August Roundup

It's very rainy and yucky outside this morning. I suppose I can't complain too much, since we've had no rain for weeks. It sure does make me want to crawl back in bed with a good book, though. I've got a couple of new books I haven't started yet. Sure is tempting!

August Roundup:

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
My newest Country Living magazine, as always. I also found two more old scrap magazines to read that were hidden away with the boxed photos I'm organizing.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
All my normal tv shows. I also started watching Ghost Hunters, too, and have become addicted. (Don't laugh!)... It's really intriguing, if nothing else. Ben and I went to see The Dark Knight for our anniversary. Loved it!

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Ben and I celebrated our 4th anniversary in August. (Ben says he's finally broken his record! Hah!) We celebrated by going to dinner and a movie. We tried a new Italian restaurant on post. Neither of us were too impressed with it, although they did have yummy crab and cheese stuffed mushrooms. I'd like to try to replicate them at home and don't think it would be too difficult to do. We might give the restaurant at least one more shot in order to try their pizza, but I doubt it will be anytime soon. After dinner we went to see The Dark Knight.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
Ben bought and surprised me with a new bed set for our anniversary. I was really impressed that he picked it out all by himself. He did good and I love it! (I looked online for a picture of the bed set to share here, but couldn't find one.)

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
None of my own.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
The only fun thing we did this month was go to dinner and a movie. We need a life!

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
We tried the new Italian restaurant on post (see above) and weren't very impressed with it. As for recipes, I made homemade turkey pot pies this month for the first time. Ben loved them as did I. These will certainly go in with our family favorite recipes! I'm going to attempt to make a chicken one from scratch this month. Yummy!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
I made none, myself. However, Ben sure did! He felt very sorry for a magazine salesman that knocked on our door. In the end, he bought two magazine subscriptions for me and got a third free for himself. I'm not sure if I should file this random act of kindness into the special or unusual purchase category... what do you think?!? ;)

What were this month's disappointments?
Sad as it sounds, 'too many to list' would have to be my answer. Nothing I care to record publicly, however.

What were my accomplishments this month?
I reclaimed our office closet. It was piled high with boxes of photos, many of which were still in frames. I organized all the photos, removed the ones that were still in (outdated) frames, and plan to condense them into a photo storage box I just ordered. I also plan to scrap layouts of all of these photos and have them printed into hardbound books vs. putting them into photo albums. This is the more expensive route, but I think it will be better in the long run as far as preservation goes. I'd like to do a book for Ash, one for Danielle, one for Ben and I, a family one, and one with old vintage family photos. I'm quite sure this will be a never ending project, but certainly one I'm anxious to start soon!

Anything else noteworthy to record?
August was a very 'blah' month. I'm really looking forward to autumn! (I wonder if it's too early to get my Halloween decorations out?!? lol) ;)

Tank and Lucy show us new personality traits often. During the month of August we realized that Tank has learned how to pitch 'baby fits'. When he doesn't get his way, regardless of what he wants or the reason, he has now started head butting things out of anger in an effort to knock them over or scoot them off the coffee and side tables. His latest target of choice is our free standing speakers for the tv. How in the world do you put a dog into time out?!? We've discovered that Lucy, on the other hand, is extremely bothered by the phone ringing when it's not answered and rings more than a couple of times. Every time this happens she howls, louder and louder, until it stops, sighs very dramatically and loudly, and then goes on about her business (which is usually napping!). Saying our pups keep us entertained is certainly an understatement!


Signing off now. It's time to get busy for the day...

July Roundup (very late!)

Better late than never, right? I'm determined to start writing and keeping this blog updated (again), and figured this would be a good start. Just... write... something. Anything. Years ago, a friend of mine suggested this same thing when I was in a writing rut. So, anything it is. Here goes...

July Roundup Questions:
What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
My newest Country Living magazine. I also re-visited a couple of old scrap magazines.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
All my normal tv shows and quite a few movies. Too many to list, really. We went to see Wall-E at the theatre with Ash & Danielle while they were here.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Lots of birthdays this month. (Is this some weird family conspiracy or what?)
Ben, his dad, and sister all have a July birthday. My brother does as well. Not much celebrating was done (together), though. We're all miles apart, unfortunately.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
Ash gave me some really cool, silver turtle earrings, but that was in June.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
None.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Ben, the girls, and I went to Six Flags. We also went to see Wall-E (but, I think this was at the end of June. I can't remember!)

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Nothing new.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
Barbie loungy pants. Barbie!! So they were cute, pink, and made me think of younger, happier times. I couldn't resist! I wore them once & they shrunk tremendously, but they were fun to wear... once!

What were this month's disappointments?
I didn't really have any major disappointments in July. This is a good thing! (Unless, of course, you count the short life of my new Barbie loungy pants) ;)

What were my accomplishments this month?
Two new kits finished and put in the store that I'd been working on for forever. It felt good to finally finish them!

Anything else noteworthy to record?
Not too much else to note about July. The beginning was a whirlwind due to the girls being here. After they left, life resumed and went back to normal. Whatever normal is. There is never a dull moment when those two are here! When they leave... the house seems so quiet. Almost too quiet. Do I need a life or what?!? ;)

My brother recently sent me new pics from his and my sil's latest Dominican trip. Here's one of those pics to drool over:



Now, those two are two in our family who actually do have a life! Hey baby bro, pack a bag for me next time, would ya?!? ;)

December Roundup (Late Again!)

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
During the month of December I continued reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I'm currently reading the 7th book in the series, Seven Up. I can certainly say, after getting addicted to this series, Janet Evanovich has worked her way up to the top of my favorite author list and is now my #1 favorite. The number of times that I laugh out loud while reading these books is many. I feel as if I can't possibly take these books in public anywhere to read them! People would think I'd lost my mind! lol

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
During the month of December I missed many of the weekly shows I watch due to a combination of the writer's strike and Christmas specials. We did, however, watch as many Christmas specials and movies as we could. We also watched all of our old favorites as it is a family tradition to have several family movie nights during the holidays to watch our Christmas favorites. Each year we add at least one Christmas movie to our collection. This year we added The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. We all agreed this was our favorite Santa Clause movie out of the three!


What special days did I celebrate and how?
The special days celebrated during the month of December, naturally, were Christmas and Christmas Eve. This year was different than years past because for the first time ever my parents came to our house vs. us going to theirs. We decided early on that they would after we learned my brother and sil would be in the Dominican Republic over the holidays with my sil's family. Christmas Eve was spent relaxing with family (and friends), playing games and catching up. Before my parents went back to their hotel for the night (our townhouse didn't have room for everyone!) and our friends went home, we all opened our traditional Christmas Eve presents. Each year (started by my mother years ago) we give one another a special Christmas ornament. This year, in addition, I gave the girls (and myself!) matching Christmas pj's and matching 'fuzzy socks' to be worn that night. The girls loved them!

New Year's Eve was spent in front of the tv with my daughter (my stepdaughter was already back home). Dh watched tv upstairs. It was just another everyday, average, quiet night for us. The three of us did, however, gather together to 'watch the ball drop' and toasted with, none other than, glasses of coke! Such big partiers we are! Do we know how to ring in a new year or what?!?

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
It was the holidays, so there were lots of gifts given and received during this month. Too many to list, really. Suffice it to say, we were all very blessed this year! The highlights of the gifts I received from dh: My dh secretly got me a beautiful new watch. He also got me a new Bamboo tablet (love it!), a new digital camera, and a new external hard drive (very useful!). I got many other wonderful gifts from my family (and friends). Also, my SG secret pal got me one of the Christmas digital scrap kits I had on my wishlist. I cannot wait to scrap with this!! I gave my own secret pal a gift certificate to the SG boutique.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
None, thank goodness!!

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Lots of holiday fun was had...baking with a friend and the girls. A very, very long night of baking, at that! Movie watching, game playing...it was a good and fun month!

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
Not really any. Well, sort of. I did modify a soup recipe I had and it turned out wonderful. Everyone loved it! I made this soup and had it ready the night my parents arrived. The original recipe was Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup. I added black pepper, italian seasoning, parsley, and a little bit of crushed red pepper along with cooked (and cut into pieces) mild italian sausage and let it simmer a bit longer than usual. Yummy!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
None really out of the ordinary that I can think of...

What were this month's disappointments?
Not finding (or being able to purchase) wii's for the girls. Instead, we wrapped photos of wii's in big boxes for them with the promise of getting them the 'real deal' once they were available. The 'wii chase' my dh and I went on each week was enough to wear anyone out! The most frustrating time was when we were 7 minutes late. We got there and they told us that they'd sold out '7 minutes ago'. Ughh! Oh well, the girls were happy with the promise vs. the real thing and all their other presents, so it all worked out in the end!

What were my accomplishments this month?
My main accomplishment this month was simply surviving the holidays! *wink*...
Other than that, I was thrilled to get to work with and be a part of a Christmas Collab Kit (Whimsical Wonderland). That was a lot of hard work and took a lot of time, but it was also fun! This was the first collab kit I've ever gotten to work on, so it was a great learning experience and I feel it to be a personal accomplishment as well.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
I survived another year!!! Now, to get used to writing 2008 vs. 2007....

My December desktop wallpaper. The photo is of Ben and I during a Christmas trip to Heidelberg, Germany a couple of years ago:


Desktop wallpaper courtesy of Shabby Princess Designs

November Roundup (Very late!)

Better late than never, eh?

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
This month I started reading the Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich that my mother loaned me while we were visiting for Thanksgiving. To date, I've read One for the Money and Two for the Dough. I'm currently reading Three to Get Deadly. I'm hooked!

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
I'm sure I did watch a couple of movies this month, but can't remember which, if so.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
Thanksgiving was celebrated back home at my parent's house. All of my immediate family was there. My parents, my daughter, my brother, sister-in-law, and niece. I've not seen my brother & sil in nearly four years or my niece for nearly 7, so it was so nice spending this quality time with them!

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
My sil brought a set of three, Christmas WW (Wood Wick) candles to Ben and I and gave them to us at my parent's house while we were there visiting. I love them and they smell so good! My husband and I bought a new television and tv stand for ourselves. To & For each other!

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
None (Thank goodness & Knock on wood!)

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
Thanksgiving was spent with my family. We had several get togethers with friends living here on post (as always and always fun!). I got to meet some new friends/designers online when Amy and I joined in (and participated in) a Christmas Collaboration Freebie Kit called Whimsical Wonderland. This was a bunch of fun and I'm looking forward to the next!

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
None.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
None.

What were this month's disappointments?
None.

What were my accomplishments this month?
I participated in my first Collaboration kit. (See above)

Anything else noteworthy to record?
We decorated for Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving this year. I'm actually glad we did because we've gotten to enjoy it longer and there wasn't a mad dash to get it up this year. I think we'll be doing this from now on.

October Roundup

I cannot believe it's been so long since I last wrote anything in this blog! Where does the time go?

October Roundup Questions (& Answers):

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
As always, I read the newest Country Living magazine. I also found (& read) an Oprah magazine in my stacks of mags that I never had a chance to read, and had forgotten about.

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
This month I watched the usual nightly shows. My husband and I also watched Fantastic Four, Rise of the Silver Surfer last weekend. It was one of those rare days of just the two of us hanging out together not doing much of anything. It was nice! Too bad it doesn't happen very often these days due to dh's hectic work schedule. Oh well, we take it as it comes and are thankful!

What special days did I celebrate and how?
At the beginning of October my mother had a birthday. We weren't really able to celebrate because of the long distance, but I did send her gift to her and we talked on the phone. The end of October we celebrated Halloween. I sat out front with one of my neighbors and we handed out our candy together. Later, our friends, Austi & Jeff, came over. Little Kyrra was the cutest darned lion one has ever seen! She was a girly lion with big, pink, floppy bows tied around her ears. Cute!! Just cute!! Austi and I split the leftover candy (CHOCOLATE!) that I had. I made her take half of it. Ok, who am I kidding? No one was forced!

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
In October, I made my mother a special altered 'Guardian Angel' jar that is along the same lines of a Fairy jar. I used copies of an old photo of my mother's mother (who passed away when my mother was very little, around age 5) and a photo of my mother when she was very young. She loved it and it now has a very special place of honor on one of her shelves for anyone coming to her house to see. I wasn't able to get a picture of it because my camera died, but here is a copy of the photo of her mother (my grandmother) that I altered for part of the jar:

Credits: Grungy Newspaper Crown Freebie by Donna Duncombe, Crinkle Wings by Diane Leigh Davison aka "Lawgal", Netters Alpha Scraps by SCARLETHEELSmedia, Gold Grid Alpha by Monika69

I received gifts in the form of RAKs from my mother and husband during the month of October. When my parents visited last weekend she bought additional curtains for me for my dining room as I bought new curtains for my kitchen.

The other day my husband got off work early and came to get me so we could go have lunch together. While we were out he took me to the furniture store and bought new lamps for me for our living room. There was a floor lamp we'd been looking at for the longest, but they only had the floor model. My husband refuses to buy floor models (unlike myself who will always ask for a discount!), so we've waited. When we visited this time they had a new floor lamp that matched our living room. As we went to purchase it, we were told that it was a pair. It was almost like getting two for the price of one...almost. When we got them home, I realized that the shades were a bit too dark, so they didn't match as well as I wanted them to. My husband noticed this, himself, so we both agreed that we will replace the shades with some that we saw (and want) from Lowe's that match much better.

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
Knock on wood, I had no illnesses or health concerns during the month of October.

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
My parents and daughter came here for a weekend visit this past weekend. Their visit was much too short, but we still managed to have lots of fun! They arrived late Friday night and I welcomed them with Baked Ziti and Texas Toast (per Ash's request!). After dinner, my parents, Ashley, Ben, and I played Christmas trivia. Saturday morning my parents, Ashley, and I went shopping, visited one of the local flea markets (I found lots of neat goodies to buy this day!), and then met Ben for lunch. After lunch, we went back to the house and then it was 'back on the road' for them. They left later than they originally wanted to, but still made it home around 2100, which wasn't too late.

What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
This month I tried two new soups/stews that I'd never made before. The first was White Chicken Chili made with Chicken and White Beans. I spiced it up a bit more than the recipe called for and my dh really liked it. That one is certainly a keeper. The other was Taco Stew made to go over crushed tortilla chips with cheese and sour cream on top. It was pretty good, but nothing too fancy. I'll keep this and file it with those recipes I have for those nights when I need something really quick and easy.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
When we went to the flea market last weekend, I bought two very whimsical, antique, wooden birds. They are a very dark wood (cherry or mahogany?) and their wings are stained black. I fell in love with them the minute I saw them and had to have them! I sure wish I could take a picture of them. Note to self: I really need to try to find dh's camera since mine stopped working.

What were this month's disappointments?
Just like last month (I think I wrote this last month?), none that I care to get into publicly. My disappointments have nothing to do with my immediate family and I'll leave it at that.

What were my accomplishments this month?
I painted more furniture! I got my coffee table, an end table, and a foyer table painted. Black, of course. I love black furniture! They beautifully (in my opinion! lol) highlight the splashes of color (red, green, gold...) throughout the house in the form of accessories, decorations, pillows, linens, and art. My dad and I had originally planned to paint a mini dresser that I have in the living room to house our candles (yes, we DO have THAT many!). However, the weather was yucky and rainy and their visit was cut short, so we've made plans to do this another time in the near future.

Anything else noteworthy to record?
No.

October was a very good month. Here's hoping November will be just as good or better!

September Roundup

If you'd like more information about the monthly roundup, you can find details on Katie's blog. I've just now read about it, myself, and am going to make a serious effort to do this monthly.

Roundup Questions:

What books and/or magazines did I read this month?
During the month of September I read Country Living Magazine (as always, if possible), but no books.


Doesn't that cake on the front cover look scrumptious?!?

What movies and/or tv shows did I watch this month?
There is a long list of tv shows I watched during the month of September. For a complete list refer to my 'fall line-up' layout. This list is currently being added to, also.
I'm really looking forward to adding Samantha Who? to the list! I have no clue where I'm going to find the time and there's going to be several nights of channel surfing going on so as to not miss anything! As for movies, I watched several with my daughter, but can't remember the names of them. Most of them were lifetime movies. Some were pay per view.

What special days did I celebrate and how?
None that I can think of in September. A longtime friend of mine had a birthday at the end of September, but we weren't able to celebrate since she's back home and I'm not. I did, however, remember to call and wish her a happy birthday.

What gifts did I give and/or receive?
None for September. (That I can think of off the top of my head, anyway!)

What illnesses or health concerns did I have?
At the end of August, beginning of September, I had walking pnuemonia. It took me a little over a month to get well. Hopefully, I've seen the last of that! During this time, I discovered Airborne. Great stuff!

What fun things did I do with my friends and/or family?
During the month of September we had several cookouts and dinners with friends, each time playing games. We also played games as a family. Mostly we played our new Christmas Trivia game. (Mr. Christmas, aka my husband, is getting us prepared for the holiday season early!) We watched movies and tv together, too. Ben and I took a small weekend trip back home to visit my parents. Other than that, it was just my daughter, Ashley, and I each night as my husband worked many long hours during the month of September.


What new foods, recipes or restaurants did I try this month?
I only tried one new recipe during the month of September. It was a very easy one, but I tried it per the request of my daughter. The recipe I tried was Chicken Spaghetti. *Note to self: Next time use more chicken than the recipe calls for!

What special or unusual purchases did I make?
Special purchases during the month of September were three new candles (2 Yankee, 1 Wood Wick), our Christmas trivia game, and a few other new Christmas goodies.

What were this month's disappointments?
At the end of September came my daughter's announcement that she was going to move back home to my parent's house in order to take a job offer. She plans to get her first apartment if all goes well, too. I'm more proud of her than I am disappointed that she won't be here. I suppose these sort of thoughts come with being a mother. (And all these years I just thought I'd push her out of the nest when the time came! Oh, how wrong was I!) There were a couple more very small disappointments during September, but I don't care to get into them here. Nothing major, though.

What were my accomplishments this month?
I finally got two things stained/painted that I wanted to. I stained a step stool and painted a large basket. There are many other things I want to paint, too, as soon as time allows and weather permits. I made several phone calls I wanted to make and remembered some birthdays I wanted to remember. I actually started this blog after 'just thinking about it' for months. No big accomplishments, but accomplishments nonetheless!

Anything else noteworthy to record?
I can't think of anything else. September was pretty much a blah month. Here's hoping October will be much more exciting!

Roundup Task List:

-Backup your digital pictures to cd/dvd and upload them to an online site or two for an extra backup. Send the links to the online albums to friends and family.

-Choose photos (or digital layouts) to be printed out and get that done while you are thinking about it.

-Make sure your scrapbooking area is cleaned up and organized. Put away new purchases (or organize your hard drive if you are a digi scrapper)

-Look over the calendar for the coming month and make note of upcoming events you will want to capture for your scrapbooks.