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Friday, November 30, 2007

NaBloPoFinished

Well today is the last day of NaBloPoMo and I am having mixed emotions about it ending! It has been really hard for me to post everyday as the challenge says even though I usually post everyday anyway! I find it kind of odd since I have to do it that makes it harder to want to do it and I find that this leaks into every area of my life. If it is something that I have to do than I procrastinate a whole lot more than with something I think of or want to get done. I am really trying to change this about myself so that things do not seem so overwhelming.

For example I have started going through all the things in my house and getting rid of all the possessions that we never use or look at that just take up space. I have donated so much stuff in the last few days it is unreal and I am so excited about how much clutter is gone from my living room and garage! I do not want my kids to grow up being all about the material things and so I feel I need to do this purge to show myself and them it is ok to just have the things you need with of course a few wants!

It is kind of funny with my kids watching me they have decided that they really do not want many of their toys anymore, that they really do not play much with them with the exceptions of a few things like the littlest pets shop stuff! They really only play dress up, read, make crafts and draw, play with the legos and the board games we have so I am thinking I will let them join in on the purge. It will be interesting to see the things they are willing to get rid of and I LOVE the fact that they are so willing to give to another child in need because we always donate the toys and such!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Fun with photoshop!


Wednesday, November 28, 2007

WW-The Evil Eye

For more Wordless Wednesday participants check out these wonderful blogs:

The letter "N"

Today's Alphabet Soup is brought to you by the Letter N.

Here are some things that begin with the letter "N" that bring me happiness, joy or that bring some much needed humor to my life!

Notebooks: This is one that is really important too me. If it were not for all my little notebooks full of lists and things I would be so lost!

Naps: This is one that I am beginning to understand the point of well at least for adults! lol Now that all the kids are in school during the day I sometimes have a chance to grab a nap before they get home and let me tell you they are the best!

Needs: This is here for all the needs I have and all the needs other's have of me.

Nicotine: UGH I am sooooo not fond of smokers and the nasty smell it leaves behind! I will not go off on a huge rant and if you are a respectful smoker than you are not included in my rant! lol I understand how addictive Nicotine and cigarettes can be I smoked for 10yrs or so altogether, but I have quit and so can you! If you are going to choose to smoke though can you do it away from mother's and their children, away from the front doors of businesses and restaurants!? Could you just have respect for those people around you that have asthma(like my son and I) and you give a damn asthma attack to everytime we pass by you!

Nature: I love being out in the outdoors and taking pictures of the flowers/animals just being able to soak up the sun!

Nocturnal: I am seriously nocturnal and need to figure out how to get to bed earlier!

I am sure there are many more, but I am having a really hard time comming up with any. I think N has got to be one of the hardest letters so far!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Beef Stuffed Zucchini

This dish is so easy everyone seems to like it and my kids LOVE it cannot beat that! I hope you and your family enjoy it! :)

Zucchini squash is cut in half, pulp is scooped, and the shells are fulled with a ground beef and seasoned crumb mixture.

INGREDIENTS:
4 zucchini, about 6-inches in length
1/2 pound extra lean ground beef
2 tablespoons oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 tablespoon chili sauce or ketchup
2 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces
1 cup buttered bread crumbs

PREPARATION:
Split zucchini lengthwise; scoop out centers and chop pulp finely. Mix the chopped zucchini with the ground beef, oatmeal, onion powder, salt, and chili sauce. Stuff zucchini skins with ground beef mixture.

Dot each zucchini with a little butter; sprinkle with bread crumbs. Put zucchini halves in a baking dish with about 1/2 cup water. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

For more recipes see the Recipe Rally @ Crazy Hip Blog Mamas

Monday, November 26, 2007

Monday Madness

Well it is another Monday here and almost gone! It's been crazy as usual, but overall a pretty good day. I went to class this morning and then off to run errands. I got my new glasses adjusted cause they were driving me nuts and I tried to go get another tire put on my car, but that did not work out so well! I am not able to get new tires since my tires cost $150 EACH OMG so I am having to find used tires the type that goes on my car. I am finding that this is harder to do than I had originally thought. So the guy told me to come back Wed sooooo I of course will and hopefully they will have another one then it is only 2more tires to go! :) lol

Spunky has two bday parties already for the month of Dec and I am thinking jezzzz which do we go too? Do I take her to both and what if one of the other kids brings home an invitation? Wow this is just starting to be an issue in my house now that all three kids are in school and above pre-k age!

So I have some questions what do you about birthday parties for your children's friends during the school year? Do you take them to every party they want to go to even if you have multiple kids? Do you let them choose? Do you set a limit per month per kid? I am just curious and trying to figure out what rules to set now so there will be no problems later!

Alright well I have to get ready to go see my sweetie tonight soooo later all! Hope you have a great Monday! :)

Sunday, November 25, 2007

I am

I am me.
I am cold.
I am tired.
I am bored.
I am cranky.
I am confused.
I am wondering why?
I am thinking weird thoughts.
I am thankful for a day well done.
I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

PhotoHunt: Hot

I hope everyone in the US had a great Thanksgiving! Here is my photo for this weeks PhotoHunt our HOTT turkey from the oven!!

For more photos and this weeks PhotoHunt check out www.tnchick.com/

Friday, November 23, 2007

Feelings.......................

Feelings, do you ever have those days where your feelings get the best of you in certain situations? Today has been one of those days for me! I spent quite a bit of love, time and put my heart into a certain person to have it kind of crumble tonight. I realize that I really have no control over the situation, but in no way does it make it any easier to deal with at least on my end! I just think it sucks that some people cannot grow and learn from situations. That there is not enough room or love in their hearts to allow other people to get close.

Once we grow up and have children they ask questions and as a parent or a mother it is our job or duty to explain these things to our children IMO. I never once denied my son of his father EVER! Not even when there were year gaps between the times we heard from him and we received no child support. I do not care how many questions I had to answer from my son about his father or his sisters or any of that I dealt with and answered the questions!! It is not my place to stand between him and his father period end of discussion. I will NOT be the person who puts a wall between the boy and his father. The boy's father will do it himself there is no need for me to be a bad guy too!

I really wish she would realize I only want to be a friend to her and that I love her son like one of my own. I have no need for him to call me momma I never did and never wanted it that way. I just have my heartbroken now and I will not give it out so freely next time. I feel badly for my children who cry for him and it makes me upset that I allowed them to get so close. They talk about him frequently they are older so they remember more and ask a lot more questions.

This this is why Tracey if you read this I stopped talking to you. No this post is not about you, but I could not allow myself to love your children and our friendship the way I did to have it ripped away like it was so often, my heart can no longer take it!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

The Thankful Tree!

I  wanted to share a craft that we have decided should be a tradition in our household! This is our first year doing it and we all thought it was fun! We call it the Thankful Tree.

Materials:
Glue
Scissors
Markers
Poster board
Colored pencils
Construction paper

Instructions:
Each person traces their hand multiple times on construction paper. Of course all in Fall colors and then we cut out all the hands(we usually do 3hands per person in each color)! After all the hands are cut out then we write something we are thankful for on each of our hands. Then draw a tree trunk and branches on a piece of poster board and decorate how you like. Then just glue all the hands to cover the tree as if they were leaves. I like to make a few look like they are falling from the tree since it is the Fall! There you go you have a Thankful Tree made out of all the things you and your family are thankful for this holiday season! :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I just wanted to say

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

to all of my friends here in the blogging community! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Wrapped Emotions--Way late!

The Prompt:
"With Thanksgiving being next week everyone begins to ask the traditional question..."For what are you thankful?" This week let's put a little twist on that thought.

What do you love today?

For this week's prompt you will need to set aside a small block of uninterrupted time. *gasp* You can do it. You need to do it. Allow whatever amount of time you think it will take to complete the project. No typing on the computer and printing words. It should be done in your handwriting. Make it neat, make it sloppy, make it uniquely yours. Doodle the words, fine line print, bold line print, scribble. Write horizontally, diagonally, backwards, upside down. Give the page some color and pop...paint the page first...collage the page first...color the page with marker. Do not be limited by these suggestions.

But WRITE the lists...no typing and printing. What is important is that you know what you love today.One more twist...in a creative way include a wrapper from one of the things you love today (or the day you do this).

My project:

WW-My fixation with water lilies!

Taken at our local Botanical Gardens this summer/fall!
For more Wordless Wednesday participants check out these wonderful blogs:
5 Minutes for Mom!
Three Peas in a Pod!
And Miles To Go Before We Sleep!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

The letter "M"

Today's Alphabet Soup is brought to you by the Letter M.

Here are some things that begin with the letter "M" that bring me happiness, joy or that bring some much needed humor to my life!

Mornings: I HATE them! lol I am trying to get better about the morning, but it's not working to terribly well!

Me: Cause I have to deal with myself everyday!

Muscles: Oh wow I use this one cause I have been working out the last few months and wow do my muscles hurt!

Music: I LOVE music and listen to it everyday! :)

Mop: This one is here for the obvious reason.

Microwave: I could not live without our microwave! I do not use it everyday, but often enough I would miss it.

For more Alphabet Soup

Monday, November 19, 2007

Monday Madness

I have not felt very good today and so I have not accomplished much or any of the things that I was supposed too! :( Basically this means tomorrow is going to be a crazy crazy day! I still have my grocery shopping to do for Thanksgiving and I need a few other basic things. I also have to sit down and figure out what we are all going to wear for dinner at Granddaddy's on Thanksgiving bleh!! The house is not a terrible mess, but it is not clean either gotta see if I can tackle that tomorrow also. I almost feel like my cold or whatever it was a few weeks ago is coming back and man that will be HORRIBLE! Ok sorry done whining!
On a side note while Emily was here she cut the girls hair. Princess of course will not have hers cut short no matter what so she just got a trim, but Spunky decided she wanted hers short. So Emily cut it too her shoulders it is cute, but I miss my babies hair! lol I did not actually get to take a before picture sooo here is a recent one!
Before:

After:

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Tag your it the revised version!

Rules of the Game:
"Once you have been tagged, you must write a blog containing 10 weird, random things, (facts, habits or goals) about yourself. At the end, select 10 people to be tagged, listing their names and the reason you chose them. Send them a message ("You're It") and instruct them to read your blog. You can't tag the person who tagged you. Since you can't tag me back, let me know when you've posted your blog so I can see your answers. Thanks for playing and have fun!"

1. I have serious OCD about certain things.

2. My fingernails HAVE to be long or I cannot deal with touching anything!

3. I pick things up with my toes a lot and I am deadly when pinching with them! lol

4. I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters, but I am the only one of my kind!(meaning the exact same DNA)

5. I am currently a member of NaBloPoMo and while some days it has been hard, most of the time it is pretty cool to see what I come up with on a daily basis!

6. I am a serious WOW addict I do not play everyday, but when I get on a kick you better watch out!

7. I cannot touch anything made out of paper while my fingers are wet!

8. I am afraid of butterflies or most anything that flies all around my face!

9. I currently am wearing my super glued glasses which are hanging on by a thread and one lens is covered in superglue while waiting for my new ones to get here Tuesday! LMAO it sux!!

10. I kill plants! Well not on purpose, but I cannot keep plants alive any kind even ivy it's kinda sad!

I'm tagging:

1. Melody from Wrapped Emotions and Slurping Life cause I think she is such a creative inspiration!

2. Sarah at Real Life Blog because her blog about beginning blogger tips helped me so much when I was setting up my blog!

3. Carrie from Chocolate the Other White Meat because I have always enjoyed reading her blog and I think she will have great answers! :)

4. Seeds From My Garden because I always enjoy reading her posts they make me think! :)

5. Bridget from And Miles To Go Before We Sleep because I would love to hear her answers!

6. Tiffanie from Three Peas in a Pod because she inspires me with her positive upbeat personality and she has good tips!

7. An Iowa Mom because I think she funny and I always enjoy reading her posts!

8. Denise from Blissful Life of a SAHM and Military Wife because I think her answers would be really interesting!

9. Susan and Janice from 5 Minutes For Mom because I LOVE Wordless Wednesday and Tackle it Tuesday!

10. Jesie from Jesie Blog Journey because she joined in PhotoHunt this weekend and left me a nice comment!

Saturday, November 17, 2007

PhotoHunt: I love my family!!

Alright so for this week's PhotoHunt I have quite a few photos! Today we had a mock Thanksgiving dinner/Birthday party for my 7yr old and my little sister who is 7yrs old and we took lots of great family photos so I am going to use family for my I love photos!

We are almost never are all together since Emily lives so far away and we were missing my youngest brother, but alas it seems we are always missing at least one!

The birthday girls!

The siblings me and 3 of my brothers and sisters!

My family the way I grew up!

The whole family! :)

The whole fam damily acting totally silly! lol :)
Last but certainly not least my little sister Emily who has come to visit this week! We love you so much Emily and miss you terribly when you are gone! I am glad that you have found your calling and place in life, but I wish you were closer to us!
For more photos and this weeks PhotoHunt check out www.tnchick.com/

Friday, November 16, 2007

Excuse me I have to vent a second!

So I have to vent for a moment I am so frustrated! So yesterday afternoon my glasses broke the piece that holds the lens in at the nose snapped. I took it to the place in town that repairs glasses and he quoted me $40 yes 40 bucks to sauter(sp?) them back in place! Ok personally that is a lot of money for me so I of course said nvm took the kids left and drove home half blind!! I made an appointment to see the doctor so I can get my glasses for this morning at 9am. The new glasses should be ready by Monday or Tuesday so hopefully my super glue job on them holds the next 4-5days(OMG)!

I get ready for my appointment this morning and start off for the office. I have not been driving 3minutes and my back tire blows!!!! What tha so I am a block from home on a major road, no cell phone so I drove it home really really slow! BAD IDEA!!! Now I cannot get the tire off the car cause I think I bent the rim cause I suck and am stupid!

Great so I now have missed my eye appoint for new glasses and possibly bent my rim trying to get home in time to call and reschedule! I did call and reschedule for today thank god and my mother is gonna take me! Nothing like having to call mommy at 31yrs old to take you to the doctor cause your car is broke!!!! So ok the doctor thing is fixed, but what about my car? I have a spare tire no rim and if the old rim is bent I obviously need a new one!

So I can go get new rim mount the tire I have to it, but how for the love of life do I get the damn tire off that is stuck on my car???? Please help me!!! lol Oh and then I come inside to go potty and got a visit by my Auntie Flow what's that??? I just need to breath!!! Did I mention this weekend is extremely busy, my sister is in town, I have two bday parties tomorrow one of which is my child's etc etc wow!

Alright I am done venting! Now to try and find some sanity and off to the doctor's office I go.......

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Awesome Harvest Apple Crisp!

It heralds the flavors of Fall cooking. It sets your mind on all those wonderful desserts you'll eat this holiday season. (If you haven't started eating them already.) This recipe is so quick to throw together with no fuss. You could make it a day ahead, but you would have to hide it from your family.

Do not leave this dessert unsupervised before serving, the crunchy topping will start to disappear. If you see holes in the corners of the dessert, check the corners of your husband's lips. OH! And be sure to have vanilla ice cream on hand, it tastes great melting next to this warm dessert.

HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED
6 large apples, peeled, cored, sliced 1/2 inch wedges
1 cup dark brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 cup oats
1 stick unsalted butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange apples in greased 13×9x2 dish. Mix remaining ingredients; sprinkle over apples. Bake until apples are tender, about 30 minutes. It's that simple!
This apple crisp is already awesome. However, next time I'll try toasting the oats, along with chopped pecans, in the oven and mix them into the topping.
This wonderful recipe comes to you from Simple Daily Recipes!

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Living room rearranging!

My tackle this week is first of all a day behind, but is also kind of a spin off from last week! Last week I cleaned the living room and caught up on some laundry.

Here is a picture from last week and also my before:


Ok so I hate the way my living room is laid out in the above picture sooooo I moved some furniture around, brought the girls desks in from the garage and cleaned them up! I am much happier with the couch in the middle of the two rooms it divides the space much better imo!

Here are my after shots:


Some good info for the Holiday season!

Hello Ladies :)

I just wanted to send this out to all of you with the holidays coming up soon cause I know we all have kiddos, grand-kids etc to buy for this holiday season! Please watch this slideshow and read the info presented it is about the "Worst toys in 2007" it includes some toys with lead and others that are just plain dangerous. There is also a good video up on Yahoo's homepage about these toys, but for some reason I cannot link it check it out if you have the chance! I know a few of us have kiddos interested in Dora, Diego, Spiderman and the Pirates of the Caribbean and there are toys from all of the above on the list.

http://wbztv.com/slideshows/local_slideshow_317120700

Wordless Wednesday

This one needs words. My mom just found some pictures at her house that are gosh 7yrs old so I decided to use one of the newly found photos for today's WW. This one is my oldest baby(who is now 10)and my grandmother who passed this Feb 07'. I love you and miss you Grammy!
For more Wordless Wednesday participants check out these wonderful blogs:
5 Minutes for Mom!
Three Peas in a Pod!
And Miles To Go Before We Sleep!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Three word project

This picture is from this weekend it is one of my favorites! We had so much fun together it was wonderful and got some cute pictures also!! :)

Click here to join or see more about the Three Word Project!
Also a link to the original idea! :)

Monday, November 12, 2007

Monday Madness!

Well today's madness has been of a different sort! The kids were all home from school due to Veteran's day and so it has of course been crazy! lol So I have a bit of a rant I am curious am I the only parent who has to practically deck scrub after every meal!?!! I mean there is so much food on the floor after they eat and all over the table etc it is ridiculous! Is it too much of me to ask that I don't have to sweep, mop and wipe down everything within a five foot radius after every meal? My kids are 5, 7 and 10yrs I mean they should be past this right? Do I get them to clean it up so they get it! UGH! Ok sorry had to get the out! LOL Any advice is appreciated! :)

Well on a happier note we got the new washer hooked up finally! We had some hose issues to work out and now all it is all good! YAY! :) :) We also got the girls school pictures in today and they are soo cute! The boy had his redone this last week cause he did not like the way his hair looked in the original picture! lol


I hope you all had a good Monday and Veteran's Day!

PhotoHunt: Flexible

Well I am running just a bit behind, but my photo is this little slinky! My mom gave it too the kids this last week expecting them all to just share it like there would be no problem at all right!?! lol I do not know why, but when I checked out the prompt for this week's photo this little toy was the first thing to pop into my mind so here it is in all it's flexible glory! :)


For more of this weeks PhotoHunt check out http://www.tnchick.com/

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Weekend fun!

This weekend has really been a lot of fun! Poor Spunky has been sick, but she has kept up with everyone else like a champ! :) Yesterday we hung out around the house, the kiddos helped me make these really terrible meatballs lol, they played outside and got all dirty while bouncing the new balls(they have dish washing soap in them so they bounce straight up not all crazy and they are nontoxic if they break open!) we got from the Container store, we watched Happy Feet, had ice cream and the best part for me at least was we went next door to their garage sale and got a new to me washing machine to replace the broken one! WOOHOO!!!! I am so incredibly excited I cannot even tell you! It has been two weeks without a washer in my house and let me tell you it was NO fun!!

Than today we went to a Birthday party for one of Spunky's friends from school! It was a blast, it turns out that it was a double party for her friend and his little brother so there were tons of kids. They had the party at a local park and we had hotdogs, chips, fruit, juice and all the good fixins it was yummy. They had a few activities I had never really thought of for a bday party and they were a hit with the kids and adults! They had the kids each decorate their own brown paper sack for the candy from the pinata with markers, crayons, stamps and those little foam stickers in shapes of flowers, dinos etc. They also had the kids make their own necklaces and such with the regular big colored beads, but they also had beads shaped like insects that were made out of the foam sticker stuff! lol If that made any sense it was really cool I cannot seem to find any pictures of them online.

At the end of the party they passed out these insect shaped masks to each child and my kids loved them. When we got home they had to have me take pictures of them in the front yard crawling around in the bushes acting like bugs! lol So below is the slideshow I made of today's pictures! NO neighborhood cats were harmed in the making of this slideshow! hehehe You will see our neighbors cat looking all freaked out by the kids in the pictures it was pretty funny! Well I hope you all enjoy the pics there are actually a few of me and that never happens! lol


Saturday, November 10, 2007

Feedback on yesterday's crock pot disaster!

Alright so yesterday I posted a few crock pot recipes that I was going to try and well I have feedback on one of them! DO NOT MAKE THE BELOW RECIPE!! It was freaking nasty is the only way I can describe it! No one would touch it and it was a total disaster! All you could taste was the ketchup and it was really really tart. I tried to add some seasoning, but there was no fixing it! So just to save you time, trouble and cost DO NOT MAKE IT!
__________________________________________
Sweet and Sour Meatballs:
14oz Ketchup
1 Jar Grape Jelly
12oz Jar Heinz Chili Sauce
and of course the pre-made meatballs cause I am all about convenience! lol

Add all the ingredients to the crock pot, stir and heat on low for 3-4 hrs. Stir occasionally to mix flavors together to full potential!
____________________________________________

I will be making the Polish Cabbage Rolls tomorrow and I am really excited about them! I will definately be back here tomorrow evening to tell you all how the Cabbage Rolls turned out and hopefully they are whole lot better than the meatballs tonight! lol :) If you would like this recipe see the below post or click
Cooking is for the birds!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Cooking is for the birds!

Ok so I suck at cooking I will freely admit it, but I am beginning to want to do something about it! So I have gone out an bought myself a 6quart crock pot and joined a crock pot recipes yahoo message group! I figure what better than learning a bunch of easy recipes that you put together and walk away from for the day to come back to an awesome meal!

I am so excited so far I have made a roast and bbq sandwiches from our leftover brisket, but those are both things I have done before. Starting tomorrow I will begin making things I have never made before soooo wish me luck that both I and the kids will eat it! hehehe

So here are a few of the recipes I am gonna start with this weekend:

Sweet and Sour Meatballs:
1 Jar Heinz Chili Sauce
1/2 cup Maple Syrup
6-10 dashes of Soy sauce
Pinch of pepper
Pinch chili powder
and of course the pre-made meatballs cause I am all about convenience! lol

Add all the ingredients to the crock pot, stir and heat on low for 3-4 hrs. Stir occasionally to mix flavors together to full potential!

I also have this meatball recipe not sure which one I will use tomorrow I would LOVE advice and suggestions!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs:
14oz Ketchup
1 Jar Grape Jelly
12oz Jar Heinz Chili Sauce
and of course the pre-made meatballs cause I am all about convenience! lol

Add all the ingredients to the crock pot, stir and heat on low for 3-4 hrs. Stir occasionally to mix flavors together to full potential!

Polish Cabbage Rolls:
1 Green cabbage
1 lb. Ground beef, browned
1/4 c. Uncooked rice
1 Egg
1 Onion, minced
1 Carrot, minced
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/4 c. Cider vinegar
1/2 c. Brown sugar
8 oz. Canned Tomato Sauce

Mix ground beef, rice, egg, onion, carrot, salt and pepper. Mix together vinegar, brown sugar, and tomato sauce. Drop cabbage in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove 10 large leaves. Chop remaining cabbage. Place in bottom of crock pot. Place 2 to 4tablespoons of meat mixture in center of each leaf. Roll up and use toothpick to hold. Place stem side down in crock pot. Pour on tomato mixture. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Serves 6 to 8.

So wish me luck! :)

My little baby

Well things have been nuts around here as usual! lol Spunkmeister has been sick and is currently asleep on the couch after a long hard day. Poor thing I feel so bad for her she has the worst cough it just rocks through her whole body and you can see it hurts. This afternoon I took her grocery shopping with me since she has been at home sick and it was really a sweet experience. I initially thought ok let's just go get this done hopefully she will not be so cranky that it turns out horribly which sad to say does happen sometimes. This afternoon though she was so sweet she wanted me to walk close to the basket so that she could wrap her arms around me and lay her head on my chest as we shopped. It took me back to when she was little and we used to grocery shop with her in the sling and Princess in the shopping cart. The times she would cuddle close to me as I held her while we did our grocery shopping.

It made me happy and sad to think about how much she has grown this year and throughout her little life. Her body so warm next to mine as she held me close and asked me all her little questions about everything! :) She is such a sponge and full of life she wants to know everything. Today she was still full of life, but so much more reserved than her normal self which lets me know she really does feel badly. I love my children so much and it is at times like this afternoon I realize how quickly they are growing up and how I need to enjoy every single moment!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Wrapped emotions!


The prompt:
"We are going to get more comfortable with ourselves. We are going to get to know our own face, appreciate it, recognize it and love it. Hold your camera at arm's length and shoot a photo of your face. Oh hush up, yes, get that close. Just face it, this is what everyone is looking at so breath deeply and take it.Upload the photo to your computer and with whatever photo editing software you are using de-saturate it, convert it to black and white. Lighten the image if necessary, make sure the image isn't too dark. Now take your pencil and trace over it...over and over and over. Every feature, every curve and line...trace over it. This is you."

My project:
At first I was really not thrilled with this week's prompt. I took about 5 photos before I got one that did not make me say "You do not look happy" in my mother's voice in my head LOL!

So this is the one I decided I would deal with:
You know after I desaturated and made the photo black and white I became happier with it. Then I realized I was really unhappy with how red my face has gotten over the years.

Here is the after:

It's kind of funny I really thought that this would end up with me feeling worse about myself, but that is not at all what I feel! Once I was done I was more focused on the fact that a lot of my lines were laugh lines and you know that makes me happy! :) I do have a lot of worry lines in between my eyebrows, but you know I can deal with that. lol

What I love about my face:
My eyes are one thing that I love about my face. You can really tell what I am thinking by my eyes well most of the time! ;)

I also love my dimples yes they have turned into huge craters on my face, but I love them anyway. I was all stressed about a year ago cause I had wrinkles around my dimples, my first wrinkles! I was not a happy camper then I realized they were me and they were from smiling soooo it had to be ok! lol

What I dislike:
I hate my NOSE ok I really do! It seems that after I was pregnancies my nose decided that it was not going back to normal size it was going to stay enormous!!! I also do not like my itty bitty lips they are like almost not even there! Despite all this I have to say I am really happy Melody put this out here this week! I needed this, it was an interesting experience to look over my face and trace over and over all the lines. It made me realize it is not so bad the aging process that as long as I am happy with myself it will all be ok! :)

For more Wrapped emotions please click!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

WW - I love the fall! :)




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Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Why, how and the mechanics of...........

So I am starting off running! lol I signed up for PayPerPost because I saw that there was a way to make money off of something I already did and enjoyed doing! I found out about it through a friend of mine who has done rather well with the company and that was enough for me too want to try it out! It's rather funny I started out in this endeavor thinking I would simply add the html to my livejournal or myspace blog, that is not quite how it has worked. lol

I soon realized that it would be a better idea to get my own hosted blog and that would lead to many many more opportunities! So I got my own blog obviously and went to working out all the kinks. I took my posts off my LJ and copied them here and went to posting! It's been several months now and I have learned SOOOOOOOOOO much while setting up this blog it is almost unreal!! I am very thankful that I was presented with this opportunity it has already taught me a lot! I do hope to finally make some blogging friends soon. I have joined a few communities and hopefully the longer I hang around the more friends I will make! :)

payperpost



The letter "L"

Today's Alphabet Soup is brought to you by the Letter L.

Here are some things that begin with the letter "L" that bring me happiness, joy or that bring some much needed humor to my life!

Love: I think will be my first one because I really am showered in love everyday! I am very grateful for everyone in my life; my kiddos, family and friends. I truly am blessed with lots of love from the people in my life!

Lips: This can stand for my kiddos and the wonderful sweet kisses I get from them. Or it can stand for the lips of a long lost lover whom I miss terribly and cannot seem to make it all ok again.

Leaves: Right now this one enters my mind cause it is actually cold today here in Texas. As I walked across the street from my mother's earlier I noticed the leaves on the trees are finally starting to change color. On the trees in my front yard are leaves of red and yellow, they are so beautiful and it reminds me how much I LOVE the fall! :)

Lip balm: This time of the year I cannot live without my lip balm! lol I became addicted to Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm when I worked for my Aunt in Ruidoso, NM at her bath/beauty store. This stuff is awesome if you have never tried it check it out!

Listening: Gosh this is a big part of my life right now and in different ways! lol I am mom so of course I am hear to listen to anything and everything, be that much needed ear! Although I wish the kids would listen to me at least a little bit as much as I listen to them! lol

Laughter: Of course how could I forget this one! Laughter makes life so much more fun and I really need to slow down and laugh more often!


ETA: I left myself out! hahahaha My name is Leanne so that counts huh?!

Tackle it Tuesday my mess runs over!

Here is my tackle for this Tuesday! Since I have been sick my house has gotten completely out of control which I guess is too be expected and our washer died last week so I am WAY behind on laundry! Soooo I am using this tackle to clean up around the house + take down Halloween decor and get some laundry done!

So here is a picture of the 10 or so loads of laundry and one of the living room that I am going to tackle today:



YAY I am done!!

with the living room and bathroom at least. lol I have also put a dent in the laundry! :) So here are the AFTER shots of the living room!



Find out more about Tackle It Tuesday here.