Becky's Blog

Wish list

2011-12-19T09:18:00.000-08:00

Well I fell short of keeping up on my 25 days of Christmas, but I have been taking pictures, so maybe news years will bring me time to update you all on the happenings around here. On another note, I never posted a wish list. I wish for financial security in the unstable economy, I wish for a healthy family, I wish for eternity with all my loved ones, and I wish that all of you who love me and know me will find the true Christmas spirit and find the love in your hearts like I have.

But, just to add a little materialism to this post I'll post some of my wish list that come from the stores.

1. Coffee! Starbucks gift cards work great! wink, wink

2. New jeans/slacks - I'm tired of wearing clothes too baggy or to tight (depending on the day) that are older then my daughter!

3. Workout Gear - for those of you still shopping there's some great sales at Fred Meyer for under armor gear!

4. to go along with #3 - 1 pound weighted gloves for Body Combat class

5. Any of the Twilight Saga movies

6. Bath & Body works lotions & creams (I'm addicted since I worked there)

7. Cozy socks

8. Always can count om the scrapbook supplies or a craft warehouse gift card!

9. Make-up (foundation/concealer) & facial (wrinkle) cream

10. Movie Tickets (for date night with the hubby)

December Daily: Day 5

2011-12-06T06:46:00.000-08:00

Day 5: Here are some facebook posts from today…

Good Morning Monday! How am I going to accomplish it all today? Yicks!

at 6:49am

Comments:

Rob'nlin Schneider Because you are super woman

Rebekah Pontow YAY! Do I get a cape and a mask? I could use a disguise!

Rob'nlin Schneider Oh yes you do!!!! coming right up sister

Rebekah Pontow Sweet!!! LOL

Some things just take longer then you think they should! *sigh* To-Do today: Preschool, coupons/shopping, Lunch with a friend, house cleaning (laundry & vacuum), and the in the evening the gym all while I attempt to document the holiday season!

at 7:55am

Preschool time, time to speed up my to-do list here and get on super speed!

at 9:15am

Not a lot done.....shoot, gotta get the kido now, lunch, and groceries!

at 10:40am

Had a great Olive Garden lunch with a super awesome friend from church who colored pictures with Julia! I love when people will include her into the conversations and not just be annoyed with her. She can be a handful, but it's great when people are laid back!

at 2:00pm

Time to get myself productive!!

at 3:00pm

The posts ended there abruptly, not because I was overly productive, but because I was aware from facebook! I commented here and there on other posts, but didn’t even post about my workout that evening. Just another day in the life of a facebook addict! The photo at the top is what's always preoccupying me - coupons!

December Daily: Day 4

2011-12-05T07:05:00.001-08:00

Day 4: Our story every year at Christmas time involves the Woodcrafter’s Company Christmas party. The last few years have been at Benihana’s, and I absolutely love it! This is Julia’s second year going with us, and being that she’s at the stage where she’s not always so great at restaurants it’s always a gamble if we’re going to have a good time. But, we did. Here’s my prompt I’ll use to journal in the actual album…

Loving the calm feeling rush over me knowing that if I release the anxiety that comes with the business I will do just fine today

Loving the red dress I borrowed from Jessica at Church

Loving the random text message “So close 2 done I can almost taste the sushi” from Jon today

Loving curling my hair and getting dressed up

Loving Julia’s gorgeous dress

Loving how much help my mom is

Loving that I made it on time this year (and early to boot)

Loving that I get to see and sit next to Mellissa every year and chit-chat with her

Loving how much Joy Julia brings everyone in a room

Loving that Nurse Cathy came this year (she was one of the handful of nurses Julia had in the NICU, and was the wife of Jon’s co-worker!)

Loving all the compliments & Merry Christmases

Loving the Sushi (but not as good as years past)

Loving that Roxanne & Matthew made it and are having a great time

Loving that Julia has a friend to play with off and on when she’s ready to be mischievous

Loving the tricks the cooks do at the hibachi grill

Loving steak, scallops, and Lobster!

Loving how curious Julia was to see all the cook’s tricks this year

Loving that Julia got her own Startbucks gift card this year for Hot Chocolate drinks!

Loving the sleigh that was given to Steve & Peggy

Loving the night out and the good memories

December Daily: Day 3

2011-12-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Day 3: On the hunt for a Rapunzel Ornament for Julia today while I was out shopping with my mom for Christmas. I stopped in at Hallmark, and yes they do carry them, but of course all sold out all their stores in the tri-county. Every year I have made it my mission to get Julia a new ornament for the tree so that each year we can have a way of documenting what was going on in her life in a special way. It’s only been 3 years now, so we’re not too far into the tradition. But, I love it, and so does Julia. I had intended to order it online way before now so that it was on the tree for entire holiday season, but alas I fell behind on the to-do list. So, the wait online now is about 2-3 weeks, and it will just have to be a gift under the tree instead of on the tree.

December Daily: Day 2

2011-12-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

Day 2: It’s my mom’s birthday! I Love birthdays and love celebrating anyone’s birthday. This year was even more low key then most years, Mom and her roommate, Kelly came over for dinner and dessert. I made Turkey pot pit and she brought some delicious cakes. We spent time with Julia playing and coloring and talking around the table. It’s nice sometimes to just have a normal evening with people you don’t always spend the evening with. Once they left, Julia was still very wound up with sugar and so after bath time, she decided she needed to play fort! There is nothing better then having a daddy who can build a fort out of anything. It was just another day in December for us.

25 Days of Christmas - Day 1

2011-12-02T06:44:00.000-08:00

Day 1: The tree is up and it’s officially Christmas time. The minute Julia began to see Christmas lights on the streets and in the trees she was joyfully cheering “its Christmas time guys!” Julia was so excited to put up the tree, but Jon and I are not feeling the holiday spirit yet. There are too many things on the to-do list and not enough time and energy to get it all done. I’m glad to be taking moments like these to document them when I can, because otherwise the season would just fly right by me and I’d have missed it. In order to get the tree in its place in the house we had to completely rearrange the furniture and take out half the seating to different areas of the house. Once the tree was up and ready to be turned on and lighted, Julia, Chewy, and me sat there for the grand display! Then it was off to decorate! Julia pleaded to do them all, but it was already past bedtime, so we did the special ornament box and put up the wooden Merry Christmas Train. By the end I was feeling rather impatient and irritated with just about everything, a sign that says it’s way past everyone’s bedtime.

25 Days of Christmas in 2011

2011-11-28T13:01:00.000-08:00

Last year I did 30 days of Christmas, and this year I haven't even planned out an album. So, it's going to be 25 days - on the blog, and then I'll create it!

December plans already made:

December 2nd: My mom's birthday!
Dec 3rd, 10th, 17t, and 24th I work in the morning at the Gym daycare!
Dec 4th : Jon's company Christmas Dinner party at benihana's
Dec 7 & 8th: Devin''s Wedding - Jon's the best man!
Dec 10th: Women's bible study group
Dec 11th: Heart Family Christmas Party
Dec 19th: Mother-in-law's Birthday
Dec 24th: Christmas Eve!
Dec 25th: CHRISTMAS! & Church events!

It's going to a very crazy Holiday season for sure! Other events not yet on the calendar...

- putting up the Christmas Tree & decorating
- Peacock Lane
- Visiting Santa
- Family Holiday Pictures
- More Christmas shopping
- Snow play!

I do not have an album created or even planned out. I'm flying by the seat of my pants this year...I have many personal trials ahead of me as well, and I think I will find time to add the personal (internal) notes to the book this year.

Merry Christmas everyone!

How My Coupon Stock Pile Turn Into Meals

2011-08-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show you an amazing chart that my coupon class handed out a few weeks ago, and in turn how I use it now for making monthly meal planning from my coupon stock-pile. Some items, like the healthy/salad day will be spendier then other days, but it works out in the end. Especially if you watch for deals and know when you can use up a lot of produce items. Enjoy!

(the chart is somewhat difficult to read without the boxes around each section..if you'd like an email of this chart, just leave a comment and I'd be glad to send it off to you.)

Day/Category	Main Dish	Bread/Starch (Optional)	Veggies	Fruits
MONDAY
Mexican/Italian	Chicken Enchiladas	Corn Bread/Biscuits	Lettuce, Tomatoes, onion, Corn/steamed veggy or tomatoes	Peaches/Pears
	Burritos/Tacos
	Spaghetti
	Fettuccini Alfredo
	Lasagna
TUESDAY
Crockpot/Quick	Chili	Cornbread/Rolls	Peas&Carrots	Fruit Cocktail
	Pulled Pork
	Soup
	Tuna/Hamburger Helper
	Take & Bake Pizza
WEDNESDAY
Vegetarian/Fish	Bean Burritos & spanish rice	None/roasted potatoes	Steamed Veggies (broccoili, cauliflower, etc)	Fresh Fruit
	Frittatas/quiche
	Eggplant Parmasean
	Linguini & tomatoes in Olive Oil
	Baked Fish
THURSDAY
Salad/Healthy	Black Bean Salad	None/roasted potatoes/rice	Roasted Vegetables	Berries
	Taco Salad
	Grilled Chicken & Vegy
	Chef Salad
	Stir-Fry
FRIDAY
Round 2 Recipe/BBQ	Mac & Cheese & Hamburgers/hotdogs		Green Beans	Melon
	Chili Dogs
	Pulled Pork Sandwiches
	Nachos
	BBQ Chicken & corn on the cob
SATURDAY
Casserole	Chicken & Rice	Biscuits	In the casserole/Green Beans	Grapes/Apple Slices
	Tuna Casserole
	Baked Mac&Cheese
	Chicken & Green Bean Casserole
	Chicken & Noodle Casserole
SUNDAY
Nice/Family Favorites	Roast	French Bread/Rolls/Rice	Salad	Strawberries
	Meatballs
	Chicken Pot Pie
	Pork Chops
	Meatloaf

Day 7 - Week in the life

2011-08-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

Many stories surround Sunday...

Sunday always begins with the bible and biblical teachings...

Sunday goes into the cheap lunch plan: Tuna sandwiches & chips

A first, wetting the bed (now that she doesn't wear diapers)

Family dinner outside, Julia's word: "Hangaburgers for dinner!" (aka, Hamburger)

Game time in the evening....

Followed by dress-up....

and a walk.....
Playing at the park is always a fun time....

Coming home to the sunset and the smell of doughnuts baking..

"Dragging" her to bed after a long day.

Our day ends in battle victory! HAHA

Day 6 - Week in the life

2011-07-31T07:42:00.000-07:00

Today started out ordinary, and ended extraordinary! The summer has really added so much to our story this week. So much so that I took over 100 photos again today.

The day began with housework and laziness...

Then progressed to swimming and braveness...

And ended with a cookout and togetherness.

**Today was amazing, and I hope to post more about our Saturday story later, but for now enjoy the 3 photos.**

Day 5 - Week in the Life

2011-07-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

Today was...

Sleeping in...

Daddy's day off...

Game On!

Pancake Friday...

Rain Gear on a sunny day...

Sunny!

Learning to wear flip-flops...

Garden watering

Bitter-sweet
Routine

Sleepover...

Game Night!

**Our day was filled with tradition, routine, and great memories! Friday's are Jon's day off, pancake day, church gardens day, and on some occasions game night with the guys (and their families). Julia spent the night at Grandma Roxanne's, which is always bittersweet because we know how much we love the time off, but at the same time we miss her like crazy!**

Day 4 - Week in the life

2011-07-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

This morning I am thankful for a stockpile of food for Jon's lunch!

This morning I am thankful for a dog who adores his family, especially the little girl in it.

This morning I am thankful for pennies that teach many lessons.

This morning I am thankful for a large backyard.

This morning I am thankful for Toy Story!

This afternoon I am thankful for a growing child.

This afternoon I am thankful for ESD services available to our family for speech (Julia & her cousin).

This afternoon I am thankful for strong shoulders!

This afternoon I am thankful for the Library!

This afternoon I am thankful for coupons & friends!

This evening Julia is thankful for Daddy's return home.

This evening I am thankful for spaghetti always being a favorite!

This evening I am thankful for the evening sun.

This evening I am thankful for a hard workout to sweat out the toxins.
This evening we are all thankful for popcorn!

Day 3 - Week in the life

2011-07-28T07:01:00.001-07:00

So many things revolve around our budget and the ability to be frugal, and today was no different. During the summer time Regal Cinemas offered $1 movies in the mornings on Tuesday and Wednesday, so this week we took advantage of it and saw a movie for $1 each with Grandma Nancy. The movie was called “Legend of the Guardians,” a book turned movie about the war between good and evil owls. I hadn’t realized how much more mature this movie would be, and it was a difficult task to keep Julia occupied for the hour and half of time, except with the occasional licorice and popcorn and one long potty break. My mom loves to spend time with Julia and I, especially when it’s an activity that Julia can be super cute about (such as going to see a movie), and even bought Julia a big bag of popcorn! The rest of the day was filled with a park visit, lunch, and clothing exchanges for clothes that were too big for Julia from her birthday. By the end of all this, Julia was so tired she easily fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Being as it was Wednesday, I had Zumba at the gym and it as kid’s Zumba also. So, Julia put on her hand me down Nikes (which we all love for the fact she won’t be falling down anymore) and off we went to shack our booties! This gave Jon plenty of his own time at home to do whatever we wanted to (he mowed the lawn and game talked with Tyson). Being as dinner wasn’t as filling as I usually make it, I came home and made brownies and did some housework before bedtimes. Who doesn’t love to lick the beaters and mixing bowl after mom makes brownies? Today was a long day and still didn’t manage to get to bed until 11:30!

Before & After pictures of me in the morning

I think her PJs are getting to small for her...they left some serious sleep marks all over her.

Popcorn & a movie - what more can you ask for at 10 am?

Off she goes!

Julia and I swinging together!

Totally adores her Grandma Nancy!

Kid's Zumba!

Brownies are in the oven

Getting it all cleaned up!

**I've been taking less and less pictures each day, and I think that has to do with the amount of activity in each day. I'm thinking Day 4 will produce more pictures though. I'm doing good with getting myself in the pictures each day though, so I am pleased to have made that a focus! **

Day 2 - Week in the life of

2011-07-27T06:35:00.000-07:00

Day 2: Just another normal day for us here at the Pontow house with Julia sleeping in while I have a quiet morning to myself getting things together. We did however have a slow couple of hours where all we did was watch Sesame Street and hang out with each other. Sometimes that’s the best part of the day though. Especially when it all begins with waking Julia’s sleepy self up and getting snuggles in her new bed! After lots of play time Julia can be hard to transition though, so we naturally had a melt down in the middle of the day, but made up for it with a great walk to the library with NO stroller! It can be the most relaxing time to have a 3 year holding your hand, chatting away, and not have a care in the world except to get to the library! And then to come upon a butterfly on the way home that could care less too makes it even more magical! Tuesday was a little different for me as far as my daily life because Jon had to work late at work, which in turn means me having to pick him up (because Roxanne doesn’t work that late and we only have one car) and not making my 6:30 Body combat class at the gym. But, to compensate for this I did make chili in the crock-pot and had dinner ready for use when we all got home after a quick stop at Winco for cornbread! But, it seems that the small change in the day like this just overwhelms me and I had a difficult time getting the rest of my housework done. I just lay on our bed with a headache and after a moment I come to see that Jon has helped me during a difficult moment by picking up all the toys and doing the dishes. Where would I be without him? Julia of course never goes to bed easily, and tonight it seems all I wish for from her. By 10:45 she’s still awake in bed, and we don’t make it to bed until 11:00. 5:45 am comes really quickly!

Julia's idea, thought it was interesting that Ali did this on her blog Monday...

Chores/housework/whatever you want to call it!

Tea Party!

Original picture on my phone - just sitting on the couch together while we chat to Jon during his lunch break.

Instagram photo

The Library - taking the top off

Returning books!

Princess Frog is all buckled in!

A good way to get myself in the picture is just by taking all of our shadows - mine looks very skewed due to the large purse and 2 cameras I'm holding!

Coming back to an empty sink because the hubby took care of it! Thanks!

Trampoline time to exhaust the girl!

Goodnight!

Day 2 Preview

2011-07-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

Just took a walk with Julia without the stroller and it can be the most relaxing time to have a 3 year holding your hand, chatting away, and not have a care in the world except to get to the library! And then to come upon a butterfly that could care less too makes it even more magical!

Day 1 - Week in the life: More

2011-07-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

I realized there was some more I wanted to document on here before I forgot!

In the News: In Oregon News, Oregon Rep. David Wu has a 3rd allegation of improper sexual conduct. Here's a link.
In National News, President Obama addresses the nation about U.S. debt talks. Here's a link.

The Weather today: Thunder storms in the early morning and cloudy most of the day. Link.

Julia's Preschool Schedule:
Art: Ice painting (will be putting the art work in the album when we pick it up next week.)
Snack: Slushies & animal crackers
Sensory: Ice Block w/ saltwater droppers

Day 1 - Week in the life

2011-07-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Day 1: Took about as many pictures as I usually do during this project (over 100) and saved 97 of them! Here's a gimps...

The Day always begins with a little coffee and coupons!

Julia waking up in her new bed she's had for a week now

Tea Party!!

Tantrum

Headed to Preschool Class!!

Zumba!! Here I am with Candice - my Zumba buddy!

The Broken Library - hoping to document this building each day to see if there's any changes going on...

Late night dog walk!

Popcorn & Movie before bedtime

Reading "Daddy is a warm hug" book at bedtime

So far I'm pleased with the amount of pictures I managed to get into...missed a few opportunities at documenting (bath time in the evening & Grandma Roxanne's quick stop in visit), but overall had the camera on me most of the time.

A week in the life IS HERE

2011-07-25T06:56:00.001-07:00

It's finally here - the 7 days of documenting and picture taking!!! If you know me closely, you know that this really is no different that normal life for me except for this week I have intent and purpose and not just a desire to document.

My Goals this week for Week in the life of....

* Limit facebook time! Why? Because sometimes I sit on there just reading all the comments over and over and waist time - I want to take that wasteful times and use them to document!
* Get myself in the picture! -Hand over the camera and don't be afraid to use the photo even if it's not great!
* Keep up on real life still! - I still have responsibilities and they can not go to the waist side for this project!
* Get printer ink refilled so I can print out everything next week!

Have a great first day of the project - can't wait to see what the day brings!

This week's Coupon Match-up Part 2

2011-07-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

Albertson’s Match-ups are small without the doubler, but here’s my short list.

- Tully’s Ground coffee (ISC) - $4.99 + $1.50 = $3.49 (such a great price for a pound of coffee!)

- Kraft Salad Dressing $.88 each (ISC) – if you have a coupon you could stack this with the ISC and possibly get the dressing for free or close to!

- Tide Detergent 50oz Liquid/56 oz powder - $5.99 + $2 powder = $3.99

Catalina Deals: When buying qualify products you get a Catalina coupon for $$ off your next shopping trip!

- Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers BUY 2 GET $5 CATALINA $9.99 each (2) + $3/1 (2) = $13.98 + $5 off next trip!

- Dannon Yogurt (Activia, Danimals, light & fit) BUY 2 GET $1 CATALINA 2/$4 – Stack with coupons you may have, I’m all out of my Dannon coupons, so I am not sure what else is out there to use.

- Dole Fruit Cups BUY 2 GET $1 CATALINA 2/$5 + $.50/2 = $4.50 (honeslty, these are a better deal at Winco – usually $2 each and with the coupon that would be a way better deal)

- General Mills Cereals/Betty Crocker fruit Snacks/Fiber one Bars or Brownies/Nature Valley Granola Bars BUY 4 GET $2 CATALINA 4/$10 ($2.50 each) – lots and lots of coupon possibilities here.

Better Crocker fruit snacks: $10/4 - $.50/2 (2) = $9+ $2 CATALINA
Fiber one Brownies: $10/4 - $.75/1 (4) = $7 + $2 CATALINA
Fiber one Bars: $10/4 - $.40/1 (4) = $8.40 + $2 CATALINA
Nature Valley Granola Bars: $10/4 - $.75/2 = $8.50 + $2 CATALINA
General Mills Cereal: $10/4 - $2/5 = $10.50 + $2 CATALINA (this coupon was a Catalina printout from Albertsons, use other General Mills Coupons if you have them for a better deal)

**I don't plan to cash in on any of the Catalina deals, but thought I'd share the scenarios with you**

This week's Coupon Match-up Part 1

2011-07-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

Here are Fred Meyer & Safeway Match-ups...Albertson's isn't amazing this week, but they have some great Catlina deals, so I will post that later. My budget this week is $60!

Fred Meyer’s had some great coupons this week; here are my match-ups

- Kettle Chips 2/$5 + $1/1 (2) = $3 – the coupon I had was expired, so when I got there to put them in my cart they had a blinkie (device that gives out coupons next to the product) for the same coupon, so I still got my Kettle Chips!

- Country Style Pork ribs, bone-in: $1.88 lb/ family pack 3lb or more – I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get these, but I decided to get them since I did need some more meat options for our meals. = $6.41

- Tillamook Shredded Cheese (in-store-coupon/ISC) – 5/$5

- Fred Meyer brand Canned Tomatoes/Beans (ISC) 2/$1 (10) = $5 – I got all 10 cans of tomatoes, different varieties too.

- Dozen eggs or English muffins 4/$5 (ISC) – 3 dozen eggs and 1 package of English muffins = $5

- 4lb tube of Red Vines (ISC) - $4.99

Total: $29.40

Safeway also has some great deals going on, and due to their doubler policy I will be making 2 trips either to the same store or two separate stores in order to make all coupons work.

Trip #1: $16.24

- Sweet Corn 6/$2

- Kraft Mac & Cheese $.75 each (5) = $3.75

- Safeway brand paper towels (ISC) 6-8 rolls - $4.88

- Green Giant canned vegetables (ISC) $.69 each (5) = $3.45

- General Mills Cocoa Puffs Brownie $1.79 (ISC) + $.75 coupon + DOUBLE ($.50) = $.54 a box (4) = $2.16 I’m getting 4 of these because 4 is the maximum amount of doublers I can use and this is the only manufacture coupon I’m using.

Trip #2: $5.70

- Hamburger Helper $.99 each (ISC) + $.75/3 + DOUBLE ($.50) = $1.72/3 (this is with 1 coupon) + 3 more coupons DOUBLE = $5.16 I used 3 coupons only because the ISC states the price is only good on the first 10, and I’m getting 9 with my coupons.

- General Mills Cocoa Puffs Brownie $1.79 (ISC) + $.75 + DOUBLE ($.50) = $.54

Countdown to Week in the Life Project

2011-07-20T22:46:00.000-07:00

The countdown is on for the 7 days of story documentations with journals & photos! Ali Edwards has posted a great PDF file for documenting during the day! I think I will be using it just for my journaling, unless there's a specific story to tell. So far I have a few reoccurring events for that week...then it's just daily going-ons for us!

Monday: Julia has preschool; I have Zumba
Tuesday: nothing planned, just staying home probably; Body Combat in the evening
Wednesday: No preschool/going to $1 regal movies in the morning & then Kid's Zumba in the evening & Zumba for me
Thursday: Library story time in the morning and then at home; Body Combat in the evening
Friday: Jon's day off; Zumba before dinner time
Saturday: Jon has the car for work, so we stay at home all day
Sunday: Church, Sunday school ..

My Plan:
As I did last year I will have my journals in 8.5X11 size in between the 12X12 pages. I think I will then have a 1 page layout to get some real traditional scrapbooking into this project this year as the first page for each day, then have the divided page protectors.
Here's the 1 page Layout I'm going to use - shared from Sketch Support

Just the photos:
I'm not going to take a billion photos - I'm going to try to limit myself to 50 a day! This year the project need to be budget friendly, so I won't have the funds to be printing a dozen photos for each day.

The Story:
I talk a lot about my day on facebook, so what if during this week I don't? I'll take that time to write a note about my day somewhere else and limit my social network time to add to my story. This is going to be a huge struggle for me, but as much as I love social networking and just sitting on facebook reading what's going on at my friend's house, I've been getting many comments about the time and energy I spend on facebook. And though many of the comments aren't meant to be rude or put me down in any way, I feel bad that I am essentially spamming my friends with status updates. So, I will be take time away from facebook in order to get the real story of our life into my project. I won't be off 100%, but more like 75%!

What I want to get out of this year's project:
I really want to focus on the art of scrapbooking this year along with the story.
I want to take pictures that inspire me to read the story a year later.
I want to be in the story! This means handing over the camera and excepting that others may not take the photo the same way I would.

So, who's joining me!?

My Coupon Haul

2011-07-20T07:47:00.001-07:00

So, my Albertson's trip went slightly different then my plan, but I was able to adapt well and still get some great deals.

Store #1 -

Transaction #1: $6 – Savings $10.76/57% This transaction went off without any changes!!

- ***Buy 4 Get $2.00 Coupon for your next shopping trip + a FREE Gallon of Milk Coupon (up to $4.50 in value)*** General Mills Honey nut Cheerios $2.50 + $1/2 + DOUBLE = $3/2 (2) = $6

Transaction #2: ~~$3.66 -~~ $.52 (used $2 Catalina Coupon) – Savings - $7.60/68%

- S&W Beans $1.19 (black beans) + DOUBLE $1/2 S&W The Recipe Collection Beans (If this variety is included) = $0.19/1 (must buy 2 or more) (6) = $2.28

- S&W Beans $1.19 (black beans) + $1/2 S&W The Recipe Collection Beans (If this variety is included) = (must buy 2 or more) = $1.38

Transaction #3: ~~$7.40~~ - $5.70 (used $2 Catalina coupon) – Savings - $17.10/72%

Mix & Match:

- Gulden’s Mustard 12 oz $0.79 + $.35/1 Gulden’s Spicy Brown mustard = $1.23 (2)

- Crystal Light 10-12 qt $2.99/$2.49 +DOUBLE $1/1 Crystal Light Drink = Final price: $.49 (1)

- Hunts Pasta Sauce $.79each (5) = $3.95

- Welch’s Grape Jelly - $1.49 + $.55/1 = $.94

- ~~Act II popcorn - $.79~~

Actual Transaction:

- Gulden’s Mustard 12 oz $0.79 + $.35/1 Gulden’s Spicy Brown mustard = $1.23 (2)

- Crystal Light 10-12 qt $2.99/$2.49 +DOUBLE $1/1 Crystal Light Drink = Final price: $.49 (1)

- Hunts Pasta Sauce $.79each (5) = $3.95

- Welch’s Grape Jelly - $1.49 + $.55/1 = $.94

- Hunts BBQ - $.79

Store #2 -
Transaction #4: $4.75 – Savings $8.96/65% This transaction went off without any changes!!!

- ***Buy 4 Get $2.00 Coupon for your next shopping trip + a FREE Gallon of Milk Coupon (up to $4.50 in value)*** Fiber one Brownies $2.50 + $.75/1 + DOUBLE (3) = $4 (4) = $4.75

Transaction #5: ~~$4.75~~ - $6.00 (used $4 Catalina Coupon)

*Planned to buy Nature Valley Thins, but sold out at both stores*

- ~~(3 Doublers) Nature Valley Granola Bars or Thins $2.50~~ ~~***Buy 4 Get $2.00 Coupon for your next shopping trip + a FREE Gallon of Milk Coupon (up to $4.50 in value)***~~ ~~+ $.75/1 + DOUBLE = $1 each (4) = $4.75 + $2 Catalina & FREE Milk~~

- Pringles - $5/3 ($1.66) + $1/3 coupon (1) + DOUBLE (1) = $1 each (3) = $3 (with Catalina coupons I got these for free)

- Nature Valley Granola Bars $2.50/1 + $.75/2 + DOUBLE = $3.50/2 (4) = $7

Transaction #6: ~~$3.98~~ - $7.99 (used $4 Catalina coupons) – Savings $21.03/72%

- ~~Who Nu Cookies $2.50 +~~ ~~DOUBLE $1/1 = $0.50 each (2) = $1~~

- Ronzoni Pasta Healthy Harvest or Garden Delight 12-13.5 oz $1.00 + Double $.50/1 = FREE

- Mission soft tacos $.99 each (2) = $1.98

Actual Transaction:

- - Ronzoni Pasta Healthy Harvest or Garden Delight 12-13.5 oz $1.00 + Double $.50/1 = FREE

- Mission soft tacos $.99 each (2) = $1.98

- Pringles - $5/3 ($1.66) + $1/3 coupon (2) + DOUBLE (2) = $1 each (6) = $6

- Chicken breast - $1.99 lb = $3.11

Total: ~~$30.54~~ - $30.96 ($.42 off) – Savings $88.06!!

If I had bought all of this without a savings card & coupons I would have spent $129.91

Albertson's Doubler Match-ups - LAST DAY

2011-07-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a list of my scenarios for Albertson's Doubler coupons. I hope to post more about my couponing for those of you who need a little extra help figure out how to use those coupons. I by all means do NOT think I am the best at this and typically spend more then the real extreme couponers out there. I am new and just want to share my knowledge with you all.

Transaction #1: $3.98

- Who Nu Cookies $2.50 + DOUBLE $1/1 = $0.50 each (2) = $1

- Ronzoni Pasta Healthy Harvest or Garden Delight 12-13.5 oz $1.00 + Double $.50/1 = FREE

- Mission soft tacos $.99 each with in store coupon (2) = $1.98

Transaction #2: $7.40

Mix & Match: Buy 10 or more items on the mix & match list and save $5 instantly (no coupons) I usually need 1 items on this list each trip and then will coupon the rest of the items that I need. I'm only using 1 doubler on this transaction because I ran out of them and needed them more for the cereal purchase.

- Gulden’s Mustard 12 oz $0.79 + $.35/1 Gulden’s Spicy Brown mustard = $1.23 (2)

- Crystal Light 10-12 qt $2.99/$2.49 +DOUBLE $1/1 Crystal Light Drink = Final price: $.49 (1)

- Hunts Pasta Sauce $.79each (5) = $3.95

- Welch’s Grape Jelly - $1.49 + $.55/1 = $.94

- Act II popcorn - $.79

Transaction #3: $3.66

I broke up these two because the first is listed with the 3 doublers and then the 4th coupon does not get a doubler (can only use 3 per transaction).

- S&W Beans $1.19 (black beans) + DOUBLE $1/2 S&W The Recipe Collection Beans (If this variety is included) = $0.19/1 (must buy 2 or more) (6) = $2.28

- S&W Beans $1.19 (black beans) + $1/2 S&W The Recipe Collection Beans (If this variety is included) = (must buy 2 or more) = $1.38

Transaction #4: $4.75

- (3 Doublers) Nature Valley Granola Bars or Thins $2.50 ***Buy 4 Get $2.00 Coupon for your next shopping trip + a FREE Gallon of Milk Coupon (up to $4.50 in value)*** + $.75/1 + DOUBLE = $1 each (4) = $4.75 + $2 Catalina & FREE Milk

Transaction #5: $6

- ***Buy 4 Get $2.00 Coupon for your next shopping trip + a FREE Gallon of Milk Coupon (up to $4.50 in value)*** General Mills Honey nut Cheerios $2.50 + $1/2 + DOUBLE = $3/2 (2) = $6

Transaction #6: $4.75

- ***Buy 4 Get $2.00 Coupon for your next shopping trip + a FREE Gallon of Milk Coupon (up to $4.50 in value)*** Fiber one Brownies $2.50 + $.75/1 + DOUBLE (3) = $4 (4) = $4.75

Total: $30.54 + $6 off in coupons on next shopping trip & 3 gallons of free milk!

A look back at 2010 Album

2011-06-30T15:59:00.001-07:00

My process of making the Week in the life Album last year was close to the same one Ali Edwards used, but of course I used less technology and more traditional methods. Each day as a formula like this:
Page 1: Large 8X12 photo with the date on the page
Page 2: 8 1/2 X 11 page with a journal and on the back of this page would either be a large photo or PP with words on it.
Following pages would consist of photos in 4X6 or 6X4 photo pockets, along with papers from the day and/or journals about the pictures.
Last page of the day: 8X12 photo collage of photos that were used and weren't used.
Enjoy!

Tittle Page

Day 1: Large photo

Day 1: spread of page 1 and journal

Day 1: Used an 8X10 photo in the middle of page 1 and 2 - the back of my journal page.

Day 1: went to the park, got a gym membership, did yard work around the house...it was a good day!

Day 1: info on the park near us...

Day 1 college - this is the day I took the MOST pictures of course!

Day 2: Large photo - this has got to be one of my favorite pictures!!

Day 2: journal about out financial peace class and grandma babysitting

Day 2 photo collage

Day 3: large photo on page 1

Day 3: used a black & white photos, will do that more often I think.

Day 3: Pizza night, and grocery list

Day 4 Large Photo

Day 4 collage

Day 5: large photo on page 1

The paper's are Jon's monthly schedule folded to current week; a list of movies that have been relesed this week; and my to-do list

Day 5 - 2 page spread

Day 6 Large photo page 1

Day 6 journal: we walked the 10K march of dimes

Behind the front page is the map of the 10K walk

Day 6: in the middle page is a flag from the walk

Day 6 collage

Day 7: Page 1 large photo

Day 7: 2 page spread

The End: a collage of all 7 days

Couponing

2011-06-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Well, something I have yet to share on my blog is my new obsession with coupons. The past few months couponing has become a nation pastime, with women fighting over the last of stock-up items and newspapers being stolen from the neighbor's front porch. It's even gone so far that many of the stores are now rewriting their coupon policies, because too many people are out there getting free items and only spending pennies on the dollar for their groceries. Well, this is a pretty good description of my lifestyle these days. We no longer run to the store for something without a coupon or a deal or sale going on. We have a stockpile of essential food items in our home, and are to the point that we no longer go without any of our favorite foods (healthy and unhealthy). We do all of this without spending more then $300 a month on household items and groceries. This coming from the girl who was spending close to $600 - I have decreased our food budget by 50%!

This has become a passion and a responsibility as my role as a stay at home mom. Instead of going out into the work force my job is to save us money. My role is to care for our family in every which way, including our budget. So, if you haven't heard of extreme couponing yet, you probably don't have cable and haven't been to the grocery store lately. This way of life is about getting the biggest deal possible on every item you buy, creating a stockpile of food in your pantry and freezer, and never paying more then 50% discount on your items.

The biggest deals I've had as of lately include using a double store coupon to make the manufacture coupon twice as nice! I generally spend no more then $30 on a shopping trip to a store and always have over a 50% discount! This means I spend $30 for a trip that generally would cost over $60 without coupons. Sometimes it's even better then this - like only spending $5 for a bag of food that would cost $25 - that's a 75% savings!

It does take a lot of time and energy to get these deals, to understand the process, and to make it all work for your family. We, me especially, need to eat healthy foods that are lower in sodium, so processed foods aren't always great to have in the house. But, I don't buy these items as much as I save on bulk ground meat and roasts, chicken, fresh fruit during the summer, and great items to use for sack lunches and meals on the go. I even managed to get my husband off his habit of drinking 2 or 3 cans/cups of soda a day - because it was too expensive!

So, I will attempt to show off some of my latest deals on here, but I am in no way a professional couponer, and in turn do not guarantee that I am accurate in any way. I typically follow other blogs that tell me exactly how to use my coupons, and do not go off on my own yet.

Post-Birthday

2011-06-29T07:47:00.000-07:00

Well it was a great 30th birthday! I'm so excited to be embarking on my 30s now and have so much more life ahead of me. It's really exciting. I started to think about I wanted out my life in these next 10 years and there are endless amount of possibilities. I'm attempting to write a so-called bucket list, and most of them are pretty cliche, but before I share it I'd like to make it more personal. So, for now I'll show off some of the pics from my birthday!

Melissa & I - she also just had her birthday!

The Best part of turning 30 was that on the day of my birthday I had Zumba class and a few of my girlfriends joined me! Kelly, the instructor, is so awesome and motivating!
Also, if you look closely you can see the awesome new pair of shoes I got!
My mother in law also got me Zumba for the Wii! Wooo!

2011 Week in the life

2011-06-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

And so it begins. This year's Week in the life project is during the summer time. I'm extremely excited to get working on this project after all the summer events are done with and I can document our every day life during summer! The date is set for July 25th through July 31st! The project is hosted by Ali Edwards - here's a link for the start of the project.

30th Birthday wish list

2011-06-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

I have no expectations that most people will even buy me anything - just show up to my party and celebrate with me! But, it's always fun for me to write out a wish list.

1. New Cross-trainer shoes for the gym! Size 9 1/2 with an insole inside. These are the ideal wish, but NOT expected. Something like this though!
Check out the
Nike Free XT Quick Fit+ Women's Training Shoe
I found at Nike online
2. New Bra (yeah, everything is shrinking on me, including the twins...)
3. Pedicure/manicure - I need either so bad!
4. ITunes cards - I need some new music on my IPod for the gym
5. Car Detailing - Julia has wrecked havoc on our car. Poor interior!
6. Coffee Beans - I love strong coffee and love trying out new beans!
7. Workout Gear - T-shirts in size XL, tank tops extra long in size L. Also could use some sweat bands for my forehead!

Check out the
Nike Dri-FIT "I Make Time" Women's T-Shirt
I found at Nike online

Check out the
Nike Dri-FIT "Start Strong, Finish Stronger" Women's T-Shirt
I found at Nike online

8. Clothes - I need some fun summer clothes - t-shirts, blouses, flip-flops, but no pants....I'm going down in pants sizes so quickly I'm just going with what I have.
(Old Navy, Eddie Bauer)

I could probably come up with more, but those are the basics. Anything related to the gym is pretty great!

Silly Kid...

2011-05-31T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of my silly kid these days! She's got such a personality and I love it so much. I love watching her explore the world around her and experiment with her surroundings. She loves to laugh, make others laugh, and can be so loud and crazy at times it wears a person out. But, I love her personality and all it has to offer. Enjoy!

April 20th:
Julia playing on her rocker from IKEA and wearing her cowgirl hat! Such a Ham!

April 21st:
Helping me Vacuum. Julia is pretty scared of loud noises, including the vacuum. But, at times she'll come up and say "I wanna help!" and take over for me! It's darn cute!

April 23rd:
Just laying around watching a movie on a rainy day! One of her favorite activities is having a large blanket laid out and pulling a pillow out and snuggling up on the floor. She's probably going to make a great sleep-over pal!

April 29th:
Helping clean her table to get it ready for BBQs and summer eating!

April 12th:
The cat and the hat hat, super pink tutu, and snowman jammies - all while watching Tangled! She's the silliest kid and loves to play dress up with her own style!

may 9th: Another dress up experience - she wouldn't go a day without wearing her Easter Dress, especially after I washed it again and was trying to put it away! All over her froggy Pjs.

May 9th:
Chewy & Julia - She is so in love with her dog! Chewy is very protective of her, but could do without all the touchy feely stuff! Still, he puts up with it because she matters!

May 19th:
Snack time in the bucket! Julia loves to dump out the lego bucket and sit inside of it. This time she climbed in and asked me to hand her her snack too.

May 19th:
Lunch time outside = "Picnic" Julia says anytime we eat outside it's called a picnic and she loves it.

May 27th:
This is the eponymy of silly behavior from Julia! She took all the toys off of her bed, packed them in her Disney shopping bag, and then proceeded to pile them on top of Daddy while he was laying the couch. She then needed her pillow chair from upstairs on the couch to sit with, and climbed under the blanket to snuggle with him. So crazy!

May 21st:
Picking Jon up from work, she helped bring in the cart from the parking lot.

May 30th:
Outside dinner - she's going to learn all the skills of BBQing before she's 5, I'm sure of it.

What's been going on in our home.....

2011-05-31T06:51:00.000-07:00

So, I realized I've been really slacking behind on my memory keeping these days. So I wanted to upload and write a few notes about what's been going on in the Pontow family the past couple of month.

We've been doing a lot of outdoor activities, picnics and yard work, along with park visits and outings. Julia's been visiting with her cousins ALOT, and mostly has been a complete ham lately. She's so silly! I've also been taking most of my pictures with my IPhone, which is so much more handier then any camera, but doesn't always have the best quality. But, I love it!

In April.....

April 9th - This is Julia in the morning, she's not always such a sleeping beauty, sometimes she's more like a waking dragon. But, whenever you put a camera in front of her she'll have a smile and a glimmer in her eye.

April 11th:
Julia and Deliah went to see the movie "Hop" together right before Easter. It's been over a month now and Julia still talks about going to a movie with Deliah and Molly!

April 3rd:
Iris, Paige, and Julia - can you tell they love eachother!? This all of them up at Grandma Roxanne's house.

April 6th: Julia and Grandma Nancy - complete unconditional Love!

April 9th: Paige's 3rd Birthday - Julia, Paige, and Faith are all within 5 month of each other in age. That was a fun party!

April 30th: My march of Dimes walking team consisted of this group and Jon (who is taking the picture). Casey & Amanda are the couple with the 2 strollers and Megan next to me on the right are all from our Church! It was a great walk and great to donate time and money to such a great cause!

*More to come...**

Getting to know me...

2011-05-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

My friend and fellow blogger, Megan-W has some questions for her followers, and I'd thought I'd post it right here on my blog for all to read.

Here are the questions & my answers:
1. How would you have described yourself in High School?

In high school I really had no clue who I was and what I was capable of in life. I had no foresight for the future, and really couldn’t tell you what I was like. Most people tell me I was very nice and friendly. I think this would be a good question to ask of others about me.

2. When you don't feel good what do you always want to help make yourself feel better?

My first thought usually is comfort, and that usually equals my mom and my husband. I use to rely a lot on food to make me feel better, but for some time now I’ve become accustomed to using activity to help me feel better. If I’m sick though, all I want to sleep and a lot of sympathy.

3. When you go to bath shops what type of flavors do you gravitate towards? Flowery, foods...

I really like perfume types, with a hint of sexy in them. I do like floral scents though, and after working the holidays in Bath and Body works I find that I gravitate towards rose scents and Shea butter scents.

4. When at a bar what is your drink?

That really depends on what kind of people I’m with and what kind of day I’ve had, also what kind of bar. In college I went for Vodka and cranberry or a comacazi, but now I generally get a light beer or what ever fruity drink is on the menu. I really love screwdrivers!

5. If you go to your closet right now what do you think is the predominant color in it?

Ha, that’s easy – Black & Pink! Black because I worked at bath & Body works and that was the dress code, and pink because I tend to always buy pink colored clothes and it’s my favorite color.

Easter Part 2

2011-04-27T16:34:00.001-07:00

There’s a certain process you go through with a 2 and half year old when it comes to Easter egg hunts, especially when you make your own eggs.

1st you show them the chemistry of dying eggs… oooh, pretty colors and stickers!

2nd you convince them that once the eggs are colored Mommy sends them to the Easter Bunny… because of course he’s too busy to make all his eggs!

3rd you hide the eggs before they are ever awake… in the event of rain you hide them on your covered front porch.

4th you make sure you wake them early enough that their mind is fuzzy enough not to remember those are their eggs hidden out there… she won’t even recognize them!

5th hunt for eggs in your pajamas before church …. No need to get that pretty dress dirty!

6th open up the basket of stuff!

Easter Part 1

2011-04-26T07:33:00.000-07:00

I'm remembering the little moments this year....

Remembering how amazing it is to watch so many little girls love each other just because they are cousins. They will forever be a close nit bunch!

Remembering that Julia has to have a hat on now whenever the other girls do or it’s rainy, windy, or cold outside. Time to invest in hat making!

Remembering the joy of Easter Egg hunting and running from egg to egg.

Remembering small gifts are more significant then candy!

Remembering Paige walking Julia over to find a gift with her name on it and then helping pull it down!

Remembering Julia not wanting to touch dirty eggs in the dirt, but ok with grabbing them in trees.

Remembering how great it is Julia has strong lungs to blow so much noise out of a plastic recorder!

A future Scrapbook page....

2011-04-14T08:46:00.000-07:00

Today you… (March 11, 2011)

- Saw your very first movie at Mt. Hood theater

- As the movie began you said “It’s my first movie mommy!” over and over for about the first 5-10 minutes.

- Tangled is a movie about Rupunzell, the lost princess with magical hair

- My new friend Sherri and her husband Jason came with us. They are currently trying to adopt and love children!

- You saw Ruby from church and her mom!

- You sat between Daddy and Me with a big bucket of popcorn, a drink, and some licorice to snack on.

- “What’s happening?” “The froggy mommy!” were some your funny comments throughout the movie.

- You sat still the entire movie, and only moved to Daddy’s lap for part of the movie.

4/14/11 - Today you…are in love with Tangled! The movie came out on DVD recently and we quickly rushed out to buy it for you on sale price. We have watched the movie at least once each day since. You saw a book with Tangled on it and now want to read the book every night at bedtime. You sing along with the music when Rupunzell sings, and call Flynn Ken because you can’t say F and L sounds together yet. Because you are in love with this movie, you are now fully infatuated with anything Princess. Princess pull-ups, princess movies, princess books, princess dolls, and so on and so on. You are my little princess!

2 page layout - Grandma's Park

2011-04-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

This layout took me awhile to do because I decided I was going to hand stitch around the green cardstock on both pages! WOW, that took forever! Once that was done I finished the layout in less then 30 minutes! Super easy! All supplies are from Echopark's new line Playground. The journaling block was the only piece not from this line.

Journal Reads: 3/3/10 – This park is where I grew up. Only 12 blocks from Grandma’s house, and as I child I always rode my bike or walked to this park to play, go swimming, or walk the dog. After meeting your Daddy, we realized we both grew up at this park (he only being 4 blocks away as a child) and had many of the same memories of the Montavilla Park on 82^nd and Glisan. The playground is much different (and safer) then when I was a kid, but the surroundings are the same and the park is now Grandma’s Park to take you to enjoy!

Layout inspired by Sketch from Sketchsupport.com

Julia's Halloween 2009 Layout

2011-04-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

"Boo"
My first Halloween paper Layout! I loved the Erie Collection from Basic Grey and even though Julia's beautiful Unicorn costume wasn't very scary it really conveys the story - that it was Halloween!

Journal Reads: Julia was a unicorn for Halloween, and went to her family's to trick-or-treat! Then she helped hand out candy. She visited Grandpa Bob & pulled all the Smarties out! -Halloween 2009

Scrapbook Inspiration

2011-04-04T07:21:00.001-07:00

So, I had a question on the comments page about what sketch web site I use. My favorite sites right now are sketchsupport.com and of course AliEdwards.com. These two sites keep me so inspired in 24/7 basis that not much else does it for me. On occasion I will go to the Basic Grey Website and scroll through their gallery and newsletters and find something that is totally inspiring, but overall I just love these first two sites the most.

Here is a sample Sketch from Sketch Support (they have the rights to all sketches, so please do not steal from my website)

Two-Page Sketch #10

Julia's Preemie Mini-Album

2011-04-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to share my mini-album I created for Julia's stay at the NICU for awhile now, but there are so many pictures it just takes a long time to get it posted. I created this book about a year ago almost and used almost exclusively Basic Grey paper.

Page 1: Preemie: gives the info on her birth weight(2 lbs)/gestation (26 weeks)

Page 2: Jaundice

Page 3: CPAP (air flow device that keeps her lungs inflated allowing her to breath)

Page 4: So Skinny: Julia's arms were skinnier then Jon's ring finger, the top picture is her wrist with his wedding band around it.

Page 5: Swaddle: One of the more important aspects of NICU care is making sure that the infant is in an environment as close to the womb as possible.

Page 6: Kangaroo Care: holding Julia as much as possible to develop skin to skin contact and emotional bonding.

Page 7: Growing: she developed fairly quickly over the 2 and half months.

Page 8: Feeding Tube

Page 9: Cares: the times during the day when the machines comes off and she is cared for with touch/diaper changing/exam from the dr

Page 10: Nose: a small abrasion from the CPAP prongs caused for some not so pretty photos of Julia's nose.

Page 11: Precious Baby: a professional photographer donated time and pictures for the babies in the NICU.

Page 12: Heart Murmur: the story about Julia's heart and how she is now

Page 13: CPAP off - the day she began to breath on her own!

Page 14/15: Bath time

Page 16: Daddy Time

Page 17: Grandma

Page 18: Feeding time: learning to bottle feed

Page 19: Car Seat Challenge - almost home

Page 20: Going home!

Hope you enjoyed the album! Thanks for looking though it with me....almost always makes me teary eyed.

One more Page down...

2011-04-02T15:34:00.000-07:00

Well, again it's not the best picture. "Sleeping Beauty" is a 1 page layout of Julia sleeping in her bouncer the 2nd day home from the hospital (September 27, 2008).

First Ice Cream Layout

2011-04-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest Layout for Julia's book. "First Ice Cream" The pictures are hard to see most of the elements, so for that I apologize. If anyone has any tips on taking pictures of Layouts I would much appreciate it.

Journal Reads: "Still in celebration mode we decide to give Julia her first taste of soft serve ice cream. She'll forever be addicted." -July 18, 2010 (One day after her 1st birthday)

I cut out the ice cream cones from the Patterned Paper and used pop dots to add dimension.

One Little Word.... bringing it to life

2011-04-01T23:45:00.000-07:00

The warm air today, along with some inspiring words from a fellow blogger, has brought me back to my One Little Word: Simplify. My main goal with the word was the make my life simple and less cluttered with the unnecessary. With the warm weather approuching slowly I need to begin to process of de-cluttering our home.

My reasons behind this are simple - I need more space. The reason for more space is due to our need to increase our family size. Yes, we want to have another baby this year and with the space and clutter we have now there is simply not enough room for even a tiny infant to come into our house to live.

So, my first mission is to find a corner and start small, and so far I have done that in Julia's closet and made it more friendly to her and gave her more space to play. But, now I need to move past that I begin in rooms that are in need of major reorganizing. The main spaces include my craft room and our basement! Now, I've written about my craft room before and have made dramatic changes to it for the better, but certainly not for the best. And, our basement is a disaster and fire hazard waiting to happen!

For the craft room I plan to keep 1 corner and the closet for my crafts and move all the play room toys and furniture into this room in order to make room upstairs next to the 2 bedrooms for a new mini-nursery.

So in order to make this room happen...
1. I need to clean out the closet
2. Move large table w/ computer and printers down into the basement area
3. Move all rolling charts and book cases into closet and make assessable.

This will be my work in progress for the next month. After I manage this task we (Jon and I and anyone willing to help) will be tackling the basement. The basement is a whole separate post, so watch for the workings of that to come.

Back to Scrapbooking...

2011-03-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Now that I have finally finished my December Daily album (may post pictures soon) I can focus on working on Scrapbooking my favorite model, Julia. Here is a page I put together in about 30 minutes with a Sketch from Sketchsupport.com about Julia beginning the first stage of waking - Couch Walking!

Beach Trip

2011-03-24T09:24:00.001-07:00

A weekend at the beach this past weekend for all of the March birthdays. Jeremy's, Matthew's, Jon's and Dan's birthday were all celebrated at a rental beach house in seaside. Although I took 95+ pictures I feel like I didn't capture the true story of our weekend.

Stage 1: the drive to the beach - Our morning was filled with excitement as we pack up the car with all of our stuff and tell little miss Julia we are going to the beach. Even the dog gets into the car, and boy did this excite her. But, we tried to explain Chewy was going to spend the weekend with Grandma Nancy and Spike. After leaving Chewy behind (sad for me too) Julia was very upset about not having her dog with her for her trip. "Chewy stay home." "Buy new Chewy" (Don't ask about the Buy new phrase...that's a whole other story in it self.) Needless to say Julia was pretty anxious on the car ride to the beach and did not take a nap for the 2 hours we were in the car.

Stage 2: Hang'n out at the beach house - Friday we choose to just hang out at the house, relaxing and settling in. Our family took the apartment that was attached to the side of the house. This giving us some more privacy and Julia her own space for sleeping. Paige and Iris were so excited to play with Julia that the 3 of them ran around the 2 stories of the house all afternoon. They played hide and go seek over and over, then in the art room they colored over and over, and again just palled around together all day.

Stage 3: We must do everything together - The 3 girls were meshed together for everything, and they loved it. During bedtimes they took a bath together in the huge jacuzzi tub and helped washed each other's hair and then brushed their teeth together in front of the giant mirror. They watched movies together and ate together. If 1 sat down on a tall stool at Nana's house, then the other two followed suit. The only time they separated was at bed time.

Stage 4: The shopping - Saturday, after everyone was fed and bathed, we all headed into the heart of Seaside intending to have some shopping fun and Sushi lunch. We started off getting coffee, where Julia read the Fry's Ad for Jon (too funny), and then looking for the best candy shop on the strip. Roxanne was on the hunt for Matthew's Birthday gift and we ended up in a clothing store where a huge sale was going on. We ended up getting new shoes and a t-shirt for Julia. The shoes being size 8 water sandals and the short being a size 5T cat and the hat pink top! So cute! We wondered down into the candy stores then and Julia insisted on someone getting her popcorn, and of course Grandma and Grandpa came to the rescue. At the end of the shops we of course had to ride on the carousel! Julia loves riding the carousel so much and wanted to go again, but was also very hungry. So, we headed to Sushi lunch and waited almost 30 minutes for service and food! But, while waiting Julia and Paige went potty in the public restroom! On the walk back to Nana's Condo we bought Julia and mini Kite and got rained on by the sudden onset of pounding rain showers!

Stage 5: Meat Party - Saturday evening was the planned birthday party dinner. Jon had requested a year ago to have an all meat birthday party, so steak and ribs were cooked for our meat loving family. And since we were at the beach of course we had some crab and shrimp! Our vegan friends, Lin & Ryan even joined in by baking a vegan meatloaf. Dan, Toni, and Brandon brought potato salad and of course chocolate cake and red velvet cupcakes for desert. I had to make a huge salad for us leaf eaters too.

Stage 6: The beach- after our meat dinner we took all the kids to walk on the near by bay, but the whole beach area was covered in rocks and it was dark by the time we made it there. So, we insisted on major beach time the next day! After packing up the house Sunday morning we headed to Nana's condo and Jon, Julia, and I made a dash to the beach before the others. It was pretty cold still, so we walked up to the water and then Julia wanted to go in. But, just as we were turning around to go in the police horses were walking down the beach towards us. Of course Julia and I were super excited at the idea of petting the horse. This would be her first time seeing a horse close up! The horse had the best personality too, very curious about what we had in our hands and kept sniffing at her like she smelled like food (she probably did!). We met the others back at the condo and then made plans to go to the Aquarium and fly kites on the beach. Paige wanted to fly her new Tinkerbell kite and Julia wanted to fly her Rex kit.

Stage 7: The Aquarium - Jon, Matthew, and I took all 3 girls into the aquarium while Amber hung outside (the prices were high). We got some fish food to give to the sea lions and the girls were giddy with delight over the hungry sea lions. We walked around and looked at all the fish and the giant octopus, and Julia and Iris even touched starfish and a sea cucumber. Paige clung to me the whole time (we think she was scared) and wasn't too interested in anything to do with the aquarium. A coloring station for the kids was at the end, and the girls all colored a pictures they had out. Of course we then ran out to the beach!

Stage 8: The Wave - After attempting to fly the kites in a very mild wind unsuccessfully we began to walk towards the water. Julia lead the pack with Grandpa and found a stick to draw in the sand with. Us adults hung back and let the kids run around each other. Then all the kids and Grandpa began to jump and run from waves. The last wave that came seemed faster then others apparently and Julia ended up face planting into a wave and lots of wet sand; soaking herself and Daddy (who picked her up and ran back to the condo). I ran behind and as we came in I stripped Julia down and did a quick bath/wash down.

Stage 9: The End - after all the excitement of falling in the ocean Jon and I were done and ready to head home. Julia of course wasn't, but soon after leaving Seaside she was fast asleep in the car and didn't wake up until we reached Grandma Nancy's house to pick up Chewy. (All due to 2 days of staying up late and not taking naps.) We got home late, had a fast food dinner, and unpacked our sandy adventures.

Stage 10: Potty Training - With Paige and Julia being so close in age of course they are working on the same milestones around the same time. Right now they are working on potty training, and Grandma brought along the tavel potty chair. Each time one of the two went potty the other did too, and it was amazing to watch the two of them be so successful in a new environment. Julia came home and stayed right on track and continued to use the potty all day long after the trip. It seems like spending the weekend with her cousins made her grow leaps and bounds in development.

The view from the house

The Carousel Ride!

"I found you!" Playing Hide and go seek.

Best Buds! (most of the time)

The 3 girls and Grandpa! (Julia in her cat and the hat hat)

Daddy and Julia heading to the beach

Julia and I petting the horse

Playing with Grandpa at the Condo

Julia touching the Sea Cucumber

Julia and Grandpa

Just before the final wave hit!

An Outcry for Better Education

2011-03-23T09:43:00.000-07:00

I don't usually get on my blog to write about politics or my views on many things other then my family life. (My other blog is another story all together) But, I have been increasingly concerned about the direction our country is turning in the ways of educating our children. I went to public school all of my life, and never thought how poorly educated I was or that I was lacking in anything. Now as a parent I can am worried that my children will have those feelings when they enter the current public school system. I want to share with you my story of education, and hope that you will share yours too on your blog. I will be linking this story to my friend's blog and hope you will do the same.

I struggled a lot in school, never on the honor role, but never failing. I was an average student, and didn't always see the necessity of striving for more. But, there's a few teachers in my education that I can recall really pushed me to learn in their class and as a result I find joy in learning. In 4th grade I had Mr.s Roure (sp?) who worked with me effortlessly to correct my spelling problems, though I can say today I still have a hard time with spelling correctly I will always remember her care and great ability in teaching me. In Middle school I was a total outcast, going through the most awkward time in my life, and I was struggling the most in learning because of it. But, my Language Arts/Social Studies teacher, Ms. Kottcamp, in 8th grade must have known how hard the time in my life was and continually inspired me to work harder. It is because of her that I love learning about History (especially WWII) and would write a book report on every book I read if I had time.

In high school I had two very different teachers that I respected and would today say influenced me the most in my adult life. I joined Journalism my freshman year and continued it through my Senior year. I was on the school newspaper and loved every minute of it. But again I struggled with learning the techniques and sometimes did not put a lot of effort into it. But, Mr. Rivas (also my Sr. English teacher) never gave up on me. He was always a hard worker, always correcting me, but his passion for teaching always poured out of him. He always inspired me to want to write the next best thing. Though I did not go into Journalism for college, I sure wanted too because he sparked such a passion for it in me.

Lastly, during high school I took Psychology my Jr Year and again my SR year. Ms. Ramsey was the teacher for this class and was such a strong and opinionated women. She knew that everyone of us students had a different learning style and always worked to help us learn in our own styles. I fell in love with subject of Pyschology, and went into the study in college, receiving my bachelor's degree of Psychology. She was so creative in her ability to teach to us - drawing a brain diagram and teaching us to draw it ourselves to learn each section; giving us pointers on social skills for prom; and never giving up on teaching us something controversial.

In many states across the country Educational cuts are being made when the public school system is already in danger of under educating our children as it is. I hope by reading my story you will find a way to help your local schools become more about teaching, less about the state testing and money, and make it child focused!

If you would like to post your story with the rest of ours, please go to this link at Megan Dub-Yuh blog

March (and some of Feburary) so far... Part 2

2011-03-16T08:46:00.000-07:00

So I decided we had some great photos to share from Feburary too, so I added those in as well.

1) Here I am wearing my first sweater dress on a date night out with Jon. I bought this right after Christmas and said I would fit into it for Valentine's day - and I did!

2) Jon and I on our date

3) We had 3 (almost) back to back snow storms and used the snow suit for Julia several times! She is very much a snow bunny.

4) Yep, there's Julia sleeping on the floor after rolling out of her bed during a nap. She stayed there for another hour like that.

5) Julia watching cartoons with her Toy Story toys (Mr. Potato Head, Buzz, Woody, and Jessie)

6) We recently took Julia to her very first movie and she saw Tangled (Disney movie about Rapunzel)

7) I've been working out 6 days a week for 2 hours a day at the gym, competing in the gym's Biggest Loser Contest. I have 2 more days until my final weigh in.

See my new Coach purse Jon gave me for Valentine's Day! I'm so spoiled!

Sushi dinner before the movie "I am number four"

Only photo that turned out was the one right in front of the sign.

I've dropped 2 pants sizes in a month!

March so far...Part 1

2011-03-11T23:43:00.000-08:00

Here are some cute pictures of what has been going on in our life this month.

*Julia had her first sleep over at Grandma Roxanne's with Iris & Paige
*We have a nickel arcade in Gresham now, Julia and Jon rode the motorcycle.
*I finally got my locks trimmed up and had a nice style done to it.
*Julia and I are almost finished with respiratory infections and sinus infections, but we love Pjs days and snuggling with Daddy.

More to come......

Day 2 - Potty Training

2011-02-23T13:31:00.000-08:00

Tuesday I had some impromptu babysitting work to do, so I reluctantly put Julia in her pull-ups and went to our friend's house to play for the day. I had planned on putting her in the panties when we got there, since her buddy is potty trained and wearing panties, but she was having too much fun to get to it. So, by the time we were on out way home the day was almost over and I just said tomorrow is another day!

Day 3 to come this evening....

Day 1 review of Potty Training...

2011-02-22T06:54:00.000-08:00

I can only express to you how hard this is by showing the exact schedule I followed with Julia on day 1 of her potty training boot-camp. At no time did she ever actually pee or poop into her potty, and by the end of the day I was ready to just give up and wait another few months!!

She woke up and I explained to her she was going to wear her panties today!! YAY!! I told her she couldn't pee in her panties, but when she needed to pee or poop she needed to use the potty. As I go to place the pull-up over the panties she protests "No, no mommy. No diaper!" So, this is why you must learn to pee in the potty quick; because you hate wearing your diaper!! First struggle of the day adverted and I went along with it.

Times are labeled as when we attempted to use the potty...
-8:30 (immediately wants to try to pee)
- breakfast @ 9:15
-9:30
-10:35
- snack @ 11:50 (fruit snacks& grapes)
- time out/tantrum @ 11-11:10 (all over brushing her teeth and not wanting mommy to get the back teeth!)
- requested to use potty @ 11:30, tinkled
- peed in pants 11:55 (huge puddle of pee down her pants on the kitchen floor!)
- 12:15
- lunch (begins to toot and I begin to ask every 5 minutes if she wants to go poop)
- pooped in pants @ 12:35 (stood up from playing and declared "I need to potty!" I quickly swept her up and ran to the potty, but as we pull the pants down so came the poop!)
- diaper on, then peed, proceeded to change diaper
- nap @ 1:15 & wake @ 3;00, peed as soon as she woke up (3rd diaper in 2 hours!!)
-3:45
-4:15
-5:00, went in on own but no pee
-6:00
-6:30
-6:35 peed in pants
-7:00 bath and then no more panties
-8:00 start bed time changed diaper, in bed at 8:50
- 9:15 peed, change diaper
-10:00 peed, change diaper
- Finally asleep by 10:30, but proceeded to wake up about 5 times in the middle of the night.

So, day 2 will consist of possibly no nap due to a short babysitting trip, and probably more diaper changes. If she doesn't get it this week I won't be too worried because she's not even 3 yet and for her to develop early in something is completely against her norm. So, I am having high expectations I suppose.

Potty Training - Day 1: Morning

2011-02-21T06:44:00.000-08:00

Today is day 1 of my potty training adventure! I am going full force potty training on my kido and will be documenting the first days of the experience. Now, we’ve had a potty chair in the house for over a year now, and Julia’s even peed in it a few times. But, she continues to be reluctant to use it on a regular basis. While talking to an Occupational Therapist about some potty training tips se suggested just putting her in some panties and allowing her to feel the sensation of having wet pants. In reply I said I just didn’t feel comfortable cleaning up a wet pile of pee all the time! Her suggestion was to place Julia in panties and put a pull-up over them – OF COURSE, why didn’t I think of that!? So…the plan is simple; put Julia in panties with pull-up over them; go to potty every hour if she stays dry; do not leave the house with Julia for at least 2-3 days while using this method. I’m certain she will go crazy not leaving the house this long, but if I am to stay consistent I really want her to know we are serious about this potty thing! Now, my exception of this will be is if she gets it right off the bat and uses the potty and stays dry! If this happens, which I’m reluctant to think will, I think it’s possible to go a short distance away.

Well, mom’s please comment on your potty training tips, experiences, and know-how. I will follow-up today’s post with how the day went in the evening. Wish me luck!!

Cough Cough!

2011-02-16T07:03:00.000-08:00

Well, 2011 has sure started off at a fast pace. Christmas time feels like forever ago, and it's almost spring time! Life sure is passing us by. I'm hoping that I am capturing the moments. Once we finished with the flu we had a week of no illness and then jumped right into major infection time. Julia ended up with RSV, which is a respiratory infection but a virus that does not take to antibiotics, and had to have a breathing treatment to clear her lungs at the doctor's office. This was one moment I didn't capture with a camera, but she was amazingly good about it and kept the breathing tube in her mouth the whole time. After that she was still wheezing really bad so they send for an X-ray to make sure it wasn't pneumonia. She again was awesome and listened to directions very well. And for this she got a stuffed dinosaur toy (made by volunteers) and lots of stickers from the nurses. Grandma Nancy and I then took her out for Jamaba Juice and tried to get her to release all the jittery energy that the breathing treatment medicine (albuterole) gave her. I was not clear and free of this illness either and at the end of the week was worse off then Julia, with a respiratory infection too, and then Jon had to play nurse again to the two of us. As of now we are both doing much better!

At the dr Julia weighed 27 pounds and was 3 feet 1 inch tall! She seems to be growing so fast, and is getting to be so tall! A long way from her 11 inch beginning I'd say!

On Valentine's weekend Jon spend lots of time taking care of us and spoiling us to no end. Julia got new toys from the Disney Store and a board game from Walmart! On top of her getting extra goodies all weekend, and making cards for everyone. Jon bought me a new purse from Coach and a new IPhone! Holy Cow, I am spoiled! We're calling the gifts - Anniversary, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Birthday Gifts! But, we all know I'll except something for my Birthday. haha - Jon's gift has yet to arrive in the mail (a Red Swingline Stapler) and he's going to pick out a Tablet (kinda like an IPad, but different brand) for his birthday. I'm hoping to be able to get him shoes too, but I think he wants the tablet more.

Well overall, life has been very blessed even with out illnesses. I am thankful for all the opportunities that arise in our life, and the blessings that are delivered to us daily. Here's some pictures....

Julia with her Elmo Valentine's Day Balloon!

Jon and I on the day before Valentine's Day

Me and my new purse! Wooo!

Julia and her all her toys!

Milkshake for good girls!

Sickie and her new Dino!

January in review

2011-02-01T07:31:00.000-08:00

- Woke up to Uncle Jason on the couch on the 1st of the month after a very late night New Year’s Eve party!
- You moved into a Big Girl Bed!! The evening we took off the side rail of your crib was a pretty tough time, and you refused to allow us to take off the tent. We placed a gate at your door so that you wouldn’t come downstairs as you got up and down from bed.
- Jamba Juice is now your favorite Mall Visit Snack!
- Cousin Iris turned 6 – you enjoyed ice cream cupcakes on her behalf.
- You watched Mommy & Daddy get baptized at church
- You love to roll the ball back and forth on the floor and will do so for as long as the other person keeps rolling it back to you. You played this game with Pastor Ron when he and Cheryl had dinner with us.
- You finally let us take the tent off your bed, saying “Tent for babies” but then for a couple of days kept wanting it back. We plan to get a smaller type of bed tent for your big girl bed soon.
- You learned to Bowl! Such fun that was – thanks to Delia’s Birthday Party!
- Balloons are fantastic to you – you want to go to another party to get more!
- Toy Story Fruit Snacks are your guilty pressure.
- Snack time is usually at the phone table now while you finish watching your morning cartoons.
- We had the flu for a week – stomach flu, we puked, had diarrhea, and no appetite! We even managed to get Daddy sick (who always avoids being sick somehow). Your puking consisted of waiting until someone’s hand was under your mouth so that you could puke into it (Yuck!) and there were several nights with 3am baths for you! We also had our fill of movies…lots and lots of Toy Story, Monster’s INC, Nemo, and even Scooby Doo (because I was sick of Toy Story).
- You’re talking so much now! 4 word phrases/sentences a lot of the time and we’re almost to the point where you are having a full conversation with us now. Just in the last week of the month you began to count to yourself and you can count most of the time up to 4 and then jumble up the rest of the numbers up to 10.
- Potty Training is at a halt, the Flu was a road block to say the least, and so we will be working on it again soon.
- Sushi night was fun – you wanted to eat with chopsticks and even took bites off of the sushi!
- Nap time has been amazing all month – no fuss and you have 1 book, 1 song, and then go right to sleep!
- Bed time has NOT been amazing – you take at least an hour for us to get you ready, read you books, and sing you songs before you will lie in bed. Then you proceed to call out half a dozen times by getting out of bed, opening your door and slamming it open and calling for mommy or daddy. You then request for us to hold you numerous times, and even after that you will get out of bed and tell us about what toy you are playing with in bed or what book you are reading! Usually not until 10 o’clock do you fall asleep!
- You’ve been waking up at 8:30 most mornings since you can just jump out of your bed now and get up…this is taking a lot of getting use to on mommy’s part.
- You play with Brooke from church almost once a week now at her house, while I babysit her and her sister. Though on these days you refuse to take a nap at their house, you are doing remarkably well. You usually fall asleep in the car and then take a nap while I make dinner.
- Favorite foods still consist of Pizza and French fries, but you love Grapes right now too. Other foods you love are any kind of chip (prefer Ruffles cheddar and sour cream); toast; cheese stick; broccoli; popcorn; ice cream; ground meat; and cereal (prefer honey nut cheerios).

My Testimony of Faith

2011-01-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

Today Jon and Myself were baptized in front of my entire church and felt amazing glory to God. My Pastors and everyone around me were so amazing and loving to me. I feel so grateful for what I have, and I praise God every time I can look in the mirror and smile at myself. I am so thankful for what God has given me, and that I have a husband who's faith in the Lord is just as strong. At the beginning of service I also gave a testimony about my walk with God. I'd like to share that with you today. Please feel free to add any of your own testimonies, or even your own feelings about God.
__________________________

Good morning. When I was asked to give this testimony I was vey excited to have the opportunity to share with all of you my journey this year. I felt so blessed to know so many of you were cheering me on and watching me grow in my walk with God.

A year ago I started a journey that still continues today. I began the journey originally to become healthy and more active, but found that not only did I have a journey ahead of me for my physical health, but for my spiritual health. I was in a bad place, and there I was accepting that God was in my life and blessed me with Julia, but I couldn’t get past all the struggles that were in front of me. The struggles of new mom-hood, the finical burden that was ahead of us, and the physical loss of my own identity seemed far greater then that of any blessing I had in front of me.
I had made a choice that I was no longer going to be stagnating in life and that meant in my Christian life too. Overnight God revealed my path to me and took me out of my suffering. I no longer felt fear, anxiety, or the overwhelming post-partum depression I had been suffering from for over a year. I can still remember the morning I woke up and felt the change in myself, and knew that God had touched me once again with his Grace and would redeem me with his outreached arm. Just as I knew he always promised for me. I began to truly see that when I accepted Jesus into my life I was saved and that meant He would stay with me through my life, through my struggles, and that He will not cast me out.

My walk with God began 3 weeks before my daughter Julia was born (almost 3 years ago) when I cried out to Him for help, and he blessed me through the struggles of a premature daughter who would come home healthy and become the joy of our lives. I stumbled the first year in a half of my walk, not entirely sure of where to go or what to do. Jon and I attended church every week dutifully, always praising God for his blessings upon us, but I still feeling lost and unsure of my steps. This has been my only church in my life and the only time I have accepted Christ into my life. I never saw myself as a bad person, but always felt out of place, until I came here. So, this past February I started Financial Peace with my husband Jon. This would be the first in a big step of knowing God’s will for me. Knowing that taking care of our family and our finance would always be a part of my life and knowing that there is a right way and a wrong way gave me insight into the Word of God. I began to develop bonds with other members of our church, and understand that they had similar struggles as I did; that I was not alone and that I belonged. I became more open to the Word in allowing it to spread over me and into my life.

Part of my growth this year has also come straight from the pulpit, from all three Pastors and the Elders who teach to us every week. I’ve learned that to receive great joy, comes great cost (taught during a sermon given from Pastor Frank). He spoke about falling short of God’s grace and mourning for ours and other’s sins and short comings. I heard this message in regards of my own life. I had been falling short of living up to God’s grace, and I realized that part of my journey is making more of an effort to live up to those standards. I’ve learned from teachings by Pastor Ron that Jesus as our savior teaches us that temptation can be avoided, and though he did not teach of my own temptations I knew that when I sit in this church the teachings are leading me on my walk the way God intended it to. I’ve learned so much from the teachings from Pastor Val on forgiveness, allowing myself to be aware that I’ve made mistakes and so have others and moving past those mistakes allows me to grow in myself.

In the spring I took the Women’s Growth Group, and was immediately aware that this was a great step for me. I grew to know the women in the group well and allowed their maturity in the Word spread over me and teach me. Again I found myself seeing my path clearly, and knowing I was building myself up spiritually. I began to develop a true understanding that my path was not only to be a strong Christian, but to develop that bond in my family and my friends around me. It was important to help those I cared about stay on their own paths and remember how much God loves them and will always bless them and be with them. This past Fall Jon and I took the parenting Class offered in the growth groups and taught by Pastor Val and Terry Fischer. At this time we met with Pastor Val, asked many questions, and really made the effort to take charge of our own growth and also our daughter’s. The class, Sunday school, and all of those around us have helped to really show us that we are on the right path, that I am on my path finally and walking with God.

As my growth with the Lord became stronger so did my will to be healthier and happier. I began to loss weight and feel great about myself again. I smiled again, and found joy in the littlest things in life. I was actively participating in my life again, and not allowing doubts and what-ifs to over take me. My family and friends were all seeing the changes in me, not only my physical changes, but the faith I gave to God in knowing that when struggles overtook our lives I still had faith that we would be blessed in the end. Many of my prayers were being answered for this I know. They weren’t prayers for money, power, or anything grand. I prayed for strength to finish the day, patients with my daughter, for insight on how to be a better wife, mother, daughter, and friend. And each time I prayed and called out I always felt a blessing come my way – like completing a 5k on the treadmill, always being able to make the budget stretch just right each month, and having the Lord bring so many Godly people into my life who are Christ-centered and pray for us and help us to maintain our priorities.

I still struggle with life and don’t always do things the right way, but God always puts me back on my path and reminds me to keep my focus on Him. I’m reminded on a regular basis that my way is not the way my path is headed, and that God’s ways and values are not the same as those of the world around me. I have to continually fight the urge to side step the hard choices, the hard work I have ahead, and remember that relaying on God and the Godly people around me will renew my resilience each day.

Best of 2010 - Blog Hop

2011-01-13T17:44:00.000-08:00

Doing a blog hop with my fellow blogger Megan dub-yuh

It is so easy to focus on the negative things in our life. Let's all take a minute to talk about the best moments of 2010. In the five categories below list out your #1 from 2010. Post it on your blog and link back to this post. We can use this as a blog hop and to review the beginning of the second decade of the 21st century.

The categories:

Best song to sing along to in the car.
Best movie.
Best TV show.
Best website to waste time on.
Best memory you made.

My Answers:

Best song to sing along to in the car.

Boom-Boom-Pow by Black Eyed Peas - Julia loves this song and rocks out to it every time!

Best movie.

I'll say it - Eclipse! I became a total twilight junkie after reading the books and hanging out with teenage girls who adored it. The 3rd installment of the franchise is soo good and I'm sitting on pin and needled waiting for the last 2 to come out.

Best TV show.

Big Bang Theory & How I met your Mother are still the best sitcoms on TV right now! Big Bang has the best characters and writting, some of the wittiest stuff out there. A group of nerdy guys and one hot chick. I'd like to say I could relate to this, but not so much! HIMYM is about the same thing for me, but in a whole separate character block. A group of friends in NYC (yeah, yeah, can we say Friends, I get it) who have the best Wing Man Character - Barney who always wears a suit for everything. Suit-Up!

Best website to waste time on.

Facebook and Two Peas in a Bucket...I spend as much time as I can on facebook. I'm completely addicted to it! Two Peas is a scrapbooking website and it alone can suck up hours just by looking through the gallery.

Best memory you made.

Just about any event with Julia - going to the zoo, OMSI, birthdays, and holidays. She's been so much fun to watch grow up!

NOW IT IS YOUR TURN!

I can't wait to see what everyone has to say!

My New Year's Resolutions...

2011-01-03T08:31:00.000-08:00

So, after coming up with my one little word for this year I’ve been looking at other aspects of my life and wanting to really real in the goals around me. You could call it new year’s resolutions, but they are just life goals, a bucket list you could say, but just things I want to accomplish in this next few months of life.

I’ve talked about my weight and wanting to get pregnant again, and those goals are written here on my other blog. Many of my goals will surround my Simplify one little word, but others are just there because. Here’s a list…anyone want to add theirs in?

1. Read more of “the classics” – I have a list of 100 books most people have read, and I have a good chunk of it done, but would like to keep going.
2. Lose 30 lbs – read here for specific goals related to this
3. Have a baby/get pregnant – My first experience at pregnancy was to say the least undesirable, and I’m hoping by leading a healthier and more active life now that I will be able to enjoy this one.
4. De-clutter my life – this goes into my Simplify life, and I hope to attack my whole house with gazelle intensity!
5. Baptism – This goal will be achieved on January 17 at my Church’s annual victory celebration.
6. Pray more/read my bible more – part of my simplify life too is that I want to choose to allow my prayers to be heard and continue to feel the blessings that God has given me.
7. Become a runner – whew, this one could be tough…I have some major foot pain going these days, and so once I can get that under control I think I should be able to refocus this goal.
8. Learn to take better pictures – I’m slowly learning my camera better, but I still end up with blurry shots a lot of the time and would really like to add more beautiful pictures into my scrapbooking and family albums.
9. Keep up my Scrapbooking – I’ve been going full force on my scrapbooking lately, and I would really love it if my creative and effort keep going.
10. Be a better mom – I can’t say I’m a bad mom, in-fact I appreciate that I am pretty good with my kiddo. I have a lot of 2 year old struggles ahead of me with Julia and I hope to manage through them without pulling my hair out or gaining anymore grays. I am also going to be helping out a friend with her 2 year old off and on for a few months, so this will give me more skills with Julia I am sure. So far this year I have more potty training on the list and transition to a toddler bed for Julia. I’m thinking that I will need to implement some of my above goals into this one to manage it (i.e. pray more).

One Little Word

2010-12-31T08:11:00.000-08:00

Ali Edwards has been one of the most inspiring people in my life. Although I do not know her personally I do feel a close relationship with her through her scrapbooking, blogs, and personal testimonies of struggles and defeats. This year I will be joining her in choosing 1 word that will help me shape what this coming year will look like. I have several large goals for 2011, and feel the need to make them public and document them. Of course in my little organized brain I also feel the need to make it all work together; otherwise I could easily veer off course. So, my one little word for 2011 is simplify.

Simplify is defined as to make less complex. This year I can not wait to reach my goals, to loose weight, clear out all the junk in my basement, have a baby, and mostly to be more focused on what matters. The words Simplify and minimize have been roaming around my head a lot, so I went with Simplify when I looked up the definition - seems to be the directions I am in. Can't wait to see what it brings to me! I plan to simplify my weight loss – count calories more frequently and keep a workout schedule that is easy and efficient. In order to simplify my life for a new baby I must purge clutter out our lives; including cleaning our basement from corner to corner and opening our outdoor space to play time for Julia.

The first step I plan to take in this journey for 2011 is to declare my devotion to God by being baptized this January with my husband. I know many of my friends who are not Christians do not see the usefulness of this step in life, and some day I hope that they come to understand it, but for me I want to shout it out to everyone every day that my life has changed and become more rewarding because I’ve allowed Jesus into my heart. At the same time as making this huge declaration I will also be participating in a Biggest Loser contest at my gym. Now I may not win this (although I will certainly try my hardest), I will give myself an edge to my weight loss and fitness lifestyle that will eventually give way to a much simpler life. And, if I do win I pocket $500. My goal in my weight loss is to lose a minimum of 30 pounds by the end of spring time in order to feel like I am at a healthy starting point to begin the process of having another child. As many close to me know this could be a huge event in our lives, filled with possible bed rest, minor surgery, and even another pre-term baby. But, like I’ve declared, I have all the faith in God’s hands, and a gift of a child comes from the lord, and so if it is his will I will go through any or all of it! But, it is also my will to make the process easier and simpler. Do you see where I’m going with this word? Simple is just easy! I don’t want to clutter my life with complex, with doubts, or any fears. I want to be filled with hope, excitement, and enjoyment in all that is given to me.

I have other “resolutions” for this coming year as well, but these 3 pack a pretty huge punch and will be focused on a lot! For all of you reading this, I hope that you will follow me through this journey and continue your own. Pick a word for yourself and make a decision to keep it going all the way through December. Don’t let fears and insecurities take over, though they will roar their ugly faces from time to time, just remember that it’s a whole year of time to make a change. I made a change in myself for 2010, now it’s time to do even more work for 2011.

Julia's Santa Wish List

2010-12-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

There's always a wish list for a little 2 year old girl.

Julia Gifts:
1. IKEA train set - to go with the small set she has
2. Play dough set - we have a ton of dough, nothing to play with it
3. Baby doll accessories
4. Books - preschool level, toy story, puppies, or just the classics
5. Child’s first bible - I'm on the hunt for a good one
6. Disney DVDs - 1. Toy story 1 or 3; 2. Cars
7. Clothes - dresses, long sleeved shirts on 4T
8. Mega blocks - she wants some in pink
9. Riding toys - something for a tall almost 3 year old.
10. Toy Story toys - Mr. & Mrs. potato head would be great
11. Stuffed Animals - always a great toy for her, she likes those Pillow pets or the knitted monkeys I see everywhere.
12. Sesame Street Toys - anything with them is great

My Christmas Gift List

2010-12-14T09:02:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I think I've told my husband what I want, but does anyone else want to know? Probably not, but I'm going to let you know anyways. The biggest things I think I wish for on a regular basis are scrapbooking supplies, so the sewing machine and gift card are at the top of my list! I'm also a huge fan of Nora Roberts, coffee, cooking, exercising, music, and taking pictures.

My List:
1. Mini Sewing machine
2. Craft warehouse gift card - any amount over $5 is great!
3. Nora Roberts 4th Quartet book
4. Nora Roberts – The search
5. Nora Roberts – Black Hills
6. Hard boiled egg slicer - this is such a small gift, but I really need one!
7. Travel coffee mug - yes, I have 3 or 4, but none of them are cute and I need one that closes and has a handle.
8. Mini food processor - I've never had a food processor and think the mini one will do me just fine.
9. ITunes gift card - I need new music on my IPod for my workouts!
10. Picture Frames - in standard sizes, none of these square sizes or totally large that I have to have it professionally mounted in. College frames in 4X6 are great!
11. Bible cover
12. New pillow - who doesn't need this?
13. Sunglasses - I've had the same pair for 3 years, and they finally lost their battle with cheapness. I like the big kind that take over your face. :)
14. Clothes - socks and tops only, with losing weight the pants size will not stay the same for long, but I love new shirts and socks!
15. Eclipse DVD - I would really love all the Twilight movies on DVD, but I really loved Eclipse the most.

I know it's a long list, I certainly do not except all of this, but I wanted to get out a whole spectrum of things so that if people who are buying me gifts see the list then they can find something in their price range.

Getting Caught up on December Daily

2010-12-11T09:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I am at day 16 today for my album and only have up to day 9 done in my book (mostly done I should say, need to pick up some prints from the store to completely those). I have found it difficult to print the photos I want each night, and make the pages before way past my bedtime and have to get some sleep. Finding time has been the biggest obstacle, along with working part-time, and a major virus overtaking my computer setting me back even further. So, here's some photos of the pages I do have completed.

Photos & Journaling for Day 7-10

2010-12-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

Day 7:

Today is my mother’s birthday. I’ve had her birth date memorized since I was a kid, and I’m not sure the exact length of time but I have always purchased a poinsettia plant for her birthday. One year I even went into Costco a couple of days ahead and saw the gigantic poinsettia plant (like 3 feet tall) and decided it was the best thing ever. Of course my mom has almost never been able to keep the darn things alive past Valentine’s Day, except one year I remember recently her keep one alive until summer. I am not sure what prompted the first poinsettia, except for always having a strong need to buy my mom a birthday gift. Although my mom and I have been through tough times and rough patches in our relationship I always make the time to tell her how much I love her and appreciate all that she has done for me in my life and all that she will continue to do for me as her daughter.

The poinsettia’s association with Christmas began in 16th century Mexico, where legend tells of a young girl who was too poor to provide a gift for the celebration of Jesus' birthday. The tale goes that the child was inspired by an angel to gather weeds from the roadside and place them in front of the church altar. Crimson "blossoms" sprouted from the weeds and became beautiful poinsettias. What a beautiful story about the love of Jesus Christ.

Day 8:

Pancake Friday has become such a tradition for us! Jon has Friday’s off from work and it’s always so much fun to make breakfast for the whole family once a week. Sometimes it’s French toast, but if there’s Bisquick in the house then it’s all about the pancakes. Julia loves to get up to the table and help Daddy make them too, and today was even more special because she got to help stir the mix! She had flour on her chin from peering in to see her mixing skills, and then bounced with joy as Daddy poured mini pancakes onto the griddle for her to eat. It’s always such a joy to watch her experience everyday tastes and see them as special moments.

Day 9:

Tonight we (Jon, me, Julia, and my mom) walked over to the Main street plaza for the tree lighting for the city of Sandy. This is the first ever such event, and we missed it unfortunately (due to our favorite friend Devin stopping by for a quick hello as he was going through town). We made it up to the tree and into the tent where cookies and caroling was going on. Santa made an appearance as well, and boy was Julia delighted to see him! She jumped right out of her stroller and walked right up to him, pointed to him and smiled. I asked her if she wanted to shake his hand, and she ran over to me for a hug. I told her to stand by him so she could have her picture taken, and she was so excited she could barely stand still. We walked over to the group singing songs and she danced her little jig as we sang Christmas songs and stood together enjoying the moment. It was wonderful to have my mom there and for Julia to have one of her Grandma’s there to share in such a wonderful moment. I hope our city will continue to have this event each year from now on, so we can make it our family tradition. Though the tree could have used a much better decorator, it was festive and it’s exactly what our town needs.

Day 10:

The yearly Christmas party given by Steve, the owner of Woodcrafter’s where Jon has worked for 17 years now is always my favorite event of the year. It is the one of the few times of the year I really take the time to dress stylishly and can go out to a nice (expensive) restaurant without worrying about the bill or what I’m eating. The past few years the party has been at Benihana’s and this year was no different. I really enjoy going to this place because I love, love, love their food! Jon and I always make it a point to order their sushi and honestly I could eat just a ton of that for my meal and be satisfied, but there’s just no way I’m passing on steak and shrimp with fried rice! This year was Julia’s first party and I was anxious that she would be a scream’n meany, but she was pleasantly good and excited about the whole event. Of course there were the moments of wanting out of her chair and getting bored, hungry, or tired, but overall she was fabulous. One thing that surprised me as well was how much everyone adored Julia’s beauty. I know how beautiful she is, and long and flowing her hair, and overall how cute as a button she really is, but it’s always so wonderful to hear other people complement her in this way too.

Dinner was fabulous as always, and Julia got to eat some of her favorite foods – sticky rice & steak! She also used chop sticks to eat most of her food with too – once she saw us using them she was motivated to use them herself. We watched the chef cook the foods on the hibachi style grill; performing the silly stunts of throwing the spices around his back, the onion volcano, and the fast chopping of the shrimp and vegys. By the end of the night Steve had handed out the employee’s Christmas gifts (some for the spouses too) and the employees gave Steve his gift from them. Most years Steve gives out gift cards and is always so generous with them. This year’s gift was a Target gift card and 2 Starbucks cards, which I always take full advantage of! Such an amazing event every year, filled with holiday cheer. I really appreciate all the blessings we are given by Jon having such a stable job from Woodcrafter’s and every year feel so many emotions during this event. We are truly blessed.

December Daily pages 2, 3, 6

2010-12-04T10:04:00.001-08:00

Reading and looking at everyone's December daily pages has made me feel somewhat inadequate in my abilities as a scrapbooker, but then I remembered that it was my project and not anyone else's. So, I walked in and sat down to work on my pages. I looked at a picture frame my husband had bought me for Christmas last year and remembered that these are just scrapbook pages and nothing else - I don't have to follow the same format every time, I don't have to make it perfect, but I do need to make it unique and tell the story. So, I found myself enjoying the process again and realized I can put whatever I want on my pages! Here are some pages I have finally completed. I have pictures ready for all my pages, but I just don't feel that they are finished yet. So, here are Days 2, 3, and 6.

Day 2

Supplies: Basic Gray paper and sticker. I feel like another picture will go above the sticker soon.

Day 3

Supplies: Basic Gray & making memories paper, making memories word-fetti stickers.

Day 6

Supplies: Snow flake punches: unknown; paper: basic grey, making memories, and unknown.

December Daily Day 6

2010-12-02T09:13:00.001-08:00

Just an ordinary day for us today filled with house work, movies, and a full on PJ day for Julia; after she woke up with a wet bed. Wet beds have been a common theme in the morning about twice a week for her. She will leak through her diaper, usually due to the way she sleeps, and then after changing her I end up piling all of her blankets and stuffies around her as she sits there sad that I am dismantling her bed. I so can not wait until we buy pull-ups and begin the daily process of potty training. Even at bedtime now it’s becoming a struggle, with her learning to unzip her pajamas and undo her diaper (sometimes then falling asleep like this) and then us finding her this way when we check on her at night. Not only am I tackling many Christmas projects, events, working a part time job, and all the other duties I have on my list I am now going to attempt potty training in just a few short days. Just another reason why I love my life!

Julia sitting on her changing table, surrounded by all her bed items!

Mommy's Gift Guide - Music Lovers and More

2010-12-02T07:29:00.000-08:00

We are on the fast track to Christmas here and if yo haven't already done so you need to start your shopping now! Get online, get in the car and go, or make a phone order, but you better get your shopping started right away buddy! So, what do you plan to get your favorite mommy in your life? If you missed the first round gift guide go here, otherwise keep reading for a few more great ideas for those mom's that need some great holiday cheer in their lives.

If the mom you are shopping for (wife, daughter, sister, mother) is a music lover here are some of the top picks this year and a few of my own.

Music Mom:

1. ITunes Gift Card: You can never go wrong with an ITunes gift card in the stocking, so they can pick and choose their favorite songs for their IPod. This of course is a must have for me, because I can never just choose on CD that I want - I usually want single songs and not an album.

2. Bon Jovi’s Greatest Hits: I can probably list off about a dozen of my favorite songs by Bon Jovi and I am positive that those songs are on this album. One of the greatest bands created out there - they have made it through the aura of Boy bands, Alternative rock, candy Pop, and even more and continue to stay at the top of the charts and part of our culture. This is a must have also for me, and I choose to have the CD rather then a digital download because I then can play it in the car and rock out all the time!

3. Glee Soundtrack: Any of the gerat soundtracks from Glee are going to rock your world, simply because they are singing all of our favorite songs! This season on the first episode they open with JayZ's New york song and then go on to sing "I want to be a Billionaire" and who doesn't love that song?

4. Taylor Swift's "Speak Now": Ok, I have to admit I love Taylor Swift, and this can go either to young moms or their older daughters. It's one of the most popular albums out right now, so I can't just forget to mention it. She has a great voice, but I haven't heard much from this album yet.

5. The Beatles Stereo Box Set: Not only are all The Beatles music now available on ITunes, but they are always available to buy as a box set! Classic Old school at it best - this is what our parents and us both listened to, and you could probably find a song about any subject or feeling involved in any of their songs. They even have a song called "Julia"!

6. Black Eyed Peas' "The Beginning": I am so in love with their new song "The Time" that features the song from dirty dancing "Time of my life". Although it is a compilation of some of their older songs remixed I am a long time fan of BEP and would buy the album just for this one song! Hook me up with this one if I'm on your list!

Christian Mom:
Many of us fall short of thinking of the real reason for Christmas - The birth of Jesus Christ! I haven't written to much about my faith in this blog, and am not sure how much I will in the future, but I have a strong Christian Faith and believe that we should all continue to grow in our religion even when we are struggling in life. Here are my choices for gifts for a Christian Mom.

1. The Power of a Praying Wife: Book of Prayers: This book is about giving wives practical advice on praying for specific areas of their husband’s life including his decision-making, fears, spiritual strength, role as father, leader, faith and future. Last year I did a separate book by this Author about the power of a praying women, and it was so empowering, thought provoking, and spiritually uplifting that I became such a better person for reading it and participating in the bible study group.

2. Fabric Bible cover: This was one thing I have wanted for awhile - a bible cover with room to carry a pad of paper and pen. I'm tired of taking notes in Sunday School and then sticking them in the back of my bible.

3. Michael W. Smith: Wonder CD: I love the songs he sings and they are some of my favorite uplifting songs that we sing in church!

4. Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover: If you haven't taken Financial Peace University and made the decision to become Debt free then you need to read this book! Ramsey's unique perspective in how to buy a house, avoid debt collections, and become a happier and healthier person with your finances is amazing, inspiring, and a must know for all of us. We weren't taught how to do most of these things in school, and most of not even by our parents, so if you are looking to improve your financial health please read this book!

5. Becoming the Parent God Wants You to Be by Kevin Leman: I recently took a parenting class through my church that used the video series from this book as part of it's teaching. Jon and I consider ourselves pretty good parents, and have a strong ability to raise our child/children, but at the same time feel the need to always improve our strength and be aware of our weaknesses. This book really is about learning to be a parent and how God intended us to treat out children and raise them in a Christian home.

Day 4 Photos & quick journal

2010-12-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

A snowman poll at the library

Checked out movies from the Library

Trees waiting for a home

Off to work I go!

Today I worked
Ashleigh watched Julia until Jon came home
Today we walked to the Library, checked out movies and no books
Today Julia wore a pull-up most of the day, but did not use the potty.
Today I noticed all the Christmas decorations coming out in town.
Today was a good day!
Today I smelled amazing after work!

Day 5 photos & Journaling

2010-12-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

Julia sliding down the pile of snow next to the lodge

Hot cocoa shared with mommy

Running in the snow - away from the wind!

Visiting the Raven's Nest - where we got married

Loved going to the little memories in Timberline Lodge today! The alcove on the second floor where we set out all the cookie boxes and placed ribbon around them the night before the wedding, the table Andy sat on while we took pictures of everyone, and especially the Raven’s Nest were our ceremony was held. All such great memories and joys to come back to each year! Discovering new memories in this place is also such a joy today. Julia discovered the mountain for the first time and certainly got her fill of all the snow she wanted. The day lodge is where we spent our inside time the most and we discovered a great deal of little areas and new spots to make memories with. The fireplace was of course my favorite place – warm and cozy! We had such an amazing day to share with our daughter and celebrate our 3 year anniversary together. The snow was coming down and the wind was blowing fast, but it was well worth the treacherous drive up Timberline Rd today.

Later on Grandma Roxanne took Julia for the evening so we could see a movie (Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows Part 1). The movie is the first part to the end of Harry Potter. It’s great to add this into a memory because this franchise has been going on for so many years and we are all so intertwined with Harry Potter and all that goes with it. I can’t wait to watch Part 2, but it will be bitter-sweet.

Printed Pages with out Photos

2010-12-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

Here is day 1 printed with it's patterned paper on it along side it's title page.

Here are days 2-5 printed with their patterned paper in a row.

I really can not wait until I have my photos printed and ready to place them on the pages. I'm regretting however not using a 3-ring binder. So, along with getting my pictures this weekend I am going to go out and purchase a 3-ring that will hold more pages. This one just isn't holding up to my standards, and if I plan to add anymore pages it's just going to fall apart. Hope I can find one in red though.

December Daily Day 3 Photos

2010-11-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

I am in no way a fabulous photographer, although I wish I was, so here are some of the pictures I took on Day 3 as we finished up decorating our tree. Some things I'm forgetting: To hand the camera over and get myself in the pictures and to bring my camera with me to capture outside events (hanging of the green's at our church).

Jon & Julia hanging ornaments
Our wedding ornament given to us my mother-in-law the year we were married (2007)

The finished product

I will probably cheat a little and attempt to get a better picture with my SLR camera to put in place of this blurry one.

Day 4 & 5 are busy ones: I have to work in the evening on day 4 and it's our 3 year anniversary on day 5!

December Daily Page Template

2010-11-29T09:19:00.001-08:00

So, I went back and forth between deciding to use Ali Edwards Digital template or creating my own like I did for my week in the life book last spring. So, I finally tried my hand at just making a quick page template myself that will be easy for me to print and use for my album. I'm not 100% happy with it, but it's cute and officiant. Maybe next year I will start using the digital templates (more money, more experience with them). Here's a peek at what day 1 will look like printed -
Once I've printed on cardstock I will put a strip of patterned paper across the top next to the number and place photos at the bottom. I am also planning to print out wallet sized pictures and place them in baseball card page protectors along with any memorabilia.

December Daily Day 1 & 2

2010-11-28T18:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I've taken pictures and have written my journals for Day 1 and 2 of my 30 days of Christmas. We have our tree up and I worked my booty off for 10 hours on Black Friday. Here's some peeks.

Day 2:The joys of decorating with a little girl who finds each ornament pretty and extraordinary are so warming and special. As we went through part of the first box of ornaments I began to tell Julia the story of each little special one. So many of our unique ones have a little story attached to them.
Day 1:After the tree was put up and glowing Julia realized she could see through the branches, but that the tree was also a great hiding place. So, she’d go to left of the tree (the corner of the stair case), bend down just a smidge, peek through the branches and declare, “I’m hiding!” Such a silly little girl who makes my extremely tired body relax with joy.

Here I am leaving to work at 4:15 am!

Turkey Leftovers

2010-11-24T16:03:00.000-08:00

So, since Friendsgiving is over and done with I have a fridge packed full of leftovers. A large portion of turkey, most of my green bean casserole, half of my stuffing, and a few other things. My plan for my budget this next 2 weeks was to make leftovers from all the wonderful foods left over. I made a list of my favorite meals and substituted turkey into them and also found some amazing leftover recipes on the food network site.

Here's your Menu:
Here's a list of the dinner menu I created for the next 2 weeks. I bought many items in bulk at Costco, and we will also be receiving a free turkey from Jon's work that we will cook to add to our leftovers. Yes, we will be turkeyed out by December!

1. Pork Chops & Stove top
2. turkey enchiladas
3. Turkey soup w/ dumplings
4. turkey pot pie
5. turkey sandwiches w/ cranberry sauce
6. green bean casserole w/ Baked Chicken
7. Roasted chicken w/ cranberry sauce & cauliflower
8. Round 2 roasted chicken Slow cooked chili
9. Turkey& Stuffing casserole
10. Mushroom & Ground turkey spaghetti
11. Thanksgiving Dinner
12. Turkey Burritos with Spanish rice

A review of a few:
So far I have made turkey pot pie & turkey stuffing casserole (and of course sandwiches). The potpie was just like chicken, so I was not surprised at how good it was. I did add extra vegetables I had left over into it giving it some extra textures. Last night I went about making the casserole. Now, this was an experiment for me. The recipe called for uncooked stuffing, but I had a Rubbermaid container filled with cooked stove top, so I went with it.

Ingredients:
-1 can of cream of mushroom soup
-1 cup of milk
-salt & pepper to taste
-small bag of frozen broccoli
-2 cups of cubed turkey
-left over stuffing (enough to cover the top of your casserole)
-2 cups of shredded cheese

Preparation:
Mix soup, milk, spices in sprayed medium casserole dish. Stir in broccoli and turkey. Cover with leftover stuffing. Cook at 400 degrees for 25 minutes (or until filling is bubbling). Top with shredded cheese and cook for 5 more minutes. Serve with a side salad and some rolls.
Sorry, there's no pictures - we ate it all to fast!

Scrapbook Generation Creative Team - Page 3

2010-11-22T08:39:00.000-08:00

Here is my final submission to the Scrapbook Generation creative team. This is a 2-page layout with 8 photos. I used all S.E.I paper & letter stickers, and chatterbox ribbon to make the flowers. The sketch I used for this layout uses 10 photos, but I altered the look slightly. Instead of 2 photos at the top of page 1 and at the bottom of page 2 I used 1 each, resizing them slightly. I also resized the column of photos on page 2 from 4X4, to 4X 4.5 to allow the center photo to be cropped correctly. I adore this page immensely!

Today you is a concept I scraplifted from Ali Edwards, where I write about a random day/event in the day and write it in letter form to the person. In this case I wrote about Julia's first sprinkler adventure.
The journaling reads: Today you played in the sprinkler for the very first time. You were so excited to get your swimming suit on (but very confused when we didn’t walk off to the pool). At first you were reluctant to walk up to the fountain of water, and watched suspiciously as Mommy put her feet into the spray. You followed along by sticking your foot out to touch the sprinkles. Daddy then decided to kink the hose and make the water short so you could examine the mystery. You walked up to the water, put your hands in it, giggled, and then Daddy let go of the kink and sprayed you with the explosion of water. You ran quickly away but laughed about the surprise. We played out in the sprinkler for about an hour and by then you were successfully drenched from head to toe and ready for a warm bath. You are my water baby, and love the water in all its forms.

More December Daily Pages

2010-11-18T09:01:00.001-08:00

Here are some more of my 30 days of Christmas Album Pages - to view my whole album click on the links at the bottom of this post.

Day 6: (the number's up in the top left corner) This paper is a little busy, but I used it because we will be up in the snow this day and I wanted it to be Representative. Paper is Basic Grey.

Day 16: Love my little Ginger Bread man! Paper is Basic Grey.

Day 26: Generic paper from Michael's, but it's super nice because it has embossing to it.

Day 29: Love this paper from Making Memories - it really gives me the feel that it's Christmas Eve.

To view more photos of my album or other December daily pages go to Flicker.com or go to my gallery at twopeasinabucket.com

Some of my favorite pages...

2010-11-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

Day 2 - love this christmas tree from Jolee's. Paper is Basic Grey

Day 8 - it's hard to see the number because it's a clear arcylic number. I used glitter and some clear glue to add some color to the number.

Day 14: I love this patterned paper from Basic Grey

Day 28: Paper from Making Memories

Mommy's Gift Guide Part 1

2010-11-15T14:27:00.000-08:00

So, have you ever wondered what to get me for Christmas? I know you have, especially this year now that we're so close. Well I will be glad to help you out with this wonderful gift guide I have planned for you. Let's start off with a great description of who I am.

Stay at home mom: I spend my day wearing many hats and this is just a list of a few of the many titles I take on in any given day. A Barista, food vendor, janitor, house keeper, Crayon artist, tissue dispenser, a shoulder to cry on, hairdresser, dog walker/feeder/wiper (of wet feet), diaper changer, librarian, Grace giver, Bible reader, Music DJ, answering service, bill paying, and most of all Mommy! In the evening I add on some extra hats too - Wife (the best!), chef, Scrapbooker, baker, gym buddy/Gym Nazi.

So does that give you a good idea of what goes on during the day for me? Well good, so that's all you need to know right? Wrong. Here's a great list to start off your holiday shopping for Me or any other stay at home mom in your life. But, this guide is NOT exclusive to the stay at home mom though, so let me clear this up - ALL MOMS GIFT GUIDE!

Here it is broken down into the type of Mom you have in your life, and trust me she will most likely fall under more then 1 categories.

The Reading Mom:
1. Nora Roberts: Bride Quartet series, specifically the 4th book out in stores now.

2. The Girl who kicked the Hornet's Nest; The girl who played with fire; and The girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson : I'm not recommending this because I have read it, but because these were the most popular books this year for women to read. I've had numerous people tell me about them, and they are beginning the filming of The girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

3. The Short Second life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Myer : I fell in love with the twilight series this year and highly recommend this add on story about Bree Tanner.

The Cooking Mom:

1. Mini Food processor: This is on my wish list because I have no need for a large one as of now, but would love a smaller one for making salsa and such other great stuff.

2. Egg Slicer: Another item on my list because I eat hard boiled eggs often and realized how tedious it is to cute them evenly!

3. Better Home & Garden's Cook Book: I call this the magic cookbook. I have confiscated my BBF's for the past 6 or more months because she was letting collect dust. I have used it on a weekly basis sense and have started writing notes in it for when I return it to her. This of course is on my list too.

4. For my list again, I have a custom item - a built to custom size baker's cabinet. I have a corner in my kitchen that would be perfect for a tall; narrow cabinet. I intend to call this cabinet my baker's corner, because it will hold all baking supplies - flour, sugar, cake mixes, and all things baked. This would be a great idea for anyone's home - find a corner or a shelf in your pantry to house all baking goods in order to make your baking experience more efficient.

So more categories to come in the coming days, so keep checking back or become a follower. Some hints: Music Lovers & Baby Toddler gifts....

Julia 10 random Facts

2010-11-13T17:01:00.000-08:00

1. You love to wear your tutu
2. You have a cold this week – running nose and now coughing
3. Your favorite movies is Monsters INC (aka: Kitty)
4. Side the Science Kid is now top show, sesame street 2nd
5. Waving to busses is a grand event!
6. Pumpkins are round and orange – and everything that looks this way is a Pumpkin
7. You aren’t a candy eater, so learned after Halloween
8. Green beans & broccoli are favorite vegetables
9. You hum is mommy when she sings to you
10. You talk on your plastic phone in the car

Scrapbook Generation Creative Team - Page 2

2010-11-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

Before

The before picture is the work in progress and then the final product. The three pictures were Julia's photos taken at a photo studio when she was 6 months old. She still wasn't completely able to hold herself up yet, but she was super cute! All paper is from Close to my Heart.
After

Scrapbook Generation Creative Team

2010-11-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

Julia's first haircut on December 11, 2009. Journal reads: "Your first haircut from cousin Becky. Your hair had grown into your eyes & become a problem. So, bangs were decided on. Soon afterwards I realized they weren't for you, so we began the grow out process."

What's this for?:

I have making a huge effort to make a submission to a creative team for one of my favorite scrapbook blogs - Scrapbook Generations, or Scrapbooking Ali. The blog is all about scrapbooking and using sketches for your pages. I've always done well with an outline for my work and when I came upon this blog I was immediately hooked. As of now Ali, the creator of the blog, does a Sketch week each month and will be launching a new site with all sketches, all the time. They are now in the process of looking for a creative team. I have no expectations in becoming part of this team, because I know there are many more experienced scrappers out there who have alot more at their disposal. I would really love some exposure of my craft, create new contacts who love the craft as much as I, and get some recognition for the ability I do have. So, here is my first page for my submission. I have 2 more Layouts to create still.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-02T10:10:00.000-07:00

Julia’s first trick or treating Halloween and she dressed as Cinderella. The day before we trenched out into the rain (rain boots and all) with Ashleigh, Christina, and Morgan to do Sandy Main street trick or treating. It was soo wet out we didn’t do the entire route. Julia was a little overwhelmed at first and didn’t know how to say trick or treat very well – usually came out something like “tick teet”, which was super cute anyways. If she couldn’t get out those words I’d prompt her to say Candy Please – which was even cuter, “Candy Pwease!”

On Halloween afternoon Jon and I got Julia dressed up again, once again donning the rain boots even though the sky was clear today, and headed out to the Gresham Main Street trick or treating event. This was super busy, and much more so then I had expected it to be. I was expecting a huge crowd, but not a bunch of people standing around now moving so that the kids had to stand in a line to trick or treat – it was a little unorganized. This event took much more of our time then we had wanted (almost an hour) so we quickly rushed over to visit Aunt Toni and Uncle Dad; a tradition we started when Julia was a baby. Julia got some candy from Toni and we sat and got caught up with our favorite Aunt & Uncle. Julia was even able to say “Toni” now!

After our visit we headed home for our house full of friends. Andy and Laura handed out candy for us while we were gone, and Robi and Jay showed up dressed to impress in full costume. Robin was Cinderella too, which made for great joy in Julia to see that they matched, and Jason was a dead poker player (very scary for the little kids and Julia). We ate out traditional Pizza and watched not-so-scary movies – “Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin” and “How to train your Dragon.” Julia went on one more trip trick or treating adventure with Robin in our neighborhood and then helped hand out candy before heading to bed with an upset tummy filled with candy. It was a wonderful holiday filled with new and old traditions, new experiences, and wonderful memories.

Julia & Robin as Cinderella Running to the next store Candy pwease! Standing in line for candy Elmo at Walgreens Juia's face after seeing Elmo walking in the rain with Ashleigh

Cousins - Payton and jared!
All the girls!

Posing with baby frankienstein.

First stop

Jon's pumpkin - Trogdar

Helping empty the pumpkin