All in!

every friday night is poker night at our place. woohoo!
we have a good time.
tonight the game was cut short, cuz i wasn't much in the mood for it.

so now the guys are playing Super Mario Cart on the XBox...taking it back to the old school, cuz they're so kool...

later-

Easy Rub-on Transfers with Studio Paper

Awesome.

Awesome.

Awesome.

used this new technique on Day1 of my art journal for today! It IS the coolest technique I have ever learned!!! Lovin' it, and lovin' doin' the journal!

later-

The {21} Challenge

I decided to get in on the {21} challenge...more about that after a bit of explanation.

[It's a challenge that is based on 2 ideas. First, the idea of creating/breaking a habit in 21 days, because studies have shown that it takes this long...
Second, the idea that art is therapy...enter 'art jounal' as said art. The plan is to 'create' for 21 days and "journal our feelings, triumphs, failures, etc."]

I like the idea, and although I discovered the series in time to start with this iteration, I have decided to go back and use the 'quotes' that were provided by Rhonna (the mastermind behind it all) for the first challenge. Once I've finished with the first, I'll begin the second...make sense?

For my personal challenge I have decided to try to add a new habit, a good one. I will try to become a more active person, physically. I always have been pretty active, I enjoy walking and running, both indoors and out. But for some reason, toward the end of last year I stopped. I just didn't do any of it anymore. I'm aware of all the factors that have made this a reality...I won't get into any of that now. I will only try, through the {21} challenge, to change that reality back to what it once was.
I'm not sure how much of my 'art journal' I will share here. It will be my first, and I'm not sure yet what it will be.




This is the
quote to
kick it all
off...I'm
certainly
looking
forward
to it!






This image was created by Rhonna Farrer. All ideas associated with the {21} challenge are credited to Rhonna. Information contained in the above [] is paraphrased from the 'dreamy' blog, aside from those in " ", which are direct quotes from the same.

What a full day...

every Monday is about getting back on track after the weekend. Laundry, housework, errands, emails. Sometimes it takes all day. Today was different. The weather was fabulous, so i started the laundry, took care of the most pressing items, and then we enjoyed a yum-O picnic lunch on the patio, in the sunshine. it was nice.

After lunch we took off to do some shopping at Utica. It was the perfect weather to be out strolling from shop to shop, and I had a goal...something specific I was looking for.
I have had a picture of an 'Etagere' in my "home portfolio" for about 3 years now.
so, last week I went shopping at some local markets and found one!...it was a little different from the one I had a picture of, but I knew that the manufacturer of the one I wanted no longer made it.
so, the one I find is for sale at $142.00, yes, they were very proud of their etagere. But! now that I know they really do exist, I hit the internet - shopping. I look, and look, and look. about to give up hope, when *gasp*, what do i see?!?!? Another etagere, and almost exactly like my photo! Available at $129.00 (plus shipping of $21.00), making it even more expensive. :(
so, now feeling like its never gonna happen, my hubby suggests I take a drive across town to check out what they might have at 'Pier 1'. And I did, and I found it! for the everyday low price of $60.00! But wait, it gets better! It's ON SALE! $39.00 + tax.
so, I didn't waist a second...and even though we'll be moving in a couple of weeks, I took it home, set it up in my breakfast nook, and filled it with my produce. another thing to move...but it was on sale! besides, i can't wait to see what it will look like in the new house. I plan to put it in the same place, in the nook.

the rest of the day went pretty quickly...
see ya tomorrow.

My Me Mission

so. I think maybe it comes around once a month, this mood I get where I need to do something for me, have some time for me, do something.
so, I go on a 'me mission'. sometimes that means getting a new handbag, new lipstick, new hair color, new magazine and some chocolate...it could be many things. it really depends on how much or how little i want to spend.
so, this month it was a new lipstick and hair color!
What'dya think?


so, we can't get the camera out without getting a shot of the girl...I could have at least combed her hair, i guess. bad mommy.

isn't she just the sweetest!
not a day goes by without her saying something that is just too funny. As I left to get takeout she hugged my neck and said, "I love you; miss you, honey."

Since when do you call me 'Honey'?

The view from my front porch this morning...

The Guiding Light

...yes, its a soap, soap opera, also known as a 'story'. I've watched it since i was preteen, i even bought a VCR because of it! Sure, i took breaks from it, but i just keep coming back to it. I can 'not watch' for years, and still flip over and pick right up with Josh and Reeva Shane. I recently started recording it on my DVR so that i can watch it after my family has gone off to bed.

how sad is that?i don't care...its my old friend and my regular break from reality.
so, i'm off to the show!

Just a 'Talk of Words'...

Conversation with a four year old:

Alaina: Count me in, Daddy!

Eric: Okay, baby, I'll count you in.

Alaina: Daddy, its just a talk of words.

Eric: What?

Alaina: It's just a talk of words.

Eric: Do you mean 'figure of speech'?

Alaina: Yes, a figure of speech. Its just a figure of speech.

Eric: That's right, its a figure of speech. You're so smart baby.

Alaina: Thank you, you're so smart Daddy. (Pause) And I'm so beautiful.

Eric: Yes you are, baby.

I wish I knew where she gets it...

My Granny...

I know I just mentioned her yesterday, but I wanted to do a little more today. I'm sure most know about pivotal moments and pivotal people, I think these might be Dr. Philisms, but I don't really watch the show. The point is...a pivotal person. "These are the people who have left indelible impressions on your concept of self, and therefore, the life you live." My Granny is a pivotal person in my life.
Long story, short-she is my idol, for more reasons than I care to get into here. I have the greatest of respects for who she is and hope someday to have the strength and abilities she has. I hope that I am able to be the kind of person she is to her family and friends.

Here is a photo taken in January of this year, on our last trip to visit her. She never hesitates to enjoy my daughter. I look forward to many more years of enjoyment.

My first time...

Today was my first time ever to make FRIED CHICKEN!! Now, I've made the prebreaded stuff, and even similarly breaded and cooked chicken breasts. BUT! tonight I breaded and fried bone-in chicken parts. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal, to me it is. My mom rarely made fried chicken...the mess, the wondering if its done, it always seemed like such a big hassle. So, i decided i would attempt to live through it all for the first time, and got on the phone to my Granny. Who better to call, right? She tells me that she doesn't put anything but flour on her bird, then fries it for an hour...that's right, an hour. So, I did. 30 minutes on each side, low heat, covered. It was perfectly browned and fabulous! Thanks Granny!
Frying Chicken is no longer on my list of things to do before I die...its been moved to the 'been there/done that".

On a different note - I started packing my house today. I figure I'll have it almost completely packed a month from now when we actually move!
And I think we've found a sofa...what d'ya think of this one?



Well, its time to put the girl down for the night...
-later

What a day it was...

today. Cold...rainy...dreary day. It rained all day. Its hard to get motivated to do anything on a day like today was.
So, I didn't fight it...I did nothing, most of the day.
I stayed in my pjs for the entire day, and scrapbooked.
I don't have my scanner hooked up, or I would share the LO i did. Instead, I'll share one of my favorites that is already on my computer. This LO is one I did a while ago. My style has changed somewhat over time.
Alaina's first time at the ocean.




Even though the sun wasn't shining bright that day, I would have traded today for one just like it...

Grey's Tunes...

We went looking for a the Grey's Anatomy soundtrack today, I've wanted to get it for some time now. Everywhere we went it was SOLD OUT! So, I decided to check it out on iTunes, and am I glad I did! I read some of the reviews from people who own it, all good. But, when I sampled it, not so good. I liked the first few tracks, and a couple in the middle, and of course the final track (the theme song). Then I checked out some of the iMixes that other users had created, found some real keepers, and made my own! It's a great CD, if I do say so. Here are the tracks and their artists:

1. One / Tina Dico
2. Song Beneath the Song / Maria Taylor
3. Wait / Get Set Go
4. Cosy In the Rocket / Psapp (theme)
5. Where Does the Good Go? / Tegan and Sara
6. Such Great Heights / The Postal Service
7. No Sleep Tonight / The Faders
8. Bad Day / Daniel Powter
9. Breathe (2 AM) / Anna Nalick

All are very good songs, I would recommend each. My only regret is that I didn't find more.

If music be the food of love, play on.
~ Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

something fun for the weekend...

A was having a blast!!! She loves being in front of the camera...she's good at it. She really can be quite the 'poser'.
I think she's looking more and more like her Daddy. They are 2 peas...
This is a silly shot, but I couldn't resist!

Looking forward to doing some shopping for furniture for the new house. Its hard when you don't have a truck/SUV to haul things around in. It limits us to places that offer delivery, or smaller items that may fit in the car. I found a coffee table that I really like...we'll see if it fits. I'll post a pic of it if I get one.

Well, its getting late and I think I've accomplished all I can for one day...

Won't do that again...

so, yesterday i took the girl to a new park to meet and play with her friends. it's a great little park. i'm not sure many people know about it, we were the only ones there. something that makes this park cool is that it has a merry-go-round! ...something you don't see anymore, for whatever reason.
so, the mom's took turns spinning the kiddos and they had a blast! this was the girl's first time on a merry-go-round, I can safely say that she loved it. Sad to say, it may be her first and last...my back and shoulder hurt SO bad this morning when i woke up!!! I am so out of shape...the merry-go-round got the better of me.

"I wish I was a Jumpy cow...

then I could go over the moon! Woohoo!!!"

Early this evening, we were on our way to the watch shop when I noticed the moon sitting low in the sky. The sun was setting, so the sky was a light blue with an irridescent moon...quite beautiful. I pointed it out to my daughter and that was her response!
As we drove she noticed that the moon seemed to move parallel as we traveled. She said, "I think the moon is trying to race us. See?"

Ah, to be four.

She's so proud of me!!!

My four-year-old just hugged my neck and told me she was so proud of me, with so much excitement in her eyes...does it get any better than that?

We have so much going on right now. We just sold our house, the one we built, first one we lived in together, brought our daughter home and started our family in.
Sad, but onward and upward, right? We found a new home; a bigger, better built, fab-u-lous house! I can't wait to be moved in! I'll post pics of the 'past and future' when we make the move.

Here's to 'new beginnings' and what the future holds!

So, there you have it...My Own Life House first post!