

That's how I've felt about my photography. I love it and I enjoy it so much, but it's one thing when your dad tells you it's a great picture or when someone pays you for the great picture. Would people really pay me to take pictures? Could this really work? I don't know the answer quite yet but I came to the decision that I'm going to give it a shot. The one thing I've always told myself in every area of my life, is to live without regrets. If I didn't do this now, I'd look back in 5 years, 10 years or even 20 years and wonder why. Why didn't I at least try?

My husband and I have been hard at work for the last several weeks, putting the pieces together. I announced the birth of our company to family and friends in person, on the phone and on Facebook (aka "the immediate world"). Now it's time to get to work. I'm so excited and inspired and yes, a little scared. But that's okay. I can be scared, it keeps me on my toes.

My hope is that in a year, I'll look back and read this. I'll read this entry and be proud of my year-ago self for being brave and stepping out of her comfort zone. I'll be proud that she tried, that she (mostly) got over her issues of self-confidence and DID something for herself. I don't know if I'll have a long client list or have my work hanging above various people's mantles, I can't know that just yet. But I do know that I'm going to try. And at that, try my best.

Here is my brand new website, fresh off the press. Introducing Stories Framed Photography, at your service.

And by the way, as for the writing part, I will never give that up. It's too much a part of me to let go of. Sort of like that photography thing.

Project 365: December 16-31

2012-01-01T22:27:00.002-06:00

Day #350. Projects with black paint = dirty fingers for days. 12/16

351. Bartender (dad) pouring the good stuff. 12/17

352. Celebrating Bill's birthday. (You just might see that "6" again in May for David's birthday...) 12/18

353. I love to see Sammie so happy. It was a glow in the dark calendar of the moon. Yes! 12/19

354. Stack of coasters awaiting the final stitching. 12/20

355. Hanukah gift for David. He wore it to school the very next day. 12/21

356. Waiting to light the Hanukkah candles. 12/22

357. EC's favorite spot under the tree. 12/23

358. David and Mr. Sleepy in the morning sunlight. 12/24

359. Happy birthday, Evan. I hope all your dreams come true. 12/25

360. Papa tuning up David's new guitar. I could watch this all day. 12/26

361. David playing war with Mom-Mom, my 81-year old grandmother. On. The. Floor. She's awesome. 12/27

362. Thanks Uncle J for the cutest sock monkey EVER! 12/28

363. Sharing a milkshake. I don't think it gets any sweeter than this. Oh, I'm melting! 12/29

364. Scrap sale at the quilt shop. This is only one pile of my goodies. 12/30

365. Happy New Year, baby! (Should I be worried that this is the second photo of a martini in two weeks?) 12/31

Do you know how good that felt, to type that number? 365. Oh, what an awesome accomplishment! In a momentary fit of over-sharing, I have to confess - I actually teared up when I typed those keys on my keyboard. 3. 6. 5. I DID IT! I actually did it.

I took a picture every single day this year, and a variety of them, at that. I took really nice pictures, demonstrating art and technique. I took standard, "here's my day" or "this is what's right in front of me" pictures. I also took (lots of) lazy iPhone pictures that were barely decipherable. But. I took a picture every day. I showed you my life through the camera lens for 365 days, the entire duration of 2011. I showed you what we did, where we went and sometimes how I was feeling. And to have completed it, what an exhilarating feeling. It feels so good.

So having said all this, it could be taken that I'm done and happy about it - in a relieved and "what was I thinking" kind of way. But that couldn't be further from the truth. I can't wait to get started again! Yes, I'm doing it again. And yes, my husband just about keeled over when I told him.

I'm excited for another year of pictures and I would love for you to join me in the journey. I'll think I'll use Flickr this time (besides my blog), as a member of a Project 365 group - or as it is this year: Project 366! I really enjoy following along with Katrina Kennedy's Capture Your 365 site - she offers some really great prompts, guidance and support. There are lots of other online resources for encouragement (including me! I'll help you!) and lots of different ways you can complete the project. If it feels intimidating, try just a month or a week. Try doing a Project 52 - a photo a week.

You never know what you can do till you give it a shot. Pun intended.

Coolest Wall in the World

2011-12-24T16:35:00.001-06:00

I visited a friend's home a few weeks ago. Near her entry way was this hallway. All the frames and pictures and memories took my breath away.

But even better was her PHILOSOPHY on how she chooses the frames. She told me that each frame should be as unique as the person in the picture.

Brilliant, right?

Pictures tell stories and why shouldn't the frame help support the story? I love it.

Thanks Kristy. What an inspiration.

How to Celebrate Hanukkah with a Little OCD Flair

2011-12-20T09:30:00.000-06:00

In our home, we celebrate almost every holiday in December. While we've decided to leave a few of the festivities for others to enjoy, we have Hanukkah and Christmas firmly in place.

While it's fun and games for the kids, Mommy has to prepare spreadsheets and flow charts to keep everything straight.

First (in no particular order, since Hanukkah changes each year), there's the Twelve Days of Christmas. I don't know what other families to for this (seriously, I really don't. I was married into all of this.) but for Pat's family, the tradition has always been that Santa leaves a little gift in our stockings for the 12 days leading up to Christmas. So Mommy needs to coordinate with Santa regarding what everyone would like and when they will get each item. 12 gifts x 4 = 48 gifts

Then there's the Eight Nights of Hanukkah. While they may not be iPads and and new cars (those Lexus people do it on TV so it must be real), I need to gather up eight decent gifts for each night. (Side note: when I became a mother, I vowed never to give my children underwear or socks for Hanukkah. Ever.) 8x4 = 32 gifts. Current tally: 80 gifts.

Finally, there's Christmas. In many other families, the children cannot wait for Christmas morning. They wake up earlier than the birds and fly through the house and down the stairs and scream and squeal like it's... yes, Christmas morning! The truth is, that's exactly how our house is on Christmas morning. But the thing is, our kids have been getting presents all freaking month. It's not like they had to wait since Thanksgiving to see what Santa brought them. In fact, there have been years that Hanukkah started right after Thanksgiving. So in a way, Christmas is like a bonus day of presents. Really awesome presents that landed in our living room via the chimney.

Oh, yeah, and I haven't even mentioned the three sets of grandparents who like to spoil my kids. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!) Yes, December is a great month for the kids. They looove it. And truth be told, Mommy does too. But I have to follow some basic rules. To be specific, there are only two rules.

1. Do not breathe of anything of what I want to get the kids to the grandparents. In fact, if I pretend these items do not even exist in our universe, if I'm really lucky, none of the six grandparents will even think about purchasing them. It has (mostly) worked.

2. Stay organized or die. This comes in two vital forms - shopping and giving.

Shopping: I have detailed lists from which I shop. I allow myself to stray from the lists, but not too far. I have 80+ slots to fill and I need to do it carefully, without overlap, repetition or error.

Giving: When it comes time to wrap, I need to stay uber-organized. I don't remember my mom doing this when I was young, but I have to label our Hanukkah gifts with names and numbers. Yes, I do. And it is glorious.

Once everything is bought, wrapped and labelled, the rest is a piece of cake. I can practically hand out gifts blindfolded!

These circle labels are SO LAST YEAR... but I liked them, so here they are.

The circles were really simple to make:

1. Scallop punch cardstock or patterned paper.
2. Circle punch white cardstock.
3. Stamp the numbers 1-8 on the circles, leading off the edge.
4. When dry, write the recipients' names.
5. Adhere together using Pop Dots.

For extra sass, change the color scheme for each recipient. Go with your crazy self.

Here are my labels for this year.

Again, easy and simple win the race. Or however that saying goes.

1. and 2. Either cut apart the tags first or use your border punch and then cut the tags apart. It depends how you like to work. I found it easier to do it the second way. (My tags are 2.5 x 3.5)
3. Find some scraps of patterned paper and cut small pieces (I cut 2.5 x .75) to adhere to the edges.
4. Round the corners using your over-worked and well-loved corner punch.
5. Stamp the numbers 1-8 on each tag.
6. Write recipients' names.

And there you have it: the key to my sanity. Spreadsheets and numbered gift tags.

Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!

May your holiday season be happy and bright... and really well organized.

This Is a Story of a Lens That Can't Take Pictures

2011-12-19T21:17:00.000-06:00

I came across this "lens" in a magazine. Or perhaps it was on the internet. Either way, it ended up pinned onto one of my Pinterest boards and then I shared it on Facebook.

Weeks later it was my birthday. After our family expedition to Red Robin (what? we like it! and I got a free birthday meal AND a sundae!) we came home and Pat and the kids gave me a present. This is where the strangeness began.

For some reason, Pat was particularly interested in taking my picture while I opened my gift. This is very unlike him. But I went with it.

Smiling and curious - what could possibly be so important?

As I pulled out the rectangular box from the gift bag, I saw the very top of it.

The glossy black, white and red box read Canon.

Wait, what???

Then I saw the lens specs: EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM.

Wait, what??? This can't be real. This lens is normally in the $2,500 price range.

Stupefied and shocked over such a luxurious gift...

Then the rest of the tissue paper slid away to reveal the bottom half of the box...

Collector cup.

O.M.G.

Ahhh... there it is.

And there it is.

I don't think we laughed that hard in a long time. The thing that made it so great is that I asked for it. And he still managed to surprise me!

Here is my lens by the kitchen sink. Not a normal place to keep something so valuable. Or is it?....

Here is my new lens filled with hot, steaming coffee.
Have I mentioned how strange it is to drink out of a telephoto zoom lens?

If you, too, want a cool lens mug, Photojojo is your place. They also have Nikon drinking lenses.

Cheers!

Project 365: December 4-15

2011-12-15T10:26:00.000-06:00

Day #338. Slippers: required footwear for three-fourths of the year. 12/4

339. Happy birthday to me. David was delighted to share in the celebration (aka eat my sundae.) 12/5

340. Birthday flowers. I don't know what they are but they are GORGEOUS. 12/6

341. Do you keep your camera lens by the sink? You do if you keep coffee in it! 12/7

342. This is the only time a double chin is okay. 12/8

343. Mommy time. 12/9

344. I'm not sure: what is the main subject in this shot? The massive ice cream dessert or David's face. 12/10

345. Finds at the quilt shop. 12/11

346. Sometimes I amaze myself. Yes, I did this! No, our Christmas tree does not have hear-shaped lights. 12/12

347. One of my favorites from a friend's Christmas decorations. 12/13

348. Storytime. Together. Priceless. 12/14

349. On my bulletin board. 12/15

Furry Faces

2011-12-13T09:41:00.001-06:00

I am hereby stepping out of my comfort zone, reaching out of the box, coming out from the rock under which I reside. (What? Brad and Jen broke up???)

I found this awesome photography site that is all about photographing FACES. Each week they issue a challenge that is based on faces. Each week, I peruse the photos, thinking about how amazing they are, how well composed and edited they are. Each week I tell myself I should enter a photo just for fun. No pressure, don't try to win, just do it.

So here I am.

Rather, here is my sweet (haha), beautiful cat because this week's challenge is furry faces.

Wish us luck. (Meow.)

Project 365: December 1-3

2011-12-07T11:41:00.000-06:00

Special Edition -- Sweaters with Stories

As this is the beginning of December, I thought I would take some pictures of warm things.... and here are three very warm and cozy sweaters.

Day #335. Sweater from Spain. 12/1

This sweater, which is now unstylishly oversized and a tad ugly, is one that no matter how much I'm de-cluttering or lightening up, I can not get rid of. It's so hideous that it has recently been been relegated to the "around the house" sweater.

In college, I lived in northern Spain for seven months. The first week I was there, I finally settled into my apartment with four extrañeras españolas who couldn't have been nicer, but we just couldn't quite communicate very well yet. So, you can imagine my fear and horror when a filling in one of my teeth fell out. Talking to new roommates in a foreign country was one thing, communicating with a foreign dentist - totally not on my list of expectations.

Going to the Spanish dentist was a very different experience than I've had going to the dentist in the United States. If you've ever seen a European dentist or doctor in the movies and thought, "that's weird... surely they filmed the office that way on purpose," you would have been right. They filmed it that way -- because that's how it really was! Very clinical, not at all friendly or inviting. White walls, no decor. The nurses and doctors wore plain white scrubs and long, white lab coats. They also greeted me with a surgical mask on. As a side note, this made it difficult to understand them when they spoke since I was at the lip-read-and-pray-I-understood stage of my language comprehension.

They fixed my filling and we exchanged paperwork which to this day I wonder how my non-Spanish speaking mom and our insurance company handled.

I left the office numb (literally) and freaked out and feeling completely isolated and lonely. Plus, it was raining. Blah. I walked by shops and pubs, looking longingly into the windows, hoping for something to speak out to me, telling me I would be ok. (I'm telling you, going to the dentist is traumatic enough. Going for an emergency filling in Spain just about did me in.)

I paused in front of a shop that sold handmade items. This sweater was one of those items. This sweater told me it would be ok. And it was.

For the record, I still have the Spanish filling in my tooth.

336. My one, single J. Crew sweater. 12/2

In college worked seasonally at the J. Crew store by my house. A former co-worker from the Gap was a new manager and hired me. It should be noted that there is a HUGE difference between working at the Gap and working at J. Crew. I could afford (especially with my discount) the clothes at the Gap. At J. Crew, I simply pretended to wear their clothes. I didn't buy their jeans, their shirts, nor did I buy their sweater sets. In fact, while employed at J. Crew, I borrowed a hunter green roll-neck wool sweater from my dear friend Desi. He was kind enough (or maybe he felt sorry for me?) to lend it to me for the entire winter break. Seriously, aside from Desi's sweater, I didn't wear a single item from that store.

Before I quit, I did pick up one thing - I coveted this ivory fisherman's sweater. With its beautiful, thick cable knit, I wore it regularly through the rest of my college years with a denim shirt underneath, or maybe a white turtleneck. Sometimes both. Those were the days.

And Desi, if I never told you - thanks.

337. My favorite cardigan. 12/3

When we moved to Milwaukee, we stayed with my in-laws for almost a month while our house in Omaha sold and before we purchased our Milwaukee home. Before one of the trips up to our new city, Pat emptied out the trunk of his car. Pat is infamous for "golf trunk". Things get tossed in there, hiding for periods of time that would make archeologists drool. So as he cleaned out his trunk to make room for cleaning supplies and Christmas presents, he pulled out a sweater of mine. My favorite sweater. When I was pregnant! The last time I was pregnant was nearly two and a half years before that, in an entirely different city two moves earlier.

I was so happy to be reunited with this perfect sweater - it's not too heavy, but not too thin. It zips up instead of buttoning. It was the most wonderful shade of charcoal grey that went with everything. I loved this sweater. I may have even slept in it, I loved it so much.

I threw it in the washing machine, cleaned the golf off of my precious knit garment. It has now rejoined my cardigan collection as my favorite. Yes, it's maternity. You mostly can't tell, except for the extra length in front. Yes, it's starting to wear thin in places. Even better.

Project 365: November 24-30

2011-12-01T14:59:00.001-06:00

Day #328. I am thankful for my handsome and charming husband. He's smart, talented and he can carve a turkey like it's nobody's business. 11/24

329. I am thankful that we live closer to our family than we used to. Now we see scenes like this one more often. I am SO grateful for cousin Elliott introducing David to the world of Pokemon. Really. 11/25

330. I am thankful for my two babies. They are the light of my life. 11/26

331. I am thankful for quiet moments, captured. 11/27

332. I am thankful for my toys. They help me record, remember and learn. 11/28

333. I am thankful for the lights and decorations that bring back memories year after year. This is something I would never have experienced if it weren't for #328. 11/29

334. I am thankful for paper. In this digital age of computers and technology, it is nice to just write or draw once in a while. I want my kids to remember that, even though it will become increasingly difficult to teach. 11/30

Project 365: November 17-23

2011-11-22T21:27:00.001-06:00

Day #321. I am thankful for Halloween candy all year long. (Yes, I know it's only November.) 11/17

322. I am thankful for pumpkin-chocolate-chip muffins straight out of the oven. 11/18

323. I am thankful for streamers hanging in honor of my husband's return from the Longest Walk Ever. 11/19

324. I am thankful for projects that require brightly colored spools of thread. 11/20

325. I am thankful for fresh cranberries that go pop! in the saucepan. 11/21

326. I am thankful for Chipotle. Don't laugh, I know you are, too. 11/22

327. I am thankful for Nutters and Roger. We adopted them in Colorado and South Dakota respectively, and they are now an important part of our family. 11/23

Actual Gifts, Not Recommended

2011-11-17T12:02:00.001-06:00

I've been out for my first mini-round of holiday shopping. This is really, extraordinarily early for me. I don't know what's gotten into me!

As part of the shopping process, I also ask the kids what they want. This includes a marathon circling session of various catalogs that have made it into my home. Oh, and seeing what the kids circle is half the fun.

How about these gems....

We got a martial arts catalog from karate class. THIS was the ONLY THING David circled in the entire catalog. If you don't know, David is FIVE.

Then there's Samantha, my eight year old who wants to do experiments with DNA. What????

My daughter actually asked for a box of rocks. A box of rocks! Oh, this is too much. A box of rocks!

I don't know who the heck circled the ridiculous mushroom stool.

I guess David does NOT want this. Every time I see this I burst out in giggles.

While I was out shopping this morning I saw the two strangest calendars ever printed. Really? REALLY????

Photos aren't enough for this one, it HAS TO HAVE a button for sound effects??? Gross.

If you really need to know, couldn't you keep it to yourself and just call your doctor? Gross times a million.

Gifts

2011-11-17T11:51:00.000-06:00

Project 365: November 9-16

2011-11-16T10:42:00.001-06:00

Day #313. I am thankful for my magazines. 11/09

314. I am thankful for spare change...and large chunks of change, too. 11/10

315. I am thankful for my freedom. 11/11

316. I am thankful for perfectly roasted pumpkin seeds. 11/12

317. I am thankful for a pile of quilt squares, waiting patiently for me to sew them together. 11/13

318. I am thankful for my morning coffee. My kids are thankful for that, too. 11/14

319. I am thankful for my iPhone. Really. 11/15

320. I am thankful for my husband, his huge heart and his sore feet. 11/16

Cards for Soldiers

2011-11-11T22:28:00.000-06:00

By now, on the evening of Veteran's Day 2011, 46 soldiers in Afghanistan should have received letters of thanks and notes of gratitude from a bunch of Kindergarteners, first, second and third graders in Wisconsin.

A care package was being gathered by a parent at our school. On the "wish list" were things like trail mix and Girl Scout cookies. Magazines. Playing cards. And letters.

I thought to myself, "Self, don't you know someone who can make some cards?" I did indeed. One email led to another, which then led to me making 46 cards for my two kids and all their classmates to write in and send off.

Truthfully, I've never done anything like this before. It's not that I didn't want to, it's just that I've never been in the position to do so.

Honestly, this won't be the last time. I promise you that.

Happy Veteran's Day to all 46 soldiers who received our cards, to all the soldiers who didn't, and to all those soldiers who have defended the precious freedom that we have today.

Thank you for your service.

All the cards followed a similar, nearly identical design. Simple, clean and easy.

I tried to keep them as neutral as possible (i.e. masculine).

The paper is from the same Echo Park kit I used here.

Once I ran out of that paper, I used these gorgeous navy and cream papers by Stampin' Up.

Stamps by Close to My Heart (that's appropriate!).

Machine stitching around the perimeter "finished" the cards.

Bon voyage.

Project 365: November 1-9

2011-11-10T09:46:00.000-06:00

Day #305. I am thankful for office supplies. Especially pens. Especially ones imported from Disney World. 11/01

306. I am thankful for our cat. She may be mean to everyone who walks in our door, but she's nice to me. 11/02

307. I am thankful for that extra five minutes allotted to me by one of Pat's alarm clocks. 11/03

308. I am thankful for baked goods. 11/04

309. I am thankful for all the beautiful, robust fall colors. 11/05

310. I am thankful for Legos. And my kids are thankful for them, too. 11/06

311. I am thankful for the sunlight that pours into my craft room every morning. 11/07

312. I am thankful for the heat in my minivan. It's such a pleasure not to tremble with cold all the way to school and back (and it's not even that cold out yet). 11/08

Lately

2011-11-07T10:56:00.002-06:00

I have been taken over by some of the finer details in life and they have been prohibiting me from doing much writing at all. It's been a tough month but I've come through it. I've been doing a lot of "required reading". It was making me feel like I was in college again: reading books that I really don't want to read but that cover topics that I need more information about and the only way to learn more about such topics is to read the books. Needless to say, up next on my bookshelf is something silly, fun and mindless. I have Richard Castle in mind...

For now, I'm getting myself re-re-re-organized. Doing some cleaning, getting laundry done. I may even put out a few Thanksgiving decorations. Funny, I went an entire month and even couldn't find our Halloween bin. That, I would say, is a sure sign it's time to clean up. I think I know where our Thanksgiving bin is. If not, I can just wait a few more weeks and skip it, heading directly into the most confused month of the year in our house: December. Chrismukkah time.

Ironically, I had a conversation this morning with someone who could easily go by the pseudonym of Mrs. Christmas. She loves this time of year, she loves dressing up her house in all types and styles of lights and wreaths and ornaments. I have yet to see it, but I'm sure it's quite a sight. She asked me what this Chrismukkah was. I told her, but really, the Urban Dictionary says it so eloquently that I could resist quoting it here.

A popular marriage between the words "Christmas" and "Hanukkah" celebrated mostly by interfaith (Christian and Jewish) couples. Sources of this word date back to the 1800s and not the television show the OC (look it up).

Happy Chrismukkah: Eight days of presents, followed by one day of many presents.

As for other things that have been on my mind, I'll start with the easy stuff first.

Desperate Housewives is dying a slow, painful death. Just send them all to jail and get it over with.

Modern Family never fails. Never. The writers and cast are dead on. And I mean that in a good way.

X Factor. Unsure. I know this: it ain't no American Idol.

Rachel Platten is a musician that you need to check out. Go now.

The weather. We have had some rainy, gloomy days, sure. But in general, the weather has been ideal fall weather. Cool, clear and sunny. If it could be fall year-round I'd be happy.

Fall colors. The reds and browns and oranges are my weakness. I want to absorb all these colors into my skin, breathe them in and never let them back out. I want to roll around in these colors. I want to capture this season and never let it go. Which would explain my weird habit of raking leaves with my camera strapped around my neck. I can't help it. What if there is a perfect leaf, calling out to me, and I didn't have my camera? Tragedy, for sure.

Stars and Stripes Honor Flights. This weekend my husband was given the privilege to be a "guardian", like a chaperone, on an Honor Flight. This organization raises funds and finds volunteers to fly World War II veterans and other terminally ill veterans to Washington DC. The trip is one day and Pat was partnered with an amazing man who served in World War II. He walked all over Washington DC, saw the various memorials and sights with this man. It was an experience that, Pat told me, he will never forget, nor will he ever experience again. There's something to be said for visiting the World War II memorial with a veteran of the war. Priceless. And as for the veterans themselves, wow. What an experience. Irreplaceable.

The State of Wisconsin. I know, I know. Hear me out. Today my son went to school proudly and excitedly donning his Chicago Bears jersey. In (almost) any other state this wouldn't be such a big deal. But here, in Wisconsin, we are surrounded by Packers fans (both teams share a very strong mutual "dislike" for the other). This is their natural habitat, I don't hold it against them. But here's the thing: they are inadvertently teaching my son a great lesson at a young age: stand up for what you believe in, no matter what everyone around you thinks or does. He is standing by his team, no matter that he is surrounded by kids and adults who, essentially, disagree with him. And he's standing up for his team, with his chest puffed out and a proud smile on his face. So thanks, Wisconsin, for teaching my son to be his own man. (Not that my Bears-loving husband didn't have anything to do with this...)

Construction. (Sarcasm alert) I think my town forgot to do their construction this summer so they are cramming it in this fall. All at once. The streets are a mess and traffic is terrible. I have an 8 minute drive to school that has taken, on especially bad days, over 20 minutes. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all those drivers who don't allow cars to merge in front of them. Your lack of cooperation is so appreciated. (Karma.) I'd also like to say "congratulations" to all those new moms -- you know those people who think they are more important than the rest of us so they don't merge, bypassing the lines of traffic, only to hold up traffic even more because they are blocking the way at the point of the lane closure? You know those people? The only acceptable explanation I can possible have for such selfish and rude road manners is that someone in their car is in labor and they are en route to the hospital. So congratulations to that new mom in the rusty pick-up truck this morning who had to pass all the traffic to be at the front of the line. I hope you made it to the hospital in time. (Karma.)

I know this has been a mish-mosh of randomness. I know nothing I've written has any fluency or connection. I'm saving that for next time.

As for now, have a great Monday. Here's to a good, productive and happie week.

Project 365 - October 20-31

2011-11-03T21:47:00.000-05:00

Day #293. Meow. I haven't said hi in a while. Hiss. 10/20

294. Beautiful fall-toned tree against a brilliant moon-lit (?) morning sky. 10/21

295. David protectively walks with Mom-mom. 10/22

296. Coloring on the couch. Well, not ON the couch. Sitting on the couch, coloring. 10/23

297. Fogged up window. It's officially cold. 10/24

298. Straight from Pinterest! 7-Up biscuits... SOOOO delicious. 10/25

299. Tollhouse cookies for school... if they make it that far. 10/26

300. This is a classic! Spooky Lab day at school. What a reaction. 10/27

301. Raking leaves. Pinterest inspired photo. 10/28

302. Happy birthday Shelley! 10/29

303. R2-D2: These are not the pumpkins you are looking for. 10/30

304. Happy Halloween! 10/31

I Did Something from Pinterest!

2011-10-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

I did something from Pinterest!

This is a huge deal. Well, not really. But if you are familiar with Pinterest, you would agree that it's pretty darn exciting in a ridiculous kind of way.

Pinterest is a website where you save pictures, articles - whatever you want - onto boards that you create. Huh?

Ok, it's like this: imagine tearing out pages from a magazine and putting them in folders marked, "kids' rooms", "home decor", "recipes", "craft ideas" and so on. Well, imagine doing that all digitally. That is Pinterest. But instead of magazines, it's blogs, websites and real life (just snap a picture and post it!). And instead of folders, it's boards - you just pin up your inspiration pieces. Oh, and one other thing. Imagine having all the magazines to look at, not just the ones you subscribe to. THAT is the reason you can get sucked in, oblivious of all time and space until the kids are begging for their dinner. (Um, er, uh...not that I would know from experience...)

So, imagine actually doing one of your torn out magazine clippings. You feel really good about yourself, you want to tell your friends, "hey! look! I actually DID that thing from Better Homes and Gardens!" But you don't because it's a little dorky. But, woah! Pinterest! If you do something from Pinterest, the earth shall stop on its axis, plants stop growing, keyboards across the planet stop clicking. It's an event worth shouting from the rooftops (or in our day and age, blogging about).

Weird but true.

So... I did something on Pinterest, yes I did. It's nothing major, but I did it.

Here is my inspiration, direct from my Pinterest board.

I had bought this adorable paper pack for a project (coming soon!). It's amazing how far these packs can stretch (examples of the stretchiness coming soon!). I created a BUNCH of stuff with the papers and stickers and it's still not used up.

This is the Metropolitan Dots & Stripes Collection Kit from Echo Park Paper Co. I bought mine from Archiver's but you can also get it here.

Yes, it's crooked. No, you haven't been drinking. (Or have you?)

I did something for this project that I've always wanted to do.... I used the packaging! I liked that the pattern examples on the cover sheet (above) were smaller than actual size. It would be a perfect fit for the butterflies. So I punched out as many butterflies from each square as would fit.

Viola! These are the cutest, best coordinate butterflies I ever did see.

I ended with enough butterflies for two sets of these cards.

I added a cardstock strip cut on one end to mimic a flag, an eyelet (or brad) to match
and a "thank you" rub on.

Thank you Hero Arts for the inspiration....

October Twenty.Eleven

2011-10-26T10:10:00.000-05:00

5:45a Rise and shine. Time for the treadmill. Blah. Thank goodness I'm listening to a really good book - The Time Traveler's Wife.

6:35a Making kids' lunches, drinking ice cold water and listening to the sound of the rain falling outside. I think about how interesting kids' food phases can be. Right now, David is going through the salami and cheese sandwich phase. With applesauce. Nothing else. He hasn't quite mastered the art of eating lunch quickly. Sammie is in a ham and cheese wrap with crackers and a fruit rollup phase. Until tomorrow, because she is about to eat our last fruit rollup.

7:03a David is sitting by the toaster waiting for his Pop Tart to... pop. Pat is trying to coax Sammie out of bed. I head to the shower.

7:50a With everyone dressed (this morning, it's leaning toward miraculous), I start begging for shoes to apply themselves to children's feet.

8:03a Thirteen minutes later, we are finally out the door. The kids gave in and put on their shoes rather than waiting for them to put themselves on.

8:22a It's raining, so that means I can drop off at the curb and scoot. I'm home already, made beds and straightened up. Made Chocolate Mini Wheats for breakfast. Ha! I said "made." I poured. While I ate, I checked email and Facebook and Pinterest. Mmm. Pinterest.

9:15a Unglued my hand from the mouse and called my mom. Talked for over an hour, folding and putting laundry away the entire time. Saved the socks for nighttime while watching TV.

10:25a Did some photo editing. Still working on pictures from our trip in August. Dang, I took a lot of pictures. (Husband and children violently nodding in agreement, eyes rolling.)

11:10a Left for Pat's work where we had a date to get flu shots together. Aren't we romantic?

11:45a We also went for lunch to Benji's Deli. Holy corned beef sandwich, Batman! Why hadn't he taken me there before???? SO. DAMN. GOOD.

12:30p Dropped him off at work and drove to Franklin to a hair salon that sells my hair product (Aquage Defining Gel if you must know). Once a year I buy a giant pump of this stuff. It's so awesome, it's worth the annual drive to buy it.

1:40p On the way back to the land that I know, I happened to drive past The Scrapbook Store. So I went in. Just a few sheets of new, pretty, inspiring patterned paper and I'm a happy girl. The store is not the greatest and it makes me miss Archiver's.

2:25p Ended up (somehow!) at the Starbucks by the kids' school. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate and a sexy (not!) book on parenting, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. I know, I'm so hot. Maybe not, but at least I'm (supposedly) better able to help my kids work toward solving their own problems (for example).

3:00p Left to pick up the kids and bring them home. Not looking forward to breaking the news to Sammie: her art class that was supposed to start today got cancelled. I'm assuming low enrollment, but Sammie will be very disappointed, no matter the reason. Sigh.

3:48p Back home. Got mail, read papers in backpacks. Administered snacks. Kids did homework.

4:15p The flu shot is starting to have its effect on me. My throat hurts. I'm sniffly. I let the kids play Wii. I take out my new scrapbook paper and admire it. Then I put together three pages, not one of which utilizes said paper.

5:43p Grilling chicken and shredding cheese. This may be the easiest dinner on the planet: chicken quesadillas, coming right up!

6:13p We sat down for dinner. Everyone is beyond happy. Who knew quesadillas would be such a big hit. I'll make them every week -- if that's what the people want, that's what they shall receive.

6:48p Cleaned up the kitchen while the kids played UNO with Pat.

7:35p Bedtime routine for children: pi's, teeth, reading.

8:20p Throwing in some laundry. Getting excited for my Thursday night TV: Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. A small part of me wants to be a doctor when I watch these shows. Then I remember that there's usually blood involved with being a doctor and the moment passes.

11:45p Following TV, Words with Friends, a few quilting magazines and a bowl of popcorn, it's time for bed. I'm really trying to go to sleep "early." By the time I actually get into bed it's after midnight anyhow. So much for that extra 15 minutes of sleep....

Flashback Friday #8

2011-10-21T09:49:00.000-05:00

A few things on this one....

Bad picture does not equal bad memory. This odd shot was the best - and only - one I got of Sammie with her beloved mac and cheese. It was still an important memory. It still had to be scrapbooked.
I felt like this page needed to have yellow in it. I searched my stash and found paper that was the exact color of mac and cheese! By the time I was done putting this all together, I was craving some mac and cheese myself.
I like that the title is the journaling is the page design is the layout. A little different for me.

PP Rusty Pickle + CS Coredinations + Chipboard Lisa Bearnson + Stamps CTMH + Ink Tsukineko + Rubons Heidi Grace + Stickers Oct PM + Pen AC + Machine Stitching

Corresponding card with scraps. How do I have an "o" in this chipboard letter set? That's an unexpected surprise. Would now be a good time to reiterate my request that scrapbook companies perhaps create a supplementary add-on to sticker/chipboard letter packs of just vowels? Namely the "E"? Por favor.

Brad MM

How to Recognize a "Good Deli"

2011-10-20T21:32:00.005-05:00

I had the most amazing lunch today. Really. It was so good that I'm dedicating an entire blog post to it. No, I didn't take pictures of the food. I couldn't, I ate it too fast.

front of menu. not fancy. just GOOD.

Pat and I got to talking about how this place qualifies as a "good deli." You know what I'm talking about. They come in all shapes and sizes, all types of locations. But no matter what or where, there is just something about a deli that makes it good... authentic.

We came up with a set of guidelines to follow when searching for the perfect deli. That way, if you do happen to use our checklist when you find yourself in such a place, you will be able to accurately calculate just how good your deli is.

How to Recognize a "Good Deli"

1. The guy behind the deli counter is wearing a Chicago Blackhawks hat. And you're not in Chicago.

2. There is a deli counter.

3. There are lots (and lots) of old people.

4. Giant-sized Vienna Beef hot dog sign qualifies as "decor."

5. As does the Coca-Cola sign in Hebrew.

6. You want a corned beef sandwich but you have to choose from the half dozen (minimum) sandwiches that have corned beef in them.

7. When you take the first bite of your sandwich, you feel the intense desire to either faint, cry or leap onto the counter and announce that you've been waiting your whole life just for this sandwich.

8. There are menu items with direct references to the Motherland or Its People. Examples include Hear-O-Israel and The Rachel (real sandwich names at Benji's).

9. There is borscht on the menu.

10.You want to move in.

BONUS POINTS:
It's not yuppy.
It's always busy.
Adam Richman with Man vs. Food has been there.

After doing some Official Internet Research, it turns out I'm not crazy. Check out this local food blogger named Nick. He said it right - he wrote that he didn't want to blog about Benji's because if he did, he'd have to take pictures of his food. And, according to Nick, he'd rather be eating the food at Benji's than taking pictures. It's that good.

Project 365 - October 10-19

2011-10-19T14:16:00.000-05:00

Day #283. Empty garden. 10/10

284. Crazy kitchen counter. 10/11

285. Using these once a year = worth holding on to. 10/12

286. If this looks scary to you, imagine how the apples feel. 10/13

287. Deep in art. 10/14

288. They make the same silly faces. 10/15

289. One visit to the pumpkin patch and look what happens! 10/16

290. Squash acne? 10/17

291. Filling my ears during the day. 10/18

292. In from the rain. 10/19

Best Breakfast Ever

2011-10-18T09:42:00.002-05:00

Growing up, I used to love the days when we would go out for breakfast. There was a certain place we would go - that apparently, everyone else liked to go to as well. No matter what, we'd arrive to a near-capacity parking lot and then have to stand in line -- sometimes waiting to get in the door! It was most painful in the winter or on a rainy day. BUT. I can honestly tell you that it was totally and completely worth it. Hot chocolate cures all. Plus, there was the breakfast. Oh, the breakfast.

Now that I'm an adult (or so I'm told) with kids of my own, I have decided waiting in line is overrated. Unless you're at Disney World. That's probably the only exception.

So in order to help you with your own line avoidance, here is a gift. My work-around to waiting in line for breakfast.

German Apple Pancake Top Secret Don't Tell Anyone Recipe

Filling
2 apples (I use Golden Delicious)
4 tsp. butter or margarine
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon

Pancake
1 c. flour
2 tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 eggs
1 c. milk
4 tsp. butter or margarine, melted

Peel, core and slice apples. Cut slices into quarters. Melt butter in medium saute pan. Add apple, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook 20 minutes or until apple is tender and most of liquid has evaporated.

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, milk and butter. Add egg mixture to flour mixture. Whisk until dry ingredients are moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

Spray bottom of small baker with cooking spray. Pour in batter. Spoon apple mixture over batter. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Serves 4.

Enjoy!

Flashback Friday #7

2011-10-14T12:29:00.000-05:00

A lot can be said for sewing stitching on a scrapbook page. If I hadn't done it on this one, it would have been flat, dull, lacking something. With the stitching surrounding the elements of this page, it finishes it. Try it out. You may surprise yourself. If you don't own a sewing machine, try some embroidery floss and a strong needle.

CS Coredinations + PP Chatterbox + Stickers Oct PM, LB, AC + Flower TPS + Pen AC + Sewing Machine Stitching, Buttons

Through the Rearview

2011-10-13T14:44:00.001-05:00

I've been spending some time with my delete button today.

I figured enough months have passed, it's about the right time to to start editing/deleting our vacation pictures. From August. So I dove in, one day of our trip at a time. It started out easy, as we were in the car for 16 hours between the first two days.

But then we arrived in Estes Park, Colorado and the mountains blew my mind.

I've always bored easily looking at other peoples' pictures of "nature vacations." One tree looks like the next, right? I realize that you may bore just as easily looking at my pictures. (Oh, don't worry! I'm not posting them all!) The thing I've learned is that unless you were on the vacation or you are the grandparent/parent/devoted friend of someone who was on the vacation, you surely won't be much interested in all the redundant tree and mountain pictures.

How do you eliminate boredom at endless vacation photos?

1. Shoot various angles. The same tree or mountain or even person can look completely different (read: interesting) if you change your angle. Shoot from the left, the right, the top, the bottom and even behind. However, please do not risk your life in doing so.

This scene takes on a completely different tone when father and son are not mugging it up for the camera.

2. Shoot details. You can zoom in. You can walk in. The more you move your feet toward your subject, the better. Then you can rely on the zoom for the remainder of the work. Take pictures of flowers, tree bark, the dew on blades of grass.

The details are in the marshmallows. Mmm.

3. Find something unique. You'll know it when you see it. Whether your camera is tilted, the subject is funny or the viewfinder turns into your rearview mirror, seek unique.

4. Tell a story with your photos. My goal is always to take a quality picture and make sure that photo tells part of a story. If it doesn't, I'm not likely to keep it. I don't see the purpose of keeping a photo that is not good and doesn't say anything.

5. Delete duplicates. Once you upload your photos to your computer, you can really start analyzing them. In each set (as in, group of identical photos) choose the one (or two, if you must) that is focused, lit and composed the best.

One afternoon in Estes Park, we decided to drive all the way up to the highest point of the mountain (that we could, anyhow). So off we went.

We made it up the mountain's incline, only peeing our pants one or two times. It was beautiful and terrifying. No guardrails. Signs telling you not to turn left (into never-never land!) and speeds of 15-20 MPH for safety. I took pictures through our bird-poop and bug-guts coated windshield the entire time.

On the way back down, I continued to snap pictures. I just knew if I kept going I'd get that one magazine-worthy photograph of trees and mountains. I looked in my side rearview mirror and gasped at what I saw.

You can see where we are and where we were.

The landscape changed as we drove on.

A slight glimpse of the mountaintops.

The sun was starting to set. Beautiful light.

The clouds were amazing.

I love the repetition of the trees.

A little of everything was in one image.

The land was flattening out. More sky.

The mountains were moving further away.

Once we were down to a reasonable altitude (oh, 7,000 feet or so!) my daughter wanted her window open. I LOVE this shot.

No, not every photo said something, but they all contribute in their own way to the story of our decline down the mountain. I could probably delete one or two more, but here's the thing: I started with 65! Yes, sixty-five. I deleted 55 rearview mirror shots.

I'm left with 10 beautiful images. And I'd be willing to bet you didn't even get bored.

Battle of the Apple Breads

2011-10-11T10:49:00.000-05:00

We made our annual pilgrimage to the apple orchard. Which translates into this time of the year being the season of baking. Pies. Breads. Muffins. (Yes, dad, I said "apple pie".)

To kick it off, I started with something easy that we can eat any time of the day. Apple bread. I was curious to see what would happen in the bread machine so I searched online and found a simple recipe. Then I threw in the traditional apple bread that I make every year. I couldn't wait to see (and taste!) the difference.

Here's what I ended up with.

Bread machine loaf (tall) and the traditional oven version.

They are so completely different!

The bread machine version is very mild, you can barely taste the sweetness. And the apples? For as many as I put in (two small/medium sized apples), I can't seem to find them. They seem to have gotten lost.

The other loaf is smaller and very sweet. There are apples in every bite. The way it bakes, the top resembles an apple crumble. While the bread machine version is good with some butter on it for breakfast, this version is more of a dessert.

If you are looking for true simplicity, go with the bread machine. Not only was there no mixing, I used no bowls and only a measuring cup and a measuring spoon. The oven version used two bowls, plus the measuring tools and the loaf pan. And if you do both, it won't be much more cleanup for you at all. So really, you should make both. That's the answer.

Bread Machine Apple Chunk Bread
from food.com

1 cup milk
2 Tbs. butter, melted
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups bread flour
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
1 large apple, diced

Put all ingredients (except apples) in order into your bread machine.
At some point, your bread machine will probably beep at you like mine did. Add the apples.
Let the machine do the rest of the work.
Use oven mitts when you take out the loaf pan from the machine. It'll be really hot.

Apple Bread*
from Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 beaten egg
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups peeled, shredded apple (I cut mine into chunks)
1/4 cup oil

Grease bottom and sides of loaf pan. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder and nutmeg. Make a well in center of mixture.
In another bowl, combine egg, sugar, apple and oil.
Add apple mixture to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. (Mine seemed sort of dry, but I soldiered on.)
Spoon into pan. Bake at 350 for 50-55 minutes or until wooden toothpick comes out dry.

* This recipe is actually listed as Zucchini Bread... with an Apple Bread alternative. I'm not one for Zucchini Bread. But I am all for the alternatives.

Project 365: October 1-9

2011-10-10T14:16:00.000-05:00

Day #274. Bend it like David. 10/1

275. Roses. 10/2

276. Spools of thread. 10/3

277. David's homework: to write 5 interesting facts from the book about bird families onto Post-It Notes. This one reads, "The female turkey lays a egg every day until it has 14 eggs."

278. Cards for soldiers. 10/5

279. Rainbow of thread. 10/6

280. Sammie's Karate class graduation to gold belt. So focused. 10/7

281. Dear Future Boyfriends of My Sister: Look the hell out. 10/8

282. Apple picking with our friends -- Charlie, David, Jack, Sammie. 10/9

Project 365: September 20-30

2011-10-07T14:37:00.002-05:00

Day #263. Finally finished this cute pocket wall hanging for Sammie. 9/20

264. Crayons...happieness. 9/21

265. Individually wrapped birthday brownies for Sammie's class. 9/22

266. Every Friday morning for eleven years. 9/23

267. Happy Nano birthday, Sammie! You are my special girl... who listens to astronomy podcasts to fall asleep. 9/24

268. I hope all your wishes come true. 9/25

269. Do you ever feel like you're looking in the mirror? 9/26

270. Rainy day. This seat is not taken. 9/27

271. One trip to the audio section of the library and I'm a happy girl! 9/28

272. Organizing David's drawers. Literally. 9/29

273. Cleaning out kitchen cabinets and I found these. It's time to let go. 9/30

Flashback Friday #6

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

These are not the best photos. The story (forthcoming) is not all that great either. But it's one I don't want to forget - that through a terrible situation, my dad and my son were BONDED. David actually had separation anxiety for grandpa.

Scraplifting. I've mentioned it before. It's not a bad thing. People post their layouts online and in magazines for other people to view, enjoy and potentially copy. It's a great compliment. Today my layout came from a page in a magazine (below). There are just enough aspects of the design that you can tell I copied it. But I have done a few tweaks to make it my own.

Ed. Note: I'd like to take a moment to formally BEG scrapbook companies to put more 'E's on alphabet sticker sheets. While I don't totally mind using upside down 3's, it is a little annoying and kinda distracting. Throw me a bone, here! (That sentence alone used four E's!) Thanks.

PP Fancy Pants, MM + CS DCWV, Archiver's, Bazzill + Stickers Reminisce, Oct PM + Brads MM + Pen Zig + Twine

Scrapbooks, etc. August 2011, layout by Danielle Flanders.

Often times when I create a layout, I'm left with scraps and pieces of the elements that I used on my page. They're just sitting there on my table, begging to be used. So I do - I make a card. To simplify the process even more, I usually mimic the design of scrapbook page onto the card. Viola!

PP Fancy Pants, MM + CS DCWV, Archiver's, Bazzill + Sticker 3Brids + Twine

The Happieness Project: September

2011-10-06T10:55:00.002-05:00

Write a Book.

It was a sign. School started and I began my quest to get cleaned up, get organized, get motivated, get my life and home in order. One of the many things on my list was to read the September chapter in Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project.

I turned the page and gasped. The topic for the month was “Pursuit a Passion”, specifically regarding books. Okaaay… and then the first of three bullet pointed sub-headings shot out at me like a dart: “Write a novel.”

Really???

It was a sign. Not quite a sign from above, but at least it was incredibly coincidental with highly ironic timing. You see, I’d been seriously considering doing just that. I’ve always enjoyed writing. I’ve also always told myself the evergreen excuse, “when the time is right, I’ll do it.” Yeah, sure. Well... the time has become right.

When school started on September 1, both kids went off to school. All day. I was left grappling with the idea that I’ve become a stay-at-home mom with no-kids-at-home. It was crippling me, emotionally draining me as the summer drew to a close. What was I going to do with myself??? What was I going to do? I didn’t know what I was going to do with my time, now that it was mine.

Sure, I could spend my time scrapbooking. But as much as I’d enjoy passing my days covered with paper and photos and adhesive of all kinds, in reality, it’s completely impractical and in all, an irresponsible choice. (By the way, this decision is a sure sign that I’m a grown-up. Darnnit.)

I considered getting a part-time job. What a great idea! I’d get a job doing something fun like working at the bookstore again or maybe at the coffee shop supporting my caffeine addiction. I’d make some new friends. I’d “get out of the house” a few days a week. I’d help bring in some extra money. But the problem is that I could only work between the hours of 8:30 and 3:00. Pretty unrealistic for a retail job. Cross that one off.

I thought of starting a business. The problem is that I couldn’t think of anything to make a business out of. Whenever I’ve tried to make a hobby into a job it has failed miserably. I needed to let go of the idea that making cards or bracelets or selling our junk on eBay would bring me riches.

Then it hit me. My husband has always been fully supportive of me in any of my endeavors, especially my writing. In fact, he’s the one who leaves little comments on my blog like “write a book” or even just “wab.” He always tells me that this is what I need to spend my days doing.

So that was it. It was time. I decided to write a book.

During September, Gretchen Rubin documented the process she went through to write a novel in a month. This is a challenge that some writer-types complete in the month of November for National Novel Writing Month. She decided to do it now, to pursuit her passion now. And like any professional, she made it sound so easy. It is not easy. At. All.

I’m dedicated to this passion, as I always have been. But moreso. But now, in addition to the excitement over being handed this opportunity (as in, the time) to write a book, I am now scared out of my mind.

Every day when I sit down, words do not fall out of my head. If they do, they are most likely not the right words. But no one ever said you could write a book in a month. It just doesn’t happen that fast. Riiight???? For me, a writer of short essays on a teeny tiny blog, the thought of writing a book is a giant, humongous overwhelming undertaking. My mind swirls in confusion when I try to focus my thoughts.

For the record, Gretchen said her “novel” she wrote in September is not one that will ever see the light of day. She did it, just not well. Perhaps everything I write for the next week, month, year will be garbage. Perhaps I will delete it with disgust. But maybe I won’t. There’s always that option. And the fact is, if I don’t try, I’ll never know how it will end up.

So….. Here I go. Wish me luck.

The Happieness Project: August

2011-10-04T09:20:00.003-05:00

BE HAPPIE

This month’s “lesson” as written by Gretchen Rubin in her book, The Happiness Project seemed sort of vague to me. It could be because I simply couldn’t relate to half of it. She talked a lot about theology and spirituality. These are topics that, not that I don’t believe in them, but I don’t have a firm position on them. Or at least not one that I’m fully prepared to publicize. It’s not that I question my religion or my beliefs and values, it’s just not something that I monitor on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. I don’t go to temple, I don’t (outwardly) celebrate many religious holidays. It doesn’t hold any significance toward my happinesss.

In the second half of August’s chapter Gretchen wrote about her focus on the actual pursuit of happiness. The truth is, she wrote, that it’s harder than you think to be happy. I hadn’t considered this before but it’s SO absolutely true!

Think about it.

Is it easier to focus on the positive or negative?

Is it easier to compliment or complain?

Is it easier to smile or scowl?

The thing is, our natural instinct is to be critical. Try going to a meeting or a show or just to the coffee shop. What is the first thing you say to someone (even if it’s just yourself)? Surely you don’t comment on the awesome traffic pattern or the amazing display of 6 inches of snow on your windshield or even the fabulous long line at the register. After the meeting is over, do you instantly think how informative the last two hours of your life have been? Do you comment to your coworker on what a great public speaker your boss is?

Next time you find yourself in a social situation like one I described above, I challenge you to walk in and make a genuine positive comment. And then make another. Try one more. Are you feeling a little fatigued? It’s tough work being so happy, see?

And as for that “difficult” smile, it is highly debated whether it takes more muscles (ie effort) to frown or smile. What pushes the smile over the finish line is the fact that it is done in response to a stimulus, thereby utilizing various parts of your brain before the muscles in your face even have a chance to react. It is harder to smile than it is to frown. Really. As you read this, are you sitting there with a goofy grin on your face? I know I’m not smiling as I write this. First, because I’m focused on my activity. Second, the people here at Starbucks would surely start questioning if they need to make a “special phone call” for that “happy girl in the corner”. I don’t need that kind of reputation. Looking around me, I see not a single person sitting in front of their laptops, mobile devices and textbooks smiling. They all look frown-y and serious. Not that there’s anything wrong with that… it’s just proving my point. If smiling were so easy, people would be more prone to smile naturally than frown.

So how do we become happier? It’s difficult, especially if you’re not used to it. It requires real, hard-core training. (Which explains why this is its own chapter in the book.) To be happier, it requires that you change your way of thinking, not an easy task.

How do we start? Write in a gratitude journal. Show appreciation for each day. Pick your poison - a new journal, an old spiral notebook, a word processing document, your calendar, a mobile device application like Momento or Evernote. Every single day, open it up and jot down something from your day that you appreciated or made you happy; make a small note about something good that happened that day. All you need to do is write something positive, happy, something you want to remember about the day, no matter how small.

You will find, after a few days, you look at your day in a different light. You may even search out the positive. That’s a good thing! After even more time, you may notice your critical eye, your judgmental ways slipping away. That's great!

Watch yourself. You might just become... HAPPIER.

Flashback Friday 5

2011-09-30T19:34:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of SIMPLE. As long as a page has paper (duh), a photo or two, written details and perhaps an embellishment or three, I'm happy.

This page has paper, one photo and one single flower with a button. That's it. And I LOVE it. Besides, this is a page that relies heavily on the journaling; the photo is not very good and the story is. So I wanted to keep it simple and allow my words to take center stage (or in this case, stage right).

As a side note, Sammie tried soccer again in first grade and hated it then, too. It's official twice over - she prefers flowers over soccer. My sweet girl. I love that about her.

CS Coredinations + PP LYB, Crete Paper + Stickers Webster's Pages (thanks mom!), LB + Flower TPS + Button

The Happieness Project: JULY

2011-09-26T11:04:00.000-05:00

Buy Some Happiness

How about this for a too-hot-to-handle topic? Politics. Religion. Body odor. How you spend your money.

So, can money buy happiness? Yes, I think it can. To a certain extent.

Sure, I’d love to have a second income, a large sum of money each week, a sort of “Happiness Fund”. But what would that mean, really?

For me, it’s not the money itself or even the supposed status of having more money. My ethics and values won’t change because I have more money. Instead, it’s what we’d do with it and how those actions affect us.

We’d probably make more investments and put away more savings. That would certainly make us feel more comfortable about our future, and therefore, we’d feel more happiness, more contentedness. Certainly we’d feel less concern over our future. It’s all connected - more content, less worry, more happiness all around.

I think we’d also do a bunch of home improvement projects. Besides the boring stuff like a new driveway, a paint job on the exterior and new carpeting (pink carpet is so 1978!), we’d love to create our dream basement. Having a more inviting and useable living space down there would make us a lot more comfortable… and happier. Oh, yes, and it would make me so happy to do laundry in a spider-controlled utility room.

Perhaps we take more elaborate vacations.

Maybe I’d have a fancier and more current wardrobe.

Maybe we’d have new living room furniture.

Sure, I’d look better, my house would be more presentable. But really, it’s just clothes, paint and carpet. I would still be the same person and we’d live in the same house. Maybe we’d have someone over to our home who would care enough to notice our new decor and comment on it. But will these things make me truly, deep down, a happier person? If someone likes a picture frame on my wall, will that bring me the kind of joy I can carry with me in my back pocket, all the way to the grave? If we took longer vacations to distant lands, would we really be happier? Of course we would have fun. Of course we would be happier. The trips we’ve taken -- to the World’s Largest Children’s Museum in Indianapolis! To Wrigley Field in Chicago! To the Wisconsin Dells! To Mount Rushmore! -- have become the stuff of legend in our family. We love our little trips, whether they’re a week long through the midwest or three days in the city. I’m not sure a two week tour of Great Britain is what we need to make us truly, deep down happy. (I can hear my husband sighing in relief.) That’s not to say I wouldn’t love to go to Europe someday, it’s just not going to change how happy I am every day of my life.

What I’m saying, what I’m learning every day, is that there’s happiness, and then there’s deep rooted, in your core, through your blood happiness. The kind of happiness other people can see in your eyes, in your smile, in your soul. Sometimes that involves spending money. Sometimes it’s a built-in feature that doesn’t require a single nickel to maintain. OK, maybe it would require a nickel… but not much more.

The flipside of the discussion is that maybe it would make us happier to have more freedom and flexibility in our budget. Perhaps I don’t need expensive clothes or massive vacations. But do you think that the wiggle room in the bank account to get a new car stereo would make my husband endlessly happy? Well, the answer is yes. For a man who works in the radio industry, being able to listen in your car is pretty essential. After replacing the soundless stereo, he is now more comfortable, relaxed and overall contented, which then allows him to do his job better, which makes him less stressed, which makes him happier, then when he comes home from work we are all happier for it.

Spending money on something with the purpose of making you happier has so many various angles and degrees. If it’s bottom of your heart happiness, that’s different than quick fix, temporary pleasure. And in this economy (I say this with my hands clasping my shaking head), people seem to be a lot more particular about how they spend their money, especially on “extras”. It’s a matter of looking inward to determine which categories your spending fits into.

This determination can be tough. I may spend my (husband’s) hard-earned money on something that feeds my soul, makes my life easier and makes my heart sing. But to someone else, my expense may seem frivolous, eccentric or even boring. Getting ice cream with the kids makes us so happy… it’s a family event, a family tradition. But for someone else it’s totally non-essential; they would rather spend their twenty bucks on a new vase. Sitting at Starbucks in the morning makes me happy. I like to be surrounded by people - even if I’m deep in thought, focused, with noise reducing earbuds stuck in my ears. I feel more content and energized in that environment rather than at home alone with only the cat meowing at me to feed her. I guarantee that many (most?) people would call this an extra, completely unnecessary expense. (I’d also be willing to bet that those people have jobs that require some sort of regular adult communication. Mine does not.) I do wish Starbucks would lower their prices, but I simply consider it my insurance policy for success and happiness. When I walk out of the doors of the coffee shop, I feel a great kind of happiness that comes from doing something I love.

On the higher end, let’s take holiday gifts. For some people, this is a mindless money pit. For some, it’s an annual inconvenience to shop and think of the perfect gifts for each recipient (true, it is certainly not easy!). When it comes to my children, I don’t care if I have to go without dinners out, limit my Starbucks work sessions, or cut back on groceries, my kids will have presents under our Chrismukka tree. No matter what. There have been years (come to think of it, most of them) where they have gifts and Pat and I don’t buy each other a single thing. Sure, I’d like to have presents, who wouldn’t? But without sounding like a total cornball, I love seeing the excitement in my children’s faces when they open their packages. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, sometimes it’s just a coloring book and new markers. But it makes them happy, exuberant, overjoyed. And that pleases me more than a new scarf or calendar ever could.

That is what I carry in my back pocket with me every day.

Ed. Note: The author would like to express that while a trip to Europe, new clothes and and presents under the tree are not essential to her core happiness, they should not be completely dismissed. She would gladly, gratefully and quite happily accept any of the above. Also, she adds, she would not turn down the chance to replace her pink carpeting.

September 20.11

2011-09-23T09:48:00.000-05:00

6:30a Shower. No exercise this morning as breathing is a bit of an issue. Sniffle. Cough.

7:00a Woke up kids. Sammie’s new getting-dressed routine includes dressing in the span of a song picked by Daddy. This morning's pick was Erasure. (Yay!) Mommy danced while Sammie dressed. The kids both stared in awe.

7:10a Make breakfast, lunch and snacks for all. Note to self: cooking in the morning (pre-coffee) is not wise. Even if it is only Spaghetti O’s. Now I need to deep clean my microwave. Phooey.

7:50a “Leaving the house” = spend 10 minute racing around, getting shoes and socks, backpacks, sweatshirts, coffee, book, purse, key, mascara, glasses, iPhone, sanity.

8:04a Left the house.

8:12a Arrived at school. I am very appreciative of clear, sunny mornings. Once the s#$& hits, I’m going to be one miserable person. Note to self: this year, I need REAL snow boots.

8:18a Bell. All the parents disperse.

8:30a Starbucks. Didn’t have time for breakfast and my granola bar in the car was stale so I treated myself to the Perfect Oatmeal. What? That’ what they call it.

8:35a The interview with Brad Pitt in this week’s Entertainment Weekly is WAY too long. I really don’t care that much about him. Skip.

8:40a Replied to emails and decided on Sammie’s birthday present via text with my husband. All the great decisions of the world are made via text message, you know.

10:00a Looked at the time and wanted to slap myself. The morning evaporated before my eyes and I haven’t done any real writing. Sigh.

12:25 After writing and editing, I looked at the clock and understood why my rear end was sore. Time for a Facebook Break.

12:35p Left Starbucks.

12:40p Once home: made beds, cleaned up, ate a ham sandwich, posted to blog, uploaded pictures from memory card, cleaned out 3 cabinets, switched the laundry, took a call, crossed off 4 things from my running to-do list, counted and organized quilt squares for my next project.

2:55p Left for school pickup.

3:15p Bell. David finally found his lunchbox from over a week ago. Afraid. Very afraid.

3:35p Home. Snacks for hungry kids: David - apple sauce and graham crackers, Sam - plums. I read mail and papers from backpack while listening to all their stories about their day. (I’m kidding about that last part. Any mom or dad would know, kids don’t talk about squat from school. What happens at school stays at school!)

4:15p Left for karate.

4:30p Watched karate = reading time for mommy. This months selection: Those Who Save Us.

5:30p Classes are over. Did you realize it takes the human child over 10 minutes to put on a pair of shoes?

5:45p Pat called me on our way home. Offered to pick up pizza for dinner. I love him.

5:50p Home. Had kids change into "civilian clothes" so we could play a game (non-Wii). Instead, they wouldn't stop fighting so they served time outs instead. I cleaned up the kitchen from all that cooking.

6:30p Pizza - and daddy - arrived! David was circling the dining room table like a shark and its prey.

7:00p I finally got to play Star Wars Trouble with David.

7:30p PJs. Read the kids' 2010 photo book with David. It makes me so happy that they like those books. We cracked up big time over my typo "fininish line". I love giggling with David.

8:00p Dishes (pizza boxes, anyhow), laundry, butt in chair for New Fall TV. Glee, New Girl, Parenthood. Glee was awesome, of course. Parenthood was also great. New Girl, not so good. I may have to kick her out of the apartment.

11:48p Bedtime. Goodnight!

Flashback Friday 4

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Not all scrapbook pages are happy. Oh, I WISH my life were 100% happy all the time. But there are rough moments and sad days and times when you have to say goodbye. I wouldn't scrapbook a funeral (if you know someone who has, please send them my way. I'm dying to see what they've done with that!) but moving away has become a part of our lives and that is certainly something I want to remember...because with every move comes a lot of tears but even more opportunities.

This was the day before Sammie's friend Abby (and my friend Deb) moved away. I'm going to be honest here - I had no words. I went with the basics facts on that little 2-inch square and I'm still not totally happy with it. BUT.... this is one of those times when I say that done is better than perfect.

We miss you Deb and Abby!

August Twenty.Eleven

2011-09-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

August 20.11

Saturday.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota - Last day of family vacation “out west”.

12:45a Finished watching Slumdog Millionaire on iPhone. What year did you say it was? Ok, so I’m a little slow.

7:45a Thought process as I woke up in a strange hotel in a strange city: Everyone is still sleeping. Do I wake them or not? What time does free breakfast end? And will we have time to see the "falls" here in Sioux Falls?

8:45a After showers and coaxing the kids to get dressed, we headed downstairs to breakfast. We were shocked at the amount of people. Totally forgot it was Saturday.

9:05a David had been eating monumental breakfasts on the trip. This morning: a muffin, donut holes, fruit loops, scrambled eggs, half a bagel and milk. Wow! I fear for when he turns ten or starts high school. We’d better start saving now for his meals.

9:30a Pat loaded the car with suitcases and gasoline. It was raining so we (truthfully, not so sadly) decided to skip the falls. There was, however, a lovely man-made waterfall in front of the First Dakota State Bank on 26th street. Check.

"The Falls" that we saw.

9:50a On I29 headed to I90 we nearly got into a wreck because some woman wanted in our lane, whether we were there or not. Scary. Let’s get out of South Dakota!

11:50a Three magazines (me) and several levels of Pokemon on the DS (kids) later, there is an actual conversation in the backseat. I almost forgot they were there.

12:25p Finished another mag and looked up. It stopped raining I see. And we have left South Dakota.

1:00p Stopped for lunch at Subway in Rochester, MN.

1:45p I read in the gas station that the town was planning a benefit for a local firefighter who was “totally disabled”. I was ready to donate to the cause when I read further: he broke his foot.

2:00p Back on the road. Only 4 hours left till home!

3:00p Out of the blue Sammie demanded to know when her playdate with her new friend was. Her new friend, whose phone number and last name we do not know.

4:00p Viewing of Up for the kids on the portable DVD player. Silence.

5:45p Arguing. Of course! We’re 15 minutes from home!

6:00p (Precisely.) Pulled into driveway. Total mileage for trip: 2,715.

6:15p checked for piles from the cat throughout the house (there were none), unpacked the car, kids, a few suitcases and bags, read the mail and picked tomatoes. Oh yeah, and made dinner (ordered pizza).

6:45p Talked to neighbor about the house fire around the corner that turned the neighborhood into a tourist attraction.

7:10p Dinner. At our own table. I decided to go to the store. Quickly changed mind when I learned it wasn't double coupons on Saturday anymore. Groceries can wait!

8:00p Bedtime for kids.

8:15p Finished reading mail, including looking at newspapers from throughout the week, bills and Family Fun magazine. Pat watched U20 European soccer, Brazil vs Portugal. Made a wish for an American Soccer Breeding Machine like they clearly have in Brazil.

9:05p Fired up Wii to watch Netflix, we are newly addicted to Mad Men - but still only on Season 1.

11:55p We're officially spent. Goodnight.

Project 365: September 12-19

2011-09-21T14:18:00.000-05:00

Day #255. Photo with a tip: put your iPod/iPhone in a bowl for instant speakers. Hands free booty shaking. 9/12

253. The whole quilt, nothing but the quilt. 9/13

254. Happy birthday hunny! Too bad you had to make a wish on a scented candle. (Sorry.) 9/14

255. Easy invitations: patterned paper, solid paper, computer, printer, Stickles. 9/15

256. Concert ticket storage in the back of CD's: check out the date (and price!) on that one! 9/16

257. Playtime at the park. 9/17

258. Andy Bell of Erasure sings his heart out. What a show! 9/18

259. My very own life-size Pikachu. Pokemon have officially infested my home. 9/19

July Twenty. Eleven

2011-09-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

July 20.11

Wednesday.

12:25a Darn it. Why do I get so sucked into reruns of Grey's Anatomy? I cannot stop watching.

12:45a Darn it. Why do I get so sucked into Facebook? No one is posting anything new at this hour. Just go to sleep, Abbie!

12:50a Darn it. Words with Friends has really got me addicted. Which brings up another interesting point: I'm so BAD at this game, yet I cannot stop playing.

6:00a Stupid alarm. Made myself run 2.5 miles. Showered. Ready to conquer the day.

7:15a Fed and clothes children. Pop Tart and strawberries for David. Oatmeal and strawberries for Sammie.

8:15a Drove kids to summer school school. Thank goodness for summer school.

8:40a Back home. Didn’t have to water plants because of overnight rain. (Time savings of approximately 20 minutes.) Updated calendars. Ate cereal.

9:20a Went to Target. I should have gone up and down every aisle while I had the chance.

10:35a Back home. Put stuff away. Read book (The Girl Who Played with Fire) for 15 whole minutes.

11:10a Picked up kids from summer school. Sam went to a playdate.

11:45a Trip to the grocery store with David. He is the perfect grocery store companion: give him a donut or a cookie (free at the bakery, thank you Pick n Save!) and he is happy as a…boy with a donut or a cookie.

12:45p Back home. Made lunch for the two of us. David played Lego Star Wars on the Wii.

2:00p En route to Neptune Comics with David, as a little afternoon surprise. While we were at it, went to Kohl’s. Then Michael’s.

2:50p Got honked at because following rules of the road is not good enough for some people. This woman laid on her horn so long you'd think she was trying to scare a herd of cows out of her way. The heat is getting to people. That's my conclusion.

3:28p Arrived at intersection of Michael’s at Bluemound Road. Left turn lane. Keep reading...

3:42p Finally got to turn left onto Moorland from Bluemound. It took FOURTEEN minutes to go through TWO intersections.

4:00p Picked Sam up from playdate.

4:45p Back home. Kids both collapse onto couch. I poured glasses of ice water.

5:00p Wrapped birthday present for David’s friend. D & I made her a card. He was so cute about it (of course he was). He knew exactly what he wanted to do, even wrote her a note!

5:25p "Dinner" time. Quesadilla for one, bologna for other. This summer, dinners seem to have fallen by the wayside. Why are all sports and activities scheduled during dinner time? Well, I know why. But WHY? Oh well.

5:38p Pat called. Offered to take David to T-ball so Sam and I could stay home. I think I heard angles sing.

5:55p Sam insisted on going to T-ball so she could play with her friends. Everyone changed and they were out the door. I have 60 minutes to myself....

Emptied and loaded dishwasher

Switched laundry

Talked to neighbor about block party

Uploaded pictures from two memory cards
Did all while rocking out on my iPod to... podcasts. Ok, whatever.

6:12p Everyone came back. Pat and I ate while Sammie constructed a kite out of wire shirt hangers and construction paper. David played on his DS and later assisted Sammie with the wire-paper kite.

7:48p Time for the PJ’s/tooth-brushing/bedtime routine. Tonight I also changed sheets so their new mattress pads (see Kohl’s, 2:00pm) could go on the beds. The kids were mildly impressed.

8:23p David read new comic books (Indiana Jones!). Sam fed fish and discovered the Mickey fish… um... floating.

8:30p Non-dramatic fish burial by the "sea". Flush.

8:45p Pat told David a Denny story. I sat in Sam’s room with her and read my book and talked about her color book. Explained color blindness. Then she picked up Little House book. (Yay.)

9:23p My book was getting really good when I realized where I was. Tucked in Sam. Said goodnight to D. Talked to Pat for a little while.

9:34p Pat went to use computer. I sat and watched CSI: NY episodes from April.

10:25p Popcorn time. It would have been earlier but the cat was cuddling me and I didn’t want to get up.

11:48p Going to bed early tonight. Goodnight.

Things I Like This Week, Vol. 6

2011-09-20T13:32:00.000-05:00

Here's a whole mess of things I've been saving up....

Scrappy Stuff

We R Memory Keepers, Fiesta Collection. All "fiesta" colors and stripes. Cute stamps and stickers with phrases in Spanish. It's about time! And while the images are sometimes "typical", they are well done. I don't go out and celebrate Cinco de Mayo and I would still consider buying these. That's saying something. Nice job, WRM!

Lily Bee Designs. I'm going to just keep talking about this company until someone finally tells me to stop. I love everything they come up with. Their new papers are fabulous! I love their letter stickers! Now they have added journaling cards and a selection of stamps for each collection. I may collapse right here.

Amy Tangerine. Her designs for American Crafts are just beautiful. Adorable and simple and I just want to squeeze the juice out of them! (get it?)

ScrapZoom. Speaking of American Crafts, they have come up with a new way to drive me nuts (in a good way). ScrapZoom is a new "deal a day" site that is all scrappy goodness, and really good deals. For example, an entire line of products, a bunch of Thickers letter stickers, or what about an assortment of rub on packages. All so tempting. Go check it out.

Other Stuff

Lemon-Scented Lotion. We once stayed at a hotel that had the most wonderful lotion I'd ever smelled. It was Bliss Lemon Sage Body Butter. I've been using a tiny bit at a time so it never runs out. I just looked it up online. Decided that I don't like it THAT much at $67 for a set of shower gel/body lotion? Are you kidding me? I still like the smell of lemon-scented lotion so if you see lemon-scented lotion anywhere for less than the price of a pair of Nikes, let me know.

Ted Danson on CSI. I cannot wait. He will breathe life into the show, I just know it. Also, I'm really thrilled for Fall TV in general. Grey's, Glee, Survivor, Castle (I missed you Richard!), etc. I'm going to try X Factor and Person of Interest (Ben is back!!). Is it just me, or do the new shows not look all that promising? I'm sticking with mostly returning favorites. What are you watching?

Hey Ya! Remember that song by Outkast? I just heard it and you know what, I love that song.

Culver's App. It tells you the Flavor of the Day. 'Nuff said.

Don Draper. 'Nuff said.

Something smells?

June Twenty.Eleven

2011-09-20T13:20:00.003-05:00

Remember how I said "summer really got away from me"? Well, here's how. Watch for July and August, coming soon... and now that I think of it.... September, too.

June 20.11
Monday.

12:08a In the living room laying out quilt squares across the floor.

12:45a Picked out more fabric from my stash because apparently I miscounted. Oh, numbers!

1:05a Forced myself into bed.

6:00a Alarm. Time to run. 2 miles, 19 minutes.

7:00a Woke up kids and husband. Fed and clothed children (husband is on his own!) and packed their backpacks for the first day of summer school. Sammie ate a Toaster Struedel with fresh berries and David had his usual Pop Tart with strawberries.

7:35a I actually got to take a shower! It's already a great day.

8:08a Pulled out of driveway to bring children to summer school. Halleluja!

8:30a Drove home alone. In silence. Ate my Cornflakes, did some writing. Also did some ironing - Brownies patches and quilt squares. I don't do shirts.

10:20a Made the beds, cleaned the floors.

11:05a Left to pick up kids from summer school. Felt rushed but refreshed.

11:45a Back home, kiddos in tow, fed them lunch. David, his ever-predictable Lunchables. They were on sale this week so he got the real thing! Sammie ate leftover Edwardo's pizza and I had a ham sandwich.

12:04p Marveled at how incredibly Out of Style I am as I perused an issue of InStyle Magazine. (Musings turned into blog post.)

12:40p Worked with David on writing three birthday party thank you notes while Sammie put together a sparkly mosaic art project.

1:15p Left for Sammie's dentist appointment. It was time for her to get sealants. I actually remember doing that as a child. Strange full-circle moment. While we waited, David played Ice Cream Maker on my iPhone and I read June's book group pick, Tabloid City.

2:45p Back home. David finished the last thank for the day. His attention span seems to be at about a 3-card-per-day level. (Mine, too.)

3:10p Kids wanted to play Wii. I let them. Used that time to get a little craft project pulled together.

3:15p Crying and fighting coming from the living room. I turned off the Wii and sent each child to their respective rooms to take a calming time out.

3:40p Administered supplemental blood sugar in the form of an afternoon snack. There, there.

3:35p Did a great project with the kids - made a picture of a lobster at the beach! I found it at Lily Bee Designs (it's project #3) and altered it to be made with construction paper rather than my precious scrapbooking paper. The best part of the project? Painting their feet and hands with red paint. David giggled and giggled! Oh, and then I hosed them off. Our grass looked like a crime scene, with the red paint flowing all over it.

4:41p Sam moved on to the mosaic from earlier. David wanted to play a game with me. GAME. I sent him downstairs to pick out a GAME. He came back up with the Blizzard Maker. I sent him back down to get a GAME. While I waited, I cut out two more squares for the quilt.

5:05p Two fights later, they ended up starting a game of Sorry without me. I tried to join in but they wouldn't let me. (Really???)

5:20p I cut the remaining 22 squares I needed for the quilt. As I was admiring my handy cutting skills, I heard noises from the living room. The Sorry game went awry. "Somehow" the board flipped over. But that's ok, both kids were happy to move onto Scrabble Jr. That's great, because "somehow" the sewing machine turned on.

5:31p I thought to myself, "I wonder if the tooth fairy can make dinner?"

5:48p Sammie decided she just had to make some Orbeez. Uh, ok. Orbeez first, then dinner...

6:05p Pat came home from work. We decided that Leftovers R Us.

6:25p David was eating a hot dog, Sammie was eating Spaghetti-O's, Pat was eating pizza. I was texting about tickets for Erasure. I'm embarrassed to admit how terribly we ate on 6.20.11.

6:40p Pat and I sat for 20 minutes to talk while ignoring the sounds of arguing over Star Wars Wii.

7:30p Sam helped me lay out the quilt squares. She was really helpful with arranging the varied patterns and colors.

Quilt arranged. Laundry ignored and wrinkled. Sorry game neatly put away. Two out of three ain't bad.

7:48p Phone call.

8:30p Hung up phone, both of us somehow shocked to see that the kids still running rampant. Bedtime, STAT.

9:01p Kids in beds, Denny story told, books read. Walked into Sammie's room to find her naming countries on her wall map. She would do it by continent, by color or alphabetical. My choice, she told me.

9:20p Dishes.

9:49p Email.

10:23p While the popcorn popped, I put a load of laundry into the washing machine.

10:33p Sat down with my book and a giant bowl of popcorn. Watched Paul Ryan on CNBC, an old episode of Grey's Anatomy and Brothers and Sisters. (Still not caught up, don't tell me it's cancelled.)

12:08a Goodnight.

Flashback Friday 3

2011-09-17T09:00:00.000-05:00

I'm not flashing back too far today.

Here are the latest inserts for my planner.

CS The Paper Studio, Archiver's + Stickers Webster's Pages + Tag The Gap

PP BG + Stickers Oct PM + Brad Creative Imaginations

The Happieness Project: June

2011-09-16T10:27:00.002-05:00

FRIENDS

I cringed when I saw the topic for June in The Happiness Project. This, for me, is a tough subject. I quietly envy the people who can relate to what I've been reading Gretchen Rubin write in her book: that happiness stems from, among other things, "close, long-term relationships." Plus, in a month when school was coming to an end, families beginning their three months of semi-solitary confinement with children and wet swimsuits, the prospect of making new friends quickly slipped away. Yes, just like the grains of sand through my fingers at the park. Till all you're left with is a nasty grime on your palm. And no one to tell about it.

Honestly, I had a really difficult time getting started with this topic.

Since a typical long term friendship is out of the question for me, how could I just snap my fingers and make new friends? Local friendships have been tough to come by since our last move. I have a very small number of local friends but due to schedules and children and jobs and the lack of that Allusive 25th Hour, we just don't see each other that often. Other moms at school already have friends - they certainly don't need a new one now, especially for no reason but pity. So how could I make friends appear, as if out of thin air?

First came the excuses: how could I possibly make new friends when school was ending - I would be more secluded than I was during the school year. My book group - something that brought me so much happiness - fell apart at the seams. My kids were getting involved in activities - but not the kind that mom can easily hang around at without looking like a stalker or an obsessive stage mom. Picking up moms at the park (ha ha) was getting more difficult too - if our children don't attend the same school it's like an automatic turn-off. You can see the disappointment in their faces as they turn on their heels and walk away. And God bless all my faithful friends on Facebook, but you have to admit, it's just not the same thing. I can't exactly bring along all 150 friends to the movies or the bookstore for a coffee.

Is this what "friends" look like?

When school started in the fall, my kids began attending a new school. Little did I know that it would turn out to be a good thing for all of us. They would make new friends and maybe I would, too. I was gifted a fresh start. This fresh start has proven positive - it's uncanny how welcoming everyone is, and how ironic it is that the more moms I talk to at this new school, the more I have in common with them. It's like they were storing it up; despite my deep deficit of positive conversations and shared interests at the old school, I am now feeling overwhelmed and especially optimistic. No, I may not have an instant best friend - the kind of sugarcoated friendship you see in commercials and in magazines - but a great conversation about writing or quilting or Glee is certainly a good start.

My thoughts on friendship are a work in progress. I think the best - and happiest - way to leave it as that sometimes, when we least expect it, change is good. Sure, I wish we hadn't relocated so often. If we hadn't, I could be part of a group of friends right now. I could be sharing wine and cheese and deep conversation with a friend. But I'm not. Instead, I'm looking forward. Maybe one of these moms, someone I meet at the quilt shop, someone I come across at Starbucks will become a friend. Who knows. For now, even sharing a conversation about something - anything - makes me happy. I can walk away smiling.

Project 365: September 1-11

2011-09-13T13:02:00.000-05:00

Day #244. Back to school. Sniff. 9/1

245. It was a bad year for tomatoes. 9/2

246. Hypnotized. 9/3

247. Love. 9/4

248. The labor we did on Labor Day. 9/5

249. Another relic from Sam's room: the wood dinosaur she made in Kindergarten. 9/6

250. Rag quilt, finished. I'm keeping this one! 9/7

251. If we drink the Packer's beer, will we steal their mojo? 9/8

252. Pretty girl. 9/9

253. David's first soccer game. 9/10

254. First Bears game of the season. Melting with cuteness. 9/11

The Happieness Project: May

2011-09-13T11:36:00.002-05:00

Get Serious About Play

What do I like to do for fun?
What things do I do for fun which, in truth, I really don't enjoy?
What did you like to do as a child?

These are the questions posed to readers during the month of May in Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project. I had a problem with this chapter's content. Well, not really a problem, more of a blessing in overabundance.

This month was all about finding a hobby, finding a place for fun in your life.

Hmmm.

I think I've got that one covered.

That was the "problem" with this month's goal; I KNOW what I enjoy. Too many things, is the answer. I can't help it. I just love all my hobbies.

I love reading, watching TV, quilting, writing, photography and scrapbooking. I can always do at least one hobby daily because of the flexibility my hobbies present. Sitting in the car waiting for the kids to get out of school? I can read. Any time during the day, when the inspiration strikes, I can pick up my camera and take a picture or two. I can even flip on my computer and edit that photo to perfection if I have a few more minutes. When the kids go to bed at night, I can squeeze in a scrapbook page or cut quilt squares. In fact, I can usually do those while watching TV. These are hobbies that I can fit into my schedule minutes at a time and don't require relocation for completion. (I don't have to go to a scrapbooking store to do a page, for example.)

What was I doing that I thought I enjoyed? Knitting. I loved it, but one false moved proved lethal in the production of a scarf or sock. Additionally, our living room is too dimly lit for knitting. (Instead of knitting in front of the TV, I've picked up the hobby of eating. You don't need any light for that. Ha.) At the time of writing this entry in my spiral notebook, there was another crucial thing I had decided to give up because of the lack of enjoyment. The PTA. The realization that I needed to stop volunteering was a really hard one to surrender to. I had always pictured myself as The Ultimate PTA Mom: Baking and Organizing and Cheering. But I realized this was not meant to be, I was just not enjoying it at all. Instead, I volunteered in my kids' classes to help facilitate parties and take pictures of the kids picking pumpkins, making Valentine's cookies and sorting jelly beans. The kids are the reason I wanted to volunteer anyway. And it was extremely gratifying to see my son's friends recognize me, call out my name, and proceed to tell me about all the exciting things happening in their lives (like which episode of Spongebob they watched last night!). THAT is why I volunteer, pure and simple. Stepping back from the PTA made me realize that and I was able to re-align my input to the school to fit.

This month I decided to interview my husband about his hobbies, based on the above questions. He works so hard and he doesn't get as much time for fun. Don't get the wrong idea - he doesn't walk around sulking about this, nor do I play the "demanding wife" by not allowing him to do something for fun. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Plus, the hobbies he's always enjoyed require "relocating" - to the soccer field, the bowling alley or the golf course. He can't do his hobbies in 20 minute blocks in our living room.

I learned something interesting about him: many of his current hobbies are direct reflection of those he had as a child. He has always loved golf and bowling and video games. He used to love playing baseball. Now he loves playing fantasy baseball - and fantasy football, while we're at it. He also loves watching sporting events - especially football, baseball and soccer. When he was young, his beloved grandfather taught him how to play poker, a game he still enjoys playing. Having discussed his hobbies past and present led us think about which ones he actually participates in. Golfing is more difficult - you need a rather large time slot and the financial backing to go to a course. Bowling and soccer are the same story. Pat participates in several fantasy leagues and enjoys managing his teams. Ok, ok... now we're getting somewhere. He made the discovery during our discussion that he just doesn't play enough video games. This was huge! It was the entire point of the interview! I wanted to figure out what he enjoys so that he could do it more often. Ding!

Another hobby that Pat may not have even mentioned - he has an impressive baseball card collection from when he was a child. I have a feeling that if he took out a box of baseball cards, there is a certain little boy who would love to look at them with him. That would make the reincarnation of the hobby that much sweeter - to pass it on to his son? Fuggedaboutit.

I was thrilled for him - he came away from the conversation with a shortlist of hobbies to pursuit. Some of them may be more difficult to do at our stage in life - heck, I love to travel but it just ain't gonna happen right now: "Kids, you stay in that closet while Daddy and I travel to the corners of the earth..." We both have other priorities that come first, things that, it just so happens, make us equally happy as any hobby would. Ultimately, the result of our conversation made me happy for him. It gave him hope... and with hope comes joy. In the end, I just want him to be happy.

Are you looking for a hobby? Try answering the above questions and see what you learn about yourself. How is your adult-self reflected in your child-self, regarding pastimes? Give it a shot. You may just dig out some old baseball cards yourself.

Project 365: August 21-31

2011-09-12T13:48:00.000-05:00

Day #233. Which one will it be? (Final Answer: the one in the middle.) 8/21

234. Spotted along my run. School bus. Charter school. We're almost there! (No, we still don't have buses.) 8/22

235. If Sensei can get them to stand like that... 8/23

236. Falling in love at the block party. 8/24

237. I surrender... it's one of those days. 8/25

238. The kids colored, cut and taped these decorations all over the dining room. 8/26

239. Finally, a pencil sharpener that sharpens pencils. What was I thinking? 8/27

240. Go Cubbies! 8/28

241. Goodbye, summer calendar. 8/29

242. First stripe in karate! 8/30

243. Sammie finished the impossible puzzle from her teacher...the day before school even started! 8/31

Project 365: August 13-20 - What a trip!

2011-09-10T08:30:00.000-05:00

It is excruciatingly difficult to pull out one single photo a day from a seven day vacation during which I took over 2,000 shots. The camera became an extension of my face for the week. While my family may not have appreciated it, I loved it. I really did.

This is my Project 365-based travel-log of our big summer vacation. Most details have been left out for the sake of your odd desire not be bored.

Day 1
Wisconsin State Fair.

Pat took the kids on one of those giant slides. I opted to, you know, "watch our stuff". We observed fried foods of all types - there was even Fried Beer. (???) We shared a giant corn on the cob and an equally giant cotton candy. We visited award winning horses and cows. And then we left, full and happy and smelling slightly of manure.

Day #225. Alternate use for a purse. Vera Bradley would be horrified. Or would she? 8/13

Day 2

Long drive to Lincoln, NE.

We haven't made this trip in almost three years. It was so flipping long. How did we ever do that? And our poor family. We apologize, family, for subjecting you to the boringest drive ever all those years. Never again.

Once we arrived in Lincoln, we let the kids loose to play with their friends. After nine hours of sitting still, they resembled a pair of spastic sling shots. It was so great to see our friends again...which sounds like a generic thing to say but I truly mean it. It almost made me more sad to visit, seeing just how much I miss them.

We also had a chance to drive by our old house. We saw our former next-door neighbor. He gave us a silent confirmation that nothing had changed on the block; there he was, some piece of hardware in one hand, beer in the other, sauntering from the garage. Just as he was when we left, as though time had stopped.

Something else that hadn't changed? Lazlo's. OK, go ahead. Laugh. We are very predictable. But everything from that restaurant is SO good. From the beer to the salad dressing to the mouth watering steaks. Mmm.

226. All our monkeys in a row: David, Emily, Sammie, Maddie. 8/14

Day 3
Long Drive to Denver, CO.

Our goal for today: get through yet another endless drive - this one culminating in sightings of mountains! - and we will get to see yet more friends. Greg and Nicole live outside of Denver in the mountains. And as it turns out, it had been so long since we've seen them that they sprouted kids! And wouldn't you know it, they're the same ages as ours! We had matching pairs of children. Plus, as an added bonus, we spotted our first wildlife creature: a deer in their front yard.

227. Little blond boys don't get any cuter than this. Elliott. 8/15

Day 4
Not too long of a drive to Estes Park, CO.

Early that morning we packed up Morris the Minivan and pointed it in the direction of Estes Park.

Minivan Sidebar:
1. Pat declared it officially comfortable. "It's like driving in a recliner." For a man, that's quite a testimonial.
2. We NEVER EVER would have taken this trip without a minivan. Well, without ripping each other's hair out, that is. All hail the spacious minivan.
3. When you get an oil change, either ask the guys to change the automatic oil monitor thin gee or be sure to do it yourself. When you are white knuckling through the mountains and the oil light comes on - right after you've had the oil changed - it's not good for your blood pressure, no matter how young you are. (echem)

Once in Estes Park, we walked around downtown and then ate at a restraunt with a duck pond. While you wait for your food, you can go out on the deck and feed the ducks! The kids kept asking to go back there the rest of our vacation.

When we checked into our cabin at Glacier Lodge (highly recommended!) we went down to the river for some fishing. We later learned that this particular river flowing through the resort happens to be the only river in Estes Park with no fish. Hmf.

Next we drove over to Rocky Mountain National Park and went for our First Official Family Hike. We had a great time - it was sure a good thing that we weren't in a hurry though. (If you've ever stepped foot outside your door with children, you can understand why. )

After dinner we went to the bonfire on the resort campground and roasted marshmallows for s'mores. Oh boy, did we ever destroy the s'mores.

228. Marshmallows rule. 8/16

Day 4
Estes Park and Rocky Mountains.

Early morning "vacation breakfast". Check.

Late morning horseback riding up the side of a mountain. Check. Double check because it was a family favorite and worth every single penny. The kids had the time of their lives riding their own horses. I had quite the time getting over the fact that if I looked over the side of my leg, there was often nothing there. How do those horses do it? Wait, don't tell me. I'm not sure I want to know. I will say this, going down the mountain is about 300x scarier. The good thing, I'm here to tell you about it. Phew. And Pat? Poor Pat. He just had a time waiting for everyone's horses to poop.

Back downtown for a burger at Penelope's. I will not forget this place because they had the BEST french fries I've ever ever had. After Mommy ate everyone's fries, we played a round of miniature golf. If I had to measure how much fun we were having by the number of hole-in-ones we hit that afternoon, I'd tell you, make it four! That' right. For real, each one of us hit a hole-in-one. Egos expanded. Check.

Mid-afternoon called for some quiet time. Sammie played her DS. David watched a Star Wars movie. I sat on the back porch overlooking the fish-less river. Pat fished. There was peace on earth.

Later we decided we just had to drive up the mountains to the top. Isn't that what you're supposed to do if you're in the Rockies? So we did. We drove up, up, up. We drove so up that the climate changed, the vegetation changed, the air pressure changed. Did I mention the road? There were no guardrails, just signs that read, "No left turn" (unless you're suicidal!) and "15 mph" and "watch for falling rock". At one point, there was nothing but air on BOTH sides of the road. We laughed about it later but at the time, it was very nervous driving. Gave new meaning to "Oops I crapped my pants."

That evening, after our descent into the much safer 7,000 sea level range, we split up. David and I went to the resort's "saloon" for milkshakes and malts. (That's my boy!) Pat and Sammie went to the Estes Park Memorial Observatory to look at the stars. Apparently, it was a hit. Sammie has never been so happy. She was so completely in her element, Pat told me, that is was otherworldly to watch.

Pat and I completed the night with a couple of imported Miller Lights on the back porch, listening to the sounds of the river flowing by and the crackle of the insect-repellent candle between us.

229. Bye, bye mountains. I'll be seeing you. 8/17

Day 5
Leaving Estes Park for South Dakota.

We could not leave Colorado until had completed two tasks: enjoy a real Cowboy Breakfast and buy souvenirs. So we did. The breakfast was delicious and the sweatshirts will be cozy ~~come Fall~~ right now.

We began the drive toward Keystone, South Dakota. Oh, the drive.

I now would like to quietly and discreetly take back the apology to my family for forcing them to endure the boringest drive ever. We found its replacement. Eastern Wyoming is quite possibly the emptiest, loneliest, most barren place I've ever seen. There was, really, absolutely nothing there. Nothing. Less than nothing. Just emptiness. I don't know how Pat wasn't hypnotized into a trance after staring at such a painfully empty road. EMPTY. Nothing. Got that? Ok, moving on.

We got to Keystone and went to bed. Wow, what a day, huh?

230. Now that's how you make a pancake! 8/18

Day 6
Keystone, SD. Mostly.

We got up early and started out on our journey through the wilderness. Um, ok. Not really. We drove around in the self-contained forests.

We drove around the beautiful wooded areas in Black Hills National Forest.

Drove through the Wildlife Loop. Got into a staring contest with a buffalo. (Not recommended for the faint of heart.) Watched other people feed some burros. Spied on antelope. Saw the prairie dogs dancing around. (I wonder if they expected a tip?)

Drove through Needles Highway. This scenic drive brought on similar anxiety to driving up the Rocky Mountains but less high and more curvy. Glad we did it. The rock formations were crazy. It had to be the aliens, piling them up like that. No?

Stopped at Sylvan Lake. What a view!

Drove on to see Mt. Rushmore. Just as I was asking Pat, "Are we there yet?" we looked to the left and all four of us simultaneously gasped with delight. There it was. As we approached, it become more and more impressive. This incredible mountainside rock sculpture simply took my breath away.

We toured, we viewed, we learned about how they built the immense formation. And then we headed east toward Sioux Falls, SD.

But first, in an exceptional addition to our License Plate Game, we saw a hatchback from Hawaii and a camper from GERMANY. Rare!

We stopped at Wall Drug, where their ice cream is sweet and their ice water is free.

231. George. 8/19

Day 7
Home.

And then we had to unpack.

232. All my baggage. 8/20

Project 365: August 1-12

2011-09-09T14:15:00.000-05:00

Day #213. It's what's for dinner. 8/1

214. Fresh from the beauty shop. Like she needed it. Gorgeous. 8/2

215. T-ball. 8/3

216. Flutter, one of the butterflies Sammie raised. 8/4

217. The brains of the operation. 8/5

218. Assembly projects are a test(ament) of true love. This one, ironically, was completed on our anniversary. 8/6

219. Eleven years, and more giggles every day. 8/7

220. Well, it works. She loves her new desk! 8/8

221. Discovery World proved to be a swinging good time! 8/9

222. Sammie's bird project from Kindergarten. It will now tweet quietly from the basement. 8/10

223. I always pack reading material first. 8/11

224. The Original Pink Light. Now it rests lightless next to the dear bird. 8/12

Flashback Friday 2

2011-09-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Two??? I'm curious to see how long I keep this up. My bet is on 6.

The goal for this layout was to:
1. Use this most adorable picture of Princess Sammie and her daddy, circa 2007.
2. Use some OLDER products.
3. Make sure there are sparkles. The princess needs her sparkles.

I succeeded in my mission. The only "newer" things on this page are the purple letter stickers and the cardstock. Everything else is old, old, old. And we're talking older than 12 months.

So here's your challenge. Go use some of your older scrapbooking supplies. If you need to alter them to make them appealing, it still counts. (Here, I added Stickles to the polka-dotted patterned paper.)

PP DCWV + CS Bazzill + Stickers AC, K & Co., Lily Bee + Gems Mark Richards, TPS + Stickles + Pen AC