27 Onesies and Frozen Meals

One of our old neighbors/daughters' best friend/our own faux daughter is having a baby shower this afternoon that I will be attending. Julie is already the mother to Hayden and she and her hubby, Shane, will soon be parents to children #2, #3, and #4! Yep, Julie is expecting triplets and they are all boys! Hence the baby shower.

I was fortunate enough to come to come across a great sale on carters.com and was able to pick up 27 preemie onesies for the boys for just over $50 including shipping! I'm really not a huge bargain hunter but I am thrilled with this purchase - SCORE!!

Additionally, one of the items on my summer to do list was to make some dinners for Julie, Shane, and Hayden and the shower seemed the perfect time to do this. Since I've been sucked into the Pinterest vortex all summer, I have come across a ton of make ahead and freeze dinner recipe/websites. I spent some time further poking around and even though I originally choose 6 recipes, finally settled on the following recipes to prepare -

1. Creamy Chicken Casserole (Once a Month Mom)
2. Aunt Sissy's Poppy Seed Chicken (Once a Month Mom)
3. Raspberry Glazed Pork Chops (Once a Month Mom)
4. Stephanie's Goulash/Beef Stew (The Test Kitchen of Melissa Fallis)

Needless to say the project kind of grew from this point.  I figured that since I was making meals for Julie, I should also make meals for Leslie, my oldest who is also due in October. And since I was making meals for Leslie, I should also make meals for Kate, my youngest. Then I thought, since I am already making 12 meals, why not make 4 more for Mark and myself! And that's what I ended up doing.

I ordered/bought/pick-up all of my ingredients on Thursday and Friday. With Leslie's help, made the Creamy Chicken Casserole and Stephanie's Goulash on Friday. Finished up the last two recipes on Saturday. Everything is now frozen and ready to go to the shower this afternoon. I am definitely proud of my accomplishment.

 Will I do this again? In a heartbeat!

Right Now

Right now . . . I am still resting up my butt after a 140+ mile ride to visit the wind turbine farm up around Paulding. Perfect day for a ride with temperatures in the 70's and sunny skies.

Right now . . .  I am thrilled summer vacation is here and I can rejuvenate from my worst ever year of teaching.  Really working on having a much better mind set next year and being far more prepared than I have in the past.

Right now . . . Leslie is looking more pregnant, Katie is playing 'nurse' to Jamie after his motorcycle accident on Friday, and Mark continues to totally enjoy retirement.

Right now  . . . I am mentally planning my upcoming weekend scrap weekend at the Gotta Scrap Inn in Manchester, MI. OMG, I haven't scrapped for myself in over a year and I don't know where to even start to plan!

Right now . . . Aiden is 5 years old, into everthing Spiderman and super heroes, and preparing to become a big brother.

Right now . . . I am loving the Microsoft 2007 PowerPoint class I am taking on-line! Who knew you could do all those neat things with PowerPoint? My students aren't going to believe what amazing PowerPoints I am going to create next year!

Right now . . . ScrapScription stuff seems to continue to overtake my life. I had hoped I could get it together once school let out but that is not the case. I did however design our first ever ScrapKids album over the weekend and I couldn't be happier with the final result.

Right now . . . our condo looks like a bomb went off! How can two grown adults make such a mess? Crystal gets here at noon to clean, so there is a lot of picking up that needs to be done!

Right now . . . all seems right with the world and I am definitely working on getting myself in a better place mentally when it comes to school. Seems like when that is working well, everything else just falls into place. Have a great day everyone!!

Six on Sunday - September 11

Well here we go it is a Monday again . . . Better a day late than never!

• Celebrated Leslie's and Chris's birthday down in Anna Sunday afternoon.  Fun time.  Love how all of the guys actually played Catch Phrase.  The females were once again triumphant, which was a good thing after our unexplained demise this summer while on vacation.
• Met Lori in Indian Lake for a ScrapScription breakfast Sunday morning.  Went over ScrapSchool plans and our upcoming kit releases.  Feeling very overwhelmed with ScrapScription and school work right now.
• Bought two, yep two, Pandora bracelets this past week!  It was their annual sale so if you bought so many beads the bracelets were 'free'.  Doing one that is personal with beads to represent my life and doing one that a ScrapScription one.  It is going to be fun adding more beads and charms.
• Seem to be working way too hard for school this year but fortunately the days are flying by.
• Decided to make a trip up the coast to San Luis Opispo when we are out in California this Christmas.  Going to stay at the Apple Farm - - - Should be a good time.
• Nails and toes were done on Wednesday.  Switched over to my fall shade . . .

Six on Sunday - September 4

Note:  Actually posting this on Monday because today kind of feels like a Sunday since it is Labor Day weekend

Thought I would try something new - Six on Sunday will be a random collection of thoughts from the past week.  So let's give it a whirl!

• New school year in full force.  Kids started Tuesday after two teacher work days.  Love the way that Sheri has switched things around!  I am now teaching just high school students and we have the high school and middle school separated into two separate buildings.  Really like who I am teaming with, Lana and Elisha, and we have quite a bit of leeway when it comes to making the high school program our own.
• Went to Aiden's soccer game on Thursday night.  Forgot how disinterested the little kids are when it comes to playing the game.  While in goal, Aiden spent more time shooting webs than watching the game.  Mark took this great picture of Aiden and his best friend Joey - note Joey's concentration and his tongue hanging out.  I think this was one of the few times that Aiden was actually running during the game.

• Bought tickets to fly out to Orange County and visit my sister for Christmas.  We had pretty much written off making the trip this year because the fares were as high as $650 a ticket - OUCH!  Got my Kayak fare update on Saturday morning and ticket prices had dropped to $401!!  Needless to say we scooped two tickets right up.  We will fly out December 23 and come home on January 2.  Planning on attending the Rose Bowl Parade - another check mark on my bucket list!
• Working with a new computer program at work called Moodle.  It basically allows you to put all of your content for a class on line.  Putting way too much time into setting things up but it is fun nonetheless.
• Behind on ScrapScription business - Teaching stuff is taking up most of my time.  We actually released our September 1st kit on time!  I spent the better part of the weekend 'puking' and getting orders out.  The paperwork never seems to slow down but at least that means we are doing business.

• I totally love the program "The Closer" which is on TNT Monday nights at 9PM.  Mark and I have been making a 'date' to watch it together each Monday.

So I Haven't Posted in Awhile . . .

Can't believe that it has been over a year since I last posted.  Totally blown away by this fact.

Since we last spoke . . . .

• Mark retired 
• Mark and I visited Alaska
• Lori and I attended CHA-Chicago 2010
• Mark and I drove around the Lake Michigan shoreline
• my mother had a stroke
• Cathe came for a visit
• another school year started
• my mother moved into a skilled nursing center
• Dick and I packed up her apartment
• ScrapSchool 2010 was held in Columbus, OH
• the holidays came and went
• Mark and I flew to Panama City to visit Fred and Lynne
• ScrapScription had a record breaking sales year
• attend CHA-LA 2011 with Lori, Mark, and Gregg
• I became eligible for Social Security
• my mother had a second stroke
• missed 2 weeks of work when I was sicker than a dog the end of March/first of April
• Mark and I spent spring break in Las Vegas
• Lori and I took ScrapScription on the road to Mega Meet in Novi for the last time
• finally finished out the school year
• ScrapScription had it biggest sales month ever in June 2011
• Mark and I spent a week in Glen Arbor, MI with the girls and their families

Coming up in the very near future I hope to . . . .

• attend CHA-Chicago with Lori July 19 - 21
• move my classroom for the third time in three years
• visit my aunt and uncle in Georgetown, TX
• attend MIS for the NASCAR race on our 40th anniversary
• scrapbook more since I have completed less than 5 pages in the past year
• make ScrapScription the best mini-album website online
• put on ScrapSchool 2011

So there you have the past and the future.  Let's see if I can keep this blog up a tad better in the coming weeks . . . .

It's 3:52 AM and I Can't Sleep . . .

It's been awhile since I had one of these nights.  I think I have heard the clock chime each hour on the hour tonight . . . UGH!!  So much to do in the next week before we leave for Fairbanks and my mind is racing 100 mph . . .

Think I'll get a good cold glass of milk and try to rest my weary head again . . .

Hope everyone is having a great sleep!

Memorial Day 2010

Whenever I think of Memorial Day and honoring those who have served our country, I can't help but think about both my own father and my father-in-law.  Both men served during World War II in the European theatre;  my dad, Bob, was an anti-aircraft artillery soldier and my father-in-law, Reg, was an Air Force pilot.  Even though neither one of them talked a whole lot about the war, as I have grown older and learned more about those times, I am truly amazed at what those very young men did to preserve our freedom.  Thinking of you both today . . . Thank you for allowing me to live the life that I now live.

The final countdown has now begun in the Carpenter household for our trip to Alaska!  We are down to 11 days until we leave for Fairbanks.  We are starting out our trip by spending 2 days in Fairbanks before we meet up with our tour group.  Still having a hard time deciding exactly how to pack.  Hate taking tons of clothes, like I always seem to do . . . gotta leave room to bring home some goodies, so what is a girl supposed to do?

Tomorrow is my official final day of the school year.  It has been a very long and frustrating year.   Don't know how many more years I can take like this one.  To get the most out of my retirement, I need to work at least 4 more years.  Hope I can make it . . .

Still don't have any idea what I will be teaching next year . . . too many loose ends that need to be tied up in our program.  I really do not like the uncertainty, so hopefully by the time I get back from Alaska I will have a better idea.  All I can say to the powers that be, "Just give me all the math and let it be done.  I'll make it work!"

Hey everyone, have a great Memorial Day!

6:27 AM and a Random Thought . . .

I honestly have to say that this is probably one of my favorite times of the day.  I am definitely a morning person . . . .  I could just sit for hours 'listening' to the quiet.  After all of the hustle and bustle of a normal day's activities, I find it very relaxing.

A couple of weeks ago I told that to Mark.  He told me that many years ago, he had remarked to my dad that he was surprised that he (my dad) drove around without the radio on in the car.  Dad then told him that he simply enjoyed 'listening' to the quiet.  Kind of freaky how I would say the same thing years later.

Like father, like daughter . . . Miss you Dad . . .

Have a great day everyone!

Long Time, No Write

Can't believe that I go through all the trouble to have this blog redesigned and then I do zip, zero, nada with it!  Typical of me, huh?

Sitting here listening to the Nationwide race and poking around on the computer when I should be doing some ScrapScription work.  Christopher (my SIL) made this fancy dancy Excel worksheet for me to track our ScrapScriber members and it kind of freaks me out using it.  Have this feeling that I am going to majorly screw it up.  So even though I know I should be working with it, I just can't bring myself to 'get er done'.  Maybe as I poke around and procrastinate, I will finish up printing our June 1st release instructions . . . sounds like a plan!

Two weeks from today Mark and I will be in Fairbanks, AK and Mark will be officially retired.  Definitely entering into a new era of our lives . . . Kind of freaky.  No not, kind of freaky, big time FREAKY!  Really, really looking forward to Alaska.  Ran into a friend this morning at breakfast and she is heading there next Saturday.  Also have a couple in the condo complex that left this morning for two weeks and my sister and brother-in-law left for Anchorage this morning too.  In fact we will be seeing Lynne and Fred when we finally get to Fairbanks.  As I type, it is 68 degrees in Fairbanks right now.   Still working on what type of wardrobe to pack . . .

Think I will go read for awhile.  Loving my new Kindle!  Even bought a light for it last week.  Have a great day everyone!

Weekend Wrap-up . . .

We ended up getting a good 8+ inches of snow.  Once it finally started snowing at a good clip around 6 PM it really kept on going until early morning on Saturday.  The blowing was amazing . . . parts of our lawn were not snow covered at all and other parts had 3 foot drifts.  Took them until after 4 PM to plow us out.  Finally got out and about yesterday.  We are currently under a 2 hour delay . . . a lot of the roads are still snow covered and slick.  Looks like another storm is heading our way.  Supposed to hit late tonight and all day tomorrow.

Looking out of our garage before they came around to plow.  The drifting was amazing!

Looking across our driveway once the plow came by.

Since my crop down in Columbus was postponed I actually did some scrapping at home this weekend.  Did this layout for my Hawaii album.  Slowly but surely I am working on layouts for this book.  The photo was taken at a Japanese garden park we found in downtown Hilo while we were driving around.  Very pretty and serene place.

This layout is a picture I took while at CHA just a couple of weeks ago in Anaheim.  My sister, Cathe, spent two days with Lori and me at the show.  The first day she pretty much just followed us around but on the second day she spent a good part of the day doing make and takes.  She is sitting here making a necklace using Tim Holtz Ideology products at the Tim Holtz booth.

Watched Daytona qualifying on Saturday . . . great job Mark Martin . . . , fell asleep during the Shootout Saturday night, and watched the Super Bowl last night.  Didn't do much else all weekend.  Kind of nice to just stay hunkered down here at home both days.  Made a big batch of vegetable soup that we ate throughout the weekend.

Well I had best get my butt in gear and start getting ready for school.  Need to leave a tad earlier than usual so I can stop at the bank on my way in.  Have a great day everyone!

To Snow or Not to Snow . . . That is the Question . . .

They say it is going to snow here today but so far no snow. Even without it snowing, the weather is playing havoc with my weekend plans.

Lori and I were supposed to go to a crop at Scrapbook Art in Columbus this weekend. We had scheduled massages and everything at Charles Penzone for this evening. Yesterday, when it looked as if the weather was not going to be real favorable for me to get there in time for the appointments, we decided to cancel the massages. Okay, no problem, we'll just do it another time.

Spent the better part of last night getting all of my stuff together for the crop. Since I haven't been scrapping much lately on a regular basis, it took some doing to put together my page kits. Got up this morning at 4:30 AM and finished getting all of my stuff organized and my clothes packed. Loaded the car all up before school and headed into work. Around mid-morning, I got a text from Lori saying that the crop had been postponed until March 5. UGH! I looked outside and wondered why . . . no snow here, but I guess it is really coming down in Columbus now.

Then to top it all off, I spent 40 minutes on the phone with Hilton Hotels canceling my prepaid reservation for tonight’s, now we don’t need the room, reservation. Not a happy camper when I finally got off of the phone with Hilton but then did cancel the reservation.

So now I've already called Mark and warned him that I will be home this weekend after all. Told him to get the dancing girls out of the condo before I get home tonight. Big up side to this whole cancellation thing . . . I'll be able to watch Daytona qualifying and the Shootout tomorrow. NASCAR season has begun again!  Still have to figure out who I am going to cheer for now that Mikey is retired . . . thinking it might be Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman.

Have a great weekend everyone. Still no snow here yet . . . Hope you all won't have to shovel much.

Tale of the Scale Week 2

Real quick post tonight because I said I would get this down today. Here are my 2 week final totals . . .

Weight lost: 7.5 pounds
Exercise: Walked at least 20 minutes or more 6 times in the last 10 days

Very happy with the weight loss . . . Now if I can just keep it up.

One really bad day food and Pepsi wise . . . Had way too much soda on our trip/flight home from California.  Add to that the close to a pound of gummy bears I bought at the airport in Orange County and consumed throughout the day. At $14/pound I made sure I ate every last one of them!

Reading a funny book called "The Slow Fat Triathlete" that my sister told me about. Don't think I will ever take part in a triathlon but I really like the outlook that the author has. Good read. Thinking of signing up for a 5K sometime this late spring/summer. Gotta set some goals you know . . .

Heading off to bed. Hope everyone had a great day!

California Dreamin'

Hard to believe that just a short week ago I was sitting at the DoubleTree in Anaheim awaiting the start of CHA.  All I can say right now is at least the sun is shining today here in Ohio but other than that the contrast is mind boggling . . . Can we say 5 degrees at the moment!?

Anyway, how about a little wrap-up on Winter 2010 CHA?  One of the biggest changes that I noticed this year is that both Lori and I were far better organized when it came to picking out products for upcoming kits.  Since at this show, we not only decide on what we are going to use for our monthly kits through August, but we also plan on what we are going to use for our kits at Mega Meet in May.  All I can say is WOW!!  I totally love all that we picked out. 

Over the last year I have learned that the product/ideas must 'speak' to Lori and fit into what she likes to work with.  In other words, getting her to use bright primary colors is not going to happen too often.  So you can imagine my joy when we happened upon this new line from Doodlebug that was perfect for this August's ScrapScriber travel album and Lori loved it too!  Can't wait to see what she does with this . . .

Another line that I am completely blown away with is Pink Paislee's Queen Bee collection.  Pink Paislee has come up with the coolest twill strips that have so many possibilities.  Check out these flowers that were made using the strips . . .

Enough about CHA . . . the trip was whirlwind but a lot of fun nonetheless.  Mark and Gregg put over 500 miles on the rental car, we ate well (California Pizza Kitchen, Buca Di Beppo . . .  fabulous hot spinach salad that will not disappoint . . . , and Outback Steakhouse), visited with my nephew Trey at dinner Saturday night, our flights were seamless, and I had a great time spending 2 days with my sister Cathe at the show.

Well I gotta run folks!  Lots to do today and this sure isn't the way to get it done.  Be on the lookout for my "Tale of the Scale" update tomorrow . . . hopefully I'll be brave enough to report the results.  Have a great day!

4:00 AM (PST) = 7:00 AM (EST)

Trying to stay on Ohio time while here in California, so I was up bright and 'dark' this morning at quarter to four in the morning Pacific Standard Time.  I actually did a little bit of digital scrapbooking this morning and completed my entry for Janaury 24  for my Gratitude Project 2010 journal.  Thought of this reason I am thankful the other day while on my way to California and actually snapped my photo with my iPhone.  How cool is that?!

Need to go finish packing since we are heading back to Ohio this morning.  CHA was amazing but more on that later this week.  Have a great day everyone!

The Tale of the Scale . . . Week 1

One of the blogs that I read daily, written by scrapbooking guru Cathy Zielske, discussed today taking ownership of her weight/weight loss situation. I really liked what she had to say and really liked the title for her blog entry, so I thought I would use it myself to document my own weight loss journey.

Don't I wish this is what I weighed!

For more years than I can count, my weight has been a huge issue for me. So now here in 2010, it is finally time for me to take ownership of this problem. It is kind of like the elephant in the room type of problem for me. No one ever really talks about it, but it is always there. Food is definitely my addiction. Not in the sense that I eat a whole bag of chips or a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting, but I definitely don’t eat healthy. And when it comes to exercise . . . hey, what’s that?

In order to get this issue under control, here today, on January 18, 2010, I am making it known to whoever gives a darn, that things are going to change. Not that I am going to announce to all who might read this exactly what I weigh today, but let’s say it isn’t a good number. I have weighed more, and even last year I weighed less, and there is certainly a lot to lose.

So let’s get this party rolling! Actually I got it rolling last week when Mark and I started the NutriSystem program. That lasted exactly one day. The food tasted like I was eating acorns and pine needles. We sent all of the food back. For the remainder of the week, I really watched what I ate. I added a lot more fruit and vegetables to my daily intake and cut my intake of Pepsi down to one can a day. I am trying to drink a lot more water. It isn’t that I find drinking water disgusting or anything, I just don’t drink it enough.

As for the exercise part of this equation, I am slowly working on that too. In fact, I ordered these this morning. Leslie and I are discussing the idea about joining the Y down in Wapak and meeting up after school to work out together. More on that later.

Right now, I am not setting any specific goals and plan on tackling one week at a time.  So we will see how it goes.  Anyway, on a lighter note . . . no pun intended . . . I am happy to announce that this past week I lost 4 pounds. Not a Biggest Loser type of first week weight loss but a step in the right direction. Stay tuned for future updates . . .

Have a great day everyone.  It sure is nice having a day off!

Weekly Gratitude Project 2010

Over on the Willow Traders website they have started a yearly challenge called "Weekly Gratitude Project 2010".  The idea is pretty simple . . . make a weekly layout, revolving around a monthly theme, about something you are thankful about.  Since one of the girls over there, Karen, made up a digital template that really seemed to make this challenge quite doable, I thought I would give it a try.

Took a couple of hours to figure out how to make the templates do what I wanted them to do, but I am definitely happy with the final result.  January's theme is work, so here are my first three weekly layouts.

Here's to a year full of gratitude!

Ten on Tuesday . . .Written on Wednesday . . .

This week's Ten on Tuesday is being written on a cold Wednesday morning . . . freezing drizzle expected this morning . . . . fingers crossed for some sort of delay . . . .

This week's question is "10 Things You Are Looking Forward to in 2010" . . .

1. our Alaska trip in June . . . it's a cruise/land tour
2. scrapbooking more
3. new wood floors in the main living area and den
4. new seasons of Top Chef and Dancing with the Stars
5. summer vacation
6. CHA in Anaheim and Chicago
7. watching ScrapScription continue to grow
8. getting better organized
9. spending quality time with family
10. summer vacation . . . sorry but it had to be said again . . .

Still no delays, so I had best get going.  Have a great day everyone!

A Marathon of Sorts . . .

Today is the last day of Winter Break . . . . Back to the grind tomorrow . . . . Not looking forward to it in the least.

Now mind you, I probably should be working on lesson plans for next week today, but since I haven't scrapped at all this vacation I decided to give it a whirl!  Got up this morning, pulled out some Bella Blvd. birthday paper I had on hand, found this very doable layout by Brenda Carpenter on The ScrapRoom website to 'lift' using the exact same papers, printed out my pictures from Mark's 60th birthday party, popped a movie in the DVR, and got scrapping!

First movie I watched was "Failue to Launch" starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey.

Second movie on the agenda was "The Wedding Planner" with Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey.

And then I finished up this so-called movie marathon with "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" starring Kate Hudson . . . and you got it . . .  Matthew McConaughey.

So after my mini-marathon here is my finished page . . .

Felt good to scrap again.  Mark actually asked me what I was doing.  And I even got my Tarragon Scrapper's group challenge #1 done for 2010!  Not to shabby . . . if I do say so myself.  Now if I can just keep it up . . .

Hey everyone . . . Have a great Sunday!

Let the Good Times Roll . . . Welcome to 2010!

First of all I must admit, Mark and I once again slept through ringing in the new year . . . sorry state of affairs isn't it?

I remember thinking as a child, if I was waiting for something to happen, how long it seemed to take for the event to occur. Then why as an adult, does it seem like time just flies by? I cannot believe that we are already entering the second decade of this century and 2009 has already drawn to a close.  Needless to say there have been a number of changes and additions to my life in the past ten years, so I thought it would be fun to take a look at a few of them . . .

1.  I would have to say that the biggest change is that I am now a grandma and I love each moment that Aiden calls me "Mena".

2.  Right along those same lines, I offically became a mother-in-law when Leslie and Christopher were married in 2001 and a "bonus" grandma when Kate and Jamie married in June 2005.

3.  I earned a Masters in special education in August 2004.

4.  Sadly, I am no longer a daughter-in-law with the passing of June in July 2008.

5.  I am now the co-owner of my own on-line scrapbooking business, ScrapScription.

6.  I own an iPod, iPhone, orange Dell laptop, shot only digital photographs, and drive a cranberry PT Cruiser.

7.  I (or should I say, Mark) no longer have to rack leaves or mow a lawn since we moved into our condo in October 2006.

8.  I have actually taught students with behavior disabilities since September 2000 and for the most part have actually grown to enjoy it.

9.  I have now traveled to 49 of the 50 states in the United States.

10.  I how have more scrapbook 'stuff' than I know what to do with.

So there you have it, ten things that have changed for me over the past ten years . . . What would you list include?

And Now for the Rest of the Story . . . .

Many of you have probably seen this scrapbook page before since it is one I actually made a couple of years ago.  Yesterday while I was setting up some new albums on-line, I pulled out my two 8x8 albums that I made chronicling my summer of 2007.  And that's when it hit me . . . I truly enjoy scrapbooking and why aren't I doing more of it? 

Since September I have scrapbooked zip, zero, nada pages.  Throughout the summer I managed to scrapbook a mere 12 pages.  And this is from someone who, a year or so ago, could spend hours scrapping away a weekend.  I found scrapbooking inspiring.  I found it relaxing.  I found it just plan FUN!  I found it filled my creative need.  I love looking back on what I have created and, if I do say so myself, admiring my work.  And above all, I found it rewarding! 

So, you ask, why don't I simply make the time and scrapboook more?  I really don't have an answer to that question.  But I truly do believe that I need to begin to scrapbook more.  I really miss the process and it makes me sad that I am not making the the time to do it more . . . .