Got recipes?

This is my 19 year old, Brianna. Ever since she moved out of the house last November, she frequently comes over to the house to watch my big screen and enjoy her "tevo" shows while helping herself to my food. :) Lately she has been on a quest to copy down recipes from my recipe books. Silly girl!

Sweet Sixteen!!

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn!! Here she is beside her car just before we went for her drivers test. And, no, her car wasn't her birthday present. She saved her own money to purchase her cute little Dodge Neon. I'm very proud of her!!

So here she is holding her "paper" drivers license!! She passed! Yippee!! She was able to drive to school today and drive herself home. Oh, but there was a little snaf-fu. Her first day with her license, and after school, she locked her keys in her car. What a goof-ball! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get over there in time to snap a photo of the lock smith getting into her car, but I did make her hold the $45 receipt up, for the "memories"!

Who did this!?

Who caused this destruction?! I think it was a little four legged black and white critter....I see the evidence in the middle of the floor, the little green ring, Flash's favorite toy!

Stacked Mail

Here's my shot for Wednesday. Whenever I leave for a few days I dread going through the pile of mail when I get back. It's usually just bills and junk mail, although I did get a fun flier from Archivers!

Time to catch up with photos

Here are some of the pictures from when I was in California. The Starbucks is because I never usually get Starbucks because I don't drink coffee. But the owners of the Tattered Angels are huge Starbucks fans and start each day with that, so I found one thing on the menu that I really love....the strawberries and cream drink.....yummy!

The other pictures include palm trees at the airport in Orange County when I landed, a shot of the booth all set up and looking beautiful, and a group shot of us "Angels" with our "Bosley" aka, Kyle (with his eyes shut!).

I'm ba-a-a-ack!

Well, I got back late last night, or rather, early this morning. I haven't been able to download my pictures to my computer yet because I'm having problems with it. I think I have to call the "computer doctor". But I'm back, and it's good to be back. CHA is a lot of fun, but very tiring as well. There were some big names there, Vanna White, Jane Seymour, even Paris Hilton, but I never saw any of them...no loss. Our booth was constantly busy, lots of people to meet and talk to about the product, and I think it went well for the business. All I know for sure is that I'm really tired........

Carry-on

So now I am packed and ready to go. For the one or two people that actually read my blog, I won't be posting for a few days because I'll be in California. I hope to get caught up when I return, because I will certainly still be taking pictures each day!! Later!!

Pineapple and toast

I know....it's not the best balanced diet. But for the last two days, this has been the mainstay of Kaitlyn's diet. Ever since our long night at the ER, she hasn't felt very hungry. So when I asked her what sounded good, she finally said she wanted some toast with butter and grape jelly. Shortly after that she said she wanted some pineapple. So, that's what she's been eating for the last two days. Yummy!!!!!!! Unfortunately, she's still not feeling very well yet. And as luck would have it, I have to leave for the Tattered Angels trip on Saturday.

Home today

It all really started last night. Kaitlyn was complaining that her stomach was hurting during school. It was unusual pain, sharp, shooting spasms. It eventually got worse, and motrin wasn't helping, so at 6:00 we went to Urgent Care. They suspected either her appendix or ovarian cysts. So they sent us on to the Emergency Room at PVH. After many hours of writhing in pain, an ultra sound, and lots of pain medication, they determined that, yes, she had some ovarian cysts. Unfortunately, there is really nothing you can do about them. So, at 1:00 in the morning, we finally made it home, with pain medication in hand. She's in a lot of pain...say a little prayer, please.

Presidential Inauguration

Qdoba lunch

We had a few errands to run today. We stopped at Target and ran into several people that we knew....first Rhondda and her son, Zeke, were shopping with her brother, John. Then we saw Jill and Jen shopping with Zoe. We also had to deal with Kaitlyn's messed up phone at the Sprint store. So we decided to have lunch at Qdoba, right next to the Sprint store.

Earth...doing my part

Another of my many resolutions this year....to be more "Green" and eco-friendly. I plan to use these bags when I go grocery shopping, or even shopping at Michael's. I know that the plastic bags are very destructive to the earth and even to wildlife, so I hope to reduce those on my part. My challenge to you....will you do the same?

Garden Album

Today I worked on completing this album for Tattered Angels. It is an example of one of their many kits available. The kits each contain one of their exclusive mini albums, 3 bottles of Glimmer Mist, one Glimmer Screen, coordinating paper, metal embellishments and ribbon. It's enough to create an entire garden mini album. We are preparing to go to CHA in Anaheim, CA next week. Always an exciting trip, but also exhausting!!

Scrapbook Club

Tonight was scrapbook club. Once a month we get together and crop, or talk, or eat, or laugh!! As you can see, we're hard at work, many of the group working on organizing their first few weeks of Project 365. It's a great group to be a part of...now going on our 7th year, I think. Oh, and, nice look, Jen!

Go Big Red!

Apparently I take too many pictures, or Kaitlyn just knows how to pose. The first picture is usually what I get from her, I had to beg to get the second, a more normal pose. Kids!! This is one of her Christmas presents, a Husker hoody. She loves it, being a true Husker girl, and it doesn't bother her to wear it here in Colorado! What a kid!

Milk treat

When we got the kitties in August, I started a bad habit with them. I always have cereal and milk for breakfast, and I left a small amount of milk in my bowl so the kitties could enjoy the treat. Well, now it is expected and they wait for me to finish my cereal every morning. Flash is much more patient than Taz. Taz used to sit on my lap and peek into my bowl to see if he could help me along. Flash always sits patiently on the kitchen rug, knowing I will set the bowl down there. Now that Taz lives with Brianna, I miss his impatience with me!

The Shack

I picked this book up several months ago, but with work and everything else going on, plus a few others books I was reading, I never got it started. Then my sister was telling me about a great book she had read and that I needed to read it too. Yes, it was The Shack. So I finally started it last night, and now I can't put it down. It's a pretty fast read, so I should be done with it in another day or so (unfortunately I have to go to work during the day). I highly recommend it to all who like to read. Author is William P. Young.

Discover layout

January 12th

Here's the layout that I worked on at Scrapmania at Archiver's. Click on it for a larger image. The photos are my three kids, trying to get the perfect shot to "WOW" their mom. It worked. I was speechless when they gave me a very large framed photo. For this layout I used one of my favorite toys, the Cricut Expression, with my favorite cartridge, Graphically Speaking. I love it!!

Katie and kitty

Jan 11th

Kaitlyn and her kitty, Flash, relaxing on the couch watching a little Grease. Nothing like a little comfort in her Eeyore lounging pants! You can tell she's trying hard to ignore me. This was about our 5th or 6th shot, one without her making a silly face at me!!

Finishing touches

Basement room - Jan 10th

Rob has been working hard to finish this room in the basement. It will be nice to have an extra bedroom in the house. Even Robbie got in on the painting fun!

Waiting......

Medical Center of the Rockies - Jan 9th

Today's photo was taken outside this Medical Center, where I spent a large part of the day. My Mom had to go in for a minor surgical procedure. My sister, Deb, was able to take her this morning and wait there with her until I could go over after my last class of the day. So I pulled the second shift since Deb had to be somewhere later in the day. It was a long day for all of us........

Kaitlyn's camera

Project 365 - Jan 8th

Kaitlyn is taking a photography class this semester. She needed a 35 mm, manual focus camera to learn the true photography skills. Unfortunately we don't have one of those any more. We even went to Wolf Camera to see if they had any. They didn't. Fortunately we were able to borrow this really nice Nikon from a friend of a friend who is into photography. Point, aim, focus, and shoot!!

Hot cocoa - Jan 7

I know most people get their day started with coffee or Starbucks. Not me. I have never been a coffee drinker. I start my days (at least my winter days) with hot cocoa and marshmellows. My favorite is cinnamon flavored, or raspberry flavored. Yummmmmy!! My cute mug came from Whole Foods last year! Love it!

School - Jan 6th

Today was our first day back to school with students. We actually worked yesterday, but without students, a chance to finish grades from last semester, and for me, finish a few IEP's. I love my job, but it's always hard to go back after such an enjoyable break for 2 weeks.

Taz - Jan 5

Here's Brianna's kitty, Taz. He's visiting for a few days because Brianna went to California till Friday. So the kitties love playing together again. One of their favorite toys are the green milk rings you tear off a jug of milk at first use. They love to toss it in the air and swat it across the floor. I was fortunate to get this shot as he was tossing it into the air!

Calendars - Jan 4

Every year I make 4 calendars for Christmas presents. There are done on 12 by 12 with lots of photos and embellishments, so they get quite heavy. This shot is January for this year, I just didn't include the actual calendar part in this photo, it's below this page. The pictures are my kids and step-kids.

Tattered Angels - Jan 3

Here's a shot of work at my part-time job at Tattered Angels. This is Glimmer Mist, color is Cherry Blossom. It's a great scrapbook product that I'm in love with! Just spray it on paper, chip board, grunge board, anything!! Check it out on their website, the link is over on the right!

ScrapMania - Jan 2

My friend, Donna, signed up for 2 nights of scrapbooking at Archiver's in Westminister. She asked me if I wanted to go, so I did! We had a great time, and I even won a little layout contest. I imagine I'll share the layout as one of my photos of the day later when I run out of things creatively to take a picture of!

Gator Bowl - Jan 1

Yes, another football photo. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a football fan, and a huge Nebraska football fan!! Growing up in Nebraska does something to you! It was a very exciting game this year and a great ending, especially since we've been in those "rebuilding" years. How long is that supposed to last?

Shanahan Fired! - Dec31

Living in Colorado and being a Bronco fan, this was big news! Some fans weren't shocked by the news, but I must admit that I was shocked. Shanahan has been with the Broncos for 21 years, so I sure it wasn't an easy decision for the team. I'm sorry to see him go.

Flash - Dec 30th

Kaitlyn's kitty, Flash, loves to relax on top of the drying rack when we lay out sweaters to dry. She's done this every since we brought her home. But it's not a real steady rack, and she has been known to take a tumble off the rack!!

Puzzles - Dec 29th

Rob's mom, Martha, is a puzzler. We enjoy setting up an extra table so we can get out some puzzles. I really enjoy being able to sit and "puzzle" over a puzzle without worrying about wasting time. Aren't vacations fabulous??!

Project 365

Okay, so a new year is all about resolutions, right. Well, I've been a pretty back "blogger" lately, so it's obvious that I need to resolve to improve this, or just close it down. I'd like to try to improve first. So I'm doing the Project 365, an idea inspired by Creating Keepsakes designer and scrapbooker, Becky Higgins. The idea is to take a photo every day, journal a few lines about it, and preserve it in a scrapbook. I have decided to take this challenge, and have been taking photos daily since Dec 28th, starting then because it is the start of a week (Sunday). Expanding on that idea, I've seen where many have also decided to blog their daily photos. So I am going to attempt to do that as well, or something close to that. I know that I won't be able to post a blog every day, but even if I can post every couple of days, I'll be doing much better than before. So I will play catch up on this day, and go forward from here. If anyone is reading this, I hope you enjoy this little journey.

Above is the Dec 28th photo. We had a beautiful tree this year, but every time we touched it, the pine needles just tumbled off. It wasn't dry because we continued to water it. So I was more than ready to get it out of the house when Christmas was over.