Friday, January 30, 2009

Favorite Things Friday - Some Like It Hot!

Yes, I love Tabasco. You will always find this in my fridge:

And I like to cook with this:

I like to visit this site, and eventually I'll make it to Avery Island, Louisiana where the magic happens.

This is the spoon rest my husband brought me after his last trip to Louisiana:

Other than this prized possession, I am not fanatical to the point that my house or kitchen is littered with Tabasco paraphernalia. But, you will find these pictures in my own little corner of the world (the laundry room):



This gallon jug is on my wish list.....

Along with this 125th Anniversary Edition....

And last, but not least, this.....

Have a spicy day!

Thursday, January 29, 2009

More Christmas Thank You Cards!







This gingerbread man card ended up getting messy from the sticky fingers of a certain four year old........
And teeth marks from a certain three year old determined to find out if he tasted like a real gingerbread man.......
Needless to say, this card will go to said three and four year olds when their Mommy wants to thank them for something.....like not eating cards again!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Happy Birthday Honey!

Yesterday was my wonderful husband’s birthday. I don’t say “wonderful” just because it’s his birthday week and therefore time for the annual singing of praises. I really do have a great husband. He is attentive, kind, funny, sensitive, loving, generous, romantic and handsome. There are many occasions when he does laundry, cleans the house, makes dinner, cleans out my car, etc. He is a fabulous Daddy and makes it a point to spend quality time with all three of our girls. I really couldn’t ask for more. I know that I am truly blessed and God has given me the perfect man – perfect for me in every way!I wish I had taken more 'birthday pictures'. Sometimes I am very on top of documenting EVERYTHING, but often I kick myself for missing important photo opportunities. Last night my father in law took us out for sushi for my husband's birthday dinner. We had a great time with him, his fiance and my husband's sister. But did I get a picture? No, my camera sat in the car the entire time! Although, I did get a picture with the girls' homemade birthday cards...

I haven't posted for a few days - I have been very busy staying on top of the things I am trying to stay committed to my resolutions, some more successful than others. I am getting a lot done - and I do have much to say - so I will be back...... Happy Tuesday!

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Friday, January 16, 2009

Favorite Things Friday

Finally figuring out a way to do something crafty without feeling like I am neglecting my children!

I have been so wanting to do something creative, but lack time, organization, patience....oh, I lack so many things!
As we creep into late January, I am fast running out of time to send those thank you cards from Christmas that I so often procrastinate and then run out of time to send and then kick myself later....
So, today, I got out the stuff, told the kids it was arts & crafts time and we got to work. After a huge mess, a lot of fun and a little fighting and complaining.........I got ONE card done.
Maybe everyone will settle for a thank you email?

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Hotel for Dogs!

Tonight we had the opportunity to take the kids to the screening of "Hotel for Dogs". It was great! Totally the kind of movie I would have loved as a kid. Our girls are little (3, 4 and 6) and they LOVED it - I think they would have liked it even more if they were a little older.

I didn't see or hear any questionable content. Oh, wait, I did hear the "i" word (idiot) lol! But don't take my word for it.....check out the review on Plugged In to make sure it is appropriate for your little ones (I think they will have the review for this movie on there tomorrow night, 1/15).

I give this family movie a 'thumbs up'!

I know, they looked THRILLED...I should have taken the picture before the movie - by the time we were out it was 9pm (2 hours past bedtime) - noted for next time!

Here's the trailer.....

(Be sure the volume is up and to pause the music player on the right)

Monday, January 12, 2009

Not Me! Monday

One small part of why I began this blog was to join a community of people so that I would have additional motivation and inspiration for my scrapbooking and stamping. Through my SBS group (#23) I have met many new friends that I have grown to treasure - through them I have found much motivation, inspiration and fabulous ideas (check out their VERY creative blogs on my sidebar)…..
Now I just need to join a group that will show me how to add more hours to my day so that I can once again do something with all of the motivation, inspiration and ideas! With that said, here is this week’s episode of “Not Me! Monday”….This weekend, I did not for the umpteenth time say I was going to clean out my scrap room (that my husband so lovingly made for me where at the moment it is impossible to even walk through all the clutter) but didn’t because I wouldn’t try to put off my sanity-savers hobbies until my other “duties” are caught up. (at this rate, I will complete my kids’ baby books while I am sitting in a nursing home at a ripe old age)

I did not already break one of my top New Year’s Resolutions: No More Laundry Couch. I did not on the early date of January 10th use the couch as a long-term laundry holding area. I especially would not do this when I have a perfectly good laundry room intended for folding, sorting and holding of clothes until they are lovingly put away.


I do not find myself using the laundry holding area couch because my laundry room counter more often than not looks like this:


I do not have to go and clear off the couch and organize the laundry room as soon as I'm done with this because if I have time to blog about the mess, I have time to clean up the mess.

I did not against my better judgment get out of bed at 2am and take Nyquil because I knew my cough was keeping my husband awake. I did not regret that decision with all that was in me when our kids woke up at the crack of dawn.

I was not still in my pajamas and robe when my husband stopped by the house at 10am this morning to pick something up. (in my own defense, I had already done a load of laundry-see above-feed the kids breakfast and put dinner in the crockpot – all in my pajamas, but hey)

And finally, when making my to do list for the week, I would never write down all the things I did the day before just so I could cross them off my list and feel more productive. I wouldn’t do that because that would be just plain silly.

Hop on over to MckMama’s blog for more “Not Me!” madness…..

Have a wonderful week!

Marie Antoinette Award! (except this pic is Madame de Pompadour!)

My sweet friend Teresa from the far reaches of Spain has honored me with this award!


Thank you Teresa!

I am now supposed to:
1. Link to the person who gave me the award (that is Teresa)
2. Nominate 7 more persons
3. Link the nominees and let them know about this award
4. Post the award on my own blog

I'll be back to do my nominations - but for now....

I don't remember much about Marie Antoinette from school (and I fell asleep in the movie), all I could remember was that she was at one time the Queen of France and was beheaded in her late 30's for the crime of treason. Knowing that was most likely NOT the message behind this award-lol-(well, I assumed that); I decided to look her up (I often do weird things like that). Pretty interesting stuff - if you like history, this is a good read on Marie Antoinette .

Thanks again Teresa for the honor - and another opportunity to learn! :)

Note: I have edited the title of this post because someone pointed out that this portrait is actually not of Marie Antoinette! It is a painting of Madame de Pompadour who was born, Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson. You can read more about her here....

Friday, January 9, 2009

Favorite Things Friday - NEIL DIAMOND

I would have written about this sooner, but I seemed to have lost an entire week being sick...

Although I have always loved his voice, I have never really considered myself a Neil Diamond "fan" (as my husband is). We got tickets to the concert last Friday night and went out for a "date night." I was amazed. The show started 30 minutes late, I was just beginning to get sick, and I was wondering if I would be able to make it through the evening. I sat, calculating in my mind - if Neil Diamond has recorded upwards of 200 songs - most of which were hits - if he just performed the hits - we could be there all weekend...
Once the lights went down and the show began; I was mesmerized. The lights, the stage, the band.....the music. If I tried to find one word describe him, it would be....smooth. Two hours later the entire arena was still wanting to hear more.
I went from thinking too many of his songs sound alike to deciding that if Neil Diamond opened the newspaper and sang it, I'd still want to listen.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Momsense!

Still a little under the weather, but nothing a good laugh won't help!
I had seen this song by Anita Renfroe many times when it first started circulating and every time I see it, I still find it hilarious. You have to check out this rendition performed by someone else with the live orchestra, light show and WORDS displayed to make it funnier for those of us who need a little help!:

Be sure your volume is up and you hit pause on the music player off to the right!


Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Do you know how to do this?

So, I tried to change the picture on my blog header....isn't she cute?!?
The only reason I had kept the one pic up there so long is because I had such a hard time with it to begin with! (really, I am computer literate!)
Anyways, I am thinking that I may have to use a landscape layout photo.
Does anyone know how to use a portrait layout photo and not have it do what this one is doing?
help!

Update: I think I fixed it - it was all off center before - but if you know an easy way to use a vertical photo for a blog header, please feel free to share!

Monday, January 5, 2009

"Not Me! Monday"

I missed “Favorite Things Friday” this past week, so I thought I’d mix it up a bit.
I am a frequent stalker on “Not Me! Monday” over at MckMama’s blog. Reading through the posts not only adds humor to the dreariest of Mondays, but reminds me that I am not alone in this crazy life we call motherhood. We’re all human, we all do silly things, so why not let others know that they too are not alone?


So here is my first venture into brutal honesty…not!:

Today I did not sit in the drive through at McDonalds, all the while criticizing (in my mind) the girl walking down the street in shorts and the man pumping gas in a t-shirt because they were dressed inappropriately for 34 degree weather…..while I ordered an icy cold milkshake. I did not consequently have to turn up the heater and turn on the seat warmer.

I did not order a milkshake I didn’t even want knowing that apart from the fat grams and calories, it would be the worst thing to drink with my cold & congestion. I did not rationalize it by saying it was worth making my cold worse because it felt SO good on my raw, sore throat.….it was that or a Slurpee. 7-Eleven doesn’t have a drive-thru. McDonalds won.

Sick as a dog, I did not try to get away with feeding my kids animal crackers for breakfast. I did not try to cover my intentions when my husband walked into the kitchen. I did not try to pretend they were just an ‘appetizer’ before the ‘real breakfast’ of eggs and fruit. What kind of Mom gives her babies animal crackers for breakfast? Certainly not me!

I did not finally decide to go to the doctor, get all three kids bundled up, into their car seats, out of their car seats, threaten warn encourage them to behave, drag them into the clinic only to be told a doctor would not see me with my children tagging along. I did not almost cry in the middle of the waiting room. I did not go home and search through the medicine cabinet to see if I could treat myself with a concoction of leftover antibiotics.

I did not go back to the clinic tonight (sans children) and spend 3 hours there. I did not steal take borrow the clinic’s issue of Redbook thinking it served them right for not seeing me and then making me wait that long. I did not take the magazine back in because I felt bad for thinking that and doing that.

I most certainly did not search through “Not Me! Monday” posts to see how many other Moms put their kids to bed without brushing their teeth just so I could feel better about forgetting neglecting to brush my kids’ teeth more often than I’d like to admit.

What did you not do this week?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Year's Eve in Las Vegas

It's not as glamorous as it sounds.
And we love it.
We had our glamour years 'pre-kids' when my husband worked for a decade in the gaming business. We are now content with never setting foot near a casino on New Year's Eve again!
Last night we allowed the kids to stay up late (Read: 9pm at our house), we ate take out, I fell asleep while watching a movie and woke up at 11:30, just in time to ring in the New Year properly. Night owl that I am, unless some sort of project is keeping me up, I'm sound asleep...I would have been perfectly content sleeping through to 2009, but being married to a commemorator, there are certain sacrifices that are worth making...
We have a great view of the Strip from our deck, which in years past was great for both 4th of July and New Year's Eve fireworks. But, after the Monte Carlo fire this year, hotels chose not to shoot the fireworks from the rooftops. So after 2 minutes of a somewhat obstructed view, we moved back inside and watched the remaining 6 minutes of fireworks on television. Much better. We were warm by the fire, could hear the music the show was choreographed to, and had a great view of all the excitement.....excitement we were more than glad to be missing, while our children slept peacefully down the hall. This is the life. To top it off, we woke up this morning without feeling as though we had been run over by a truck which I'm sure is not the case for many that were celebrating on the Strip last night!
This past year has held oh, so many ups and downs (what year doesn't?) and we are thankful for another one to serve the Lord and enjoy His blessings. I am a strong believer that we should not wait until New Year's Day to make resolutions, take stock of our lives, look at where we have come from and evaluate where we are headed. (I make resolutions regularly) But, I also believe we should not miss an opportunity (such as a new year) to turn over a new leaf, start some new habits, ditch some bad ones and who knows, since the rest of the world is doing it too, you may find some support!

One of my favorite promises in the Bible is this:
"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness." (Lamentations 3)
God's mercies are new EVERY morning, this first day of 2009 and through the rest of the year!


Looking for a New Year's Resolution with daily and eternal value? Check out Hilary's December Challenge and make it your 2009 goal!