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second attempt ...

I had a post all ready to go for Friday's Fast Fact Friday questions on Friday; however, my computer decided to reboot itself before I had the chance to save the post.  Here are the questions and my answers.

1. Do you collect anything?
2. What is your favorite hobby?
3. What is your style of organization?
4. If you didn't have any limitations, what would you be passionate about?
5. What hobby have you thought about trying, but haven't yet?

And my answers:

1. I think the only thing I currently collect is scrapbooking supplies.  I have gotten a LOT better.  I am concentrating on using what I have and am now only purchasing adhesive when needed.  In the past, I did collect shot glasses, Disney plates, dolphins, and baskets.
2. My favorite hobby is definitely scrapbooking followed close behind by photography.
3. If you are talking about my style of organization when it comes to scrapbooking, I like to organize my supplies by color.  It makes things easier for me to find that way.
4. If I didn't have any limitations, I would be passionate about traveling the US.  There are so many beautiful and historical sites to see in our country ... would love to rent a luxury RV and travel the states with my family.
5. I have always wanted to learn how to crochet.  Both of my grandmothers made many beautiful things over the years.  I would love to learn how to make beautiful blankets.

What would some of your answers be?  Would love to hear from you.

And, I thought I'd share a few pictures from our beautiful weekend here in NJ.  I can't believe it has been in the 50's.  So unbelievable for February weather.

We're just waiting for that snow storm to come ... it just has to hit us one of these weeks.

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy the rest of the day!

love story challenge ...

What a perfect week to do a layout about my love story.  That is the This is Me Challenge prompt this week.  Our story began in the late eighties, but didn't really start until the mid-90's.  This is our story. 

(photos from 1995).  Oh for both of us to be that skinny again.

How was your Valentine's Day?  Did you receive any sweet gifts?  I received candy and a card ... more than I expected.  As I stated last week, I celebrate Valentine's Day for the kids.  They LOVED their little goodie bags they received from us yesterday morning.

Nicholas had a little party in school.  He had to make a box for his valentine cards, so he came home from school with his box full of cards and other goodies from his class.

Getting off the topic of Valentine's Day, I wanted to tell you about a workshop (if you want to call it that) that I will be participating in.  Are you a list maker?  If so, you will want to sign up for 30 Days of Lists which kicks off in March.

It basically explains itself ... you get prompts everyday to create a new list about something.  Sound fun to you? Just click on the link above to find out more.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

february take twelve ...

I was so glad that February 12th fell on a weekend this month.  That just makes taking 12 photos for the Take 12 challenge that much more fun.  It is better than the days when I'm in the office all day and don't have very exciting things to take pictures of.

Here is a mosaic of the 12 pictures that I picked out.  I will be using these when I create my layout this month.

By the way ... Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

highlights from the crop ...

On Saturday morning, I woke up to snow falling down.  Nicholas was lucky - they called off CCD, but I was not happy about the weather because I was planning on scrapbooking all day.  The crop started at 8am, but I waited it out until about 10am, and then headed out.  I was a bit nervous because the temperatures were pretty low, and I was afraid of black ice on the roads.  I lucked out ... the roads were clear.  As I got further away from the house, there was no snow in sight at all.  THANK YOU!

I arrived at the crop and met up with my friend Christine, my favorite scrapping friend.  I unpacked all my stuff (I packed WAY too much).  I need to figure out a better system for when I plan to attend crops.  I didn't even look at more than half of the stuff I brought with me.

For breakfast, there were donuts, and pound cakes, and pastries, tea and coffee.  For lunch there were sandwiches, salads, soup, and pizza.  Then around 3:30pm, we had warm apple pie topped with ice-cream.  I thought it was a bit early to eat something like that, but boy was it delicious.

For dinner we had pasta, chicken, and salad.  And for dessert, there were assorted pastries, cheese cake, chocolate covered strawberries, etc.,  Let's just say that I didn't have to eat very much on Sunday because I was still full from all the food from Saturday.

There were raffles, workshops, a massage therapist, scrapbooking vendors, and a palm/tarot card reader.  Lots and lots of fun!

I managed to get a few layouts created ... I focused on Rebecca's album.

 

 

 

There was also one more that I started at the end of the crop, and then finished at home yesterday.  It is another layout from Rebecca's Christening.  I wish I had completed a few more layouts, but part of the time about being out for the day is socializing, so that is exactly what I did.  I had lots of fun ... thank you Christine for spending the day with me.

Yesterday was February 12, so I was taking pictures all day for the Ella Publishing Take Twelve challenge.  Tomorrow, I will share with you the photos I will be using for my layout this month.

Thanks for stopping by - enjoy the rest of the day!

love questions ...

Today's Fast Friday Fact questions are about love.  How appropriate with Valentine's Day right around the corner.

1. Do you like Valentine's Day?
2. What is one Valentine tradition that you have?
3. Who do you want to be your valentine?
4. What was the funniest valentine you ever received?
5. What do you want to get from your valentine this year?

And my answers ...

1. I personally think Valentine's Day is too commercial.  You shouldn't have just one day to show how much you love someone.  I think it is fun for the kids though.
2. My husband and I usually give each other a card, and I usually go a little overboard on all the cute valentine trinkets for the kids.
3. My husband
4. I really can't think of anything funny that I received over the years.  I do remember getting a very funny card from my husband one year (along with a really sweet card).
5. I would love to receive a card, and have dinner made so I don't have to make dinner when I get home from work on Tuesday.

How about you?  Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?  How would you answer these questions?

Enjoy your day!

january instagram ...

Man, I have been slacking this week.  I just have had so much on my plate this week that I haven't had time to blog.  Well, that has to change.

I still don't have a whole lot of time today, but I wanted to do a quick post of my January instagram photos.  I actually went through all the pictures that I took in January, and only found three instagram photos.  I did take lots of iPhone pictures, but changed very few to instagram photos.

These are all of Rebecca ... no, she is not the only one I photograph.

 

 

Oh, and I'm so excited for this weekend.  I will be going to a crop on Saturday and will scrapbooking all day with my dear friend, Christine.  I'm all packed; I just need to type up and print some of my journaling.  When I go to crops, I usually hand write all of my journaling on my layouts, but there are a few layouts that I want to create and I want them to have journaling that is typed up.

You will have to watch out for all the layouts that I'm planning on creating.  I have LOTS of catching up to do.  I've only created layouts for Rebecca's album of her first three months of life, and she is already TWO.

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your evening!

about animals ...

The Fast Fact Friday questions are about animals this week.

1. Do you have/have you ever had any pets?
2. What is your favorite animal?
3. What animal scares you the most?
4. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
5. What is the most exotic animal you have ever seen?

And my answers:

1. We currently do not have any pets.  We can't really afford one right now.  But growing up, we always had a dog.  I also had two cats (outside cats).  My cat Tootsie lived until she was 18.  I would love to get a dog for the kids, but it's just not the right time for us.  Nicholas has had a few Betta fish in the past few years, but we are "petless" right now.
2. My favorite animal would definitely be a dog ... best companion ever.
3. Mice scare me the most ...
4. I would be a dog and would want to live in a house with lots of loving children or be a guide dog for the blind.
5. Hmm, exotic ... maybe an Iguana in Bermuda.  What about swimming with a dolphin, does that count?

What are some of your answers?  Leave me a comment and a link to your post.  Would love to read your answers.

What is everyone doing this weekend?  I am hoping it is going to be a stay-at-home kind of weekend for us. I really want to organize things around the house.  It just seems like my whole house is turned upside down right now.  I'll let you know on Monday how that goes.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

grandparents ...

The This is Me Challenge prompt for this week was ...

What are some of your favorite memories with your grandparents?

My grandparents were a big part of my life growing up.  I’m fortunate to have one of my grandmothers still alive.  She has gotten to meet and spend time with both of my children, and that is so important to me.

This week I created a layout highlighting some of my favorite memories with my grandparents.  The memories I have with all of them will always stay close to my heart.

And my journaling ... just in case you can't see it on the layout. 

Thanks for stopping by everyone.  If you want to see more responses, please click on the This is Me Challenge button to the right.

his first reconciliation ...

Nicholas took part in his First Reconciliation yesterday afternoon.  He was extremely nervous about going in front of the priest and telling him his sins, but mostly for having to say the Act of Contrition (which he was having a hard time remembering at times).

We got to the church pretty early, but that just gave Nicholas more time to review what he needed to say.  Rob and Rebecca didn't get to come with us because Rebecca had been fighting a fever all day (today she is going to the doctors).

When it was time for Nicholas to go, he wasn't very nervous.  He was in and out of the room within minutes.  Once we got back to the pew, he told me that he didn't have to recite the prayer.  Not quite sure how he got out of that, but he sure was happy.

Here is my big boy.

We are so proud of him.  Next on the agenda is his Communion in May.

Enjoy your day everyone!

great trade in event ...

I received an email yesterday about the Babies R Us Great Trade-In Event that starts tomorrow.

From Friday, January 27 through Monday, February 20, Babies''R''Us and Toys''R''Us stores nationwide are holding the Great Trade-In event, providing our guests the opportunity to trade-in any used car seat, stroller, travel system, high chair, play yard, bassinet, walker, infant swing, bouncer, entertainer, crib or kid's bed in exchange for a 25% savings on the purchase of any new baby items, in any of these product categories, from select manufacturers.

The Great Trade-In event places an emphasis on specific baby products, such as cribs and car seats that, due to safety concerns, may not be the best candidates to be handed down or resold. Beyond recalls, certain older and used baby items can be potentially unsafe for a variety of reasons, including damage or lack of compliance with recent advances in product safety standards.

Visit your local Babies''R''Us or Toys''R''Us store to trade-in your used crib, car seat or other qualifying baby product. Day care centers or other organizations that wish to exchange items in bulk are encouraged to contact their local Babies"R"Us or Toys"R"Us store prior to returning their used items to ensure adequate availability of new merchandise.

Love this idea, because I have several things that I can bring in.  I would love to put the items that I have on eBay; however, the shipping of big items is something that I don't want to deal with.  Any any items that you can bring in?

And ... today is Fast Friday Fact day.

This week's theme is adventure ... and they are all yes/no questions.

Have you ever been ...

1. Scuba diving
2. Bungee jumping
3. In a helicopter
4. Sky diving
5. Cliff jumping

And my answer to ALL the questions is NO.  I have no desire to any of the above.  OK, so maybe I'm not very adventurous.  What about you?

Thanks for stopping by.  Enjoy your weekend!

new show starting tonight ...

For those that don't know ... Kiefer Sutherland is starring in a new TV series on FOX called Touch, and it starts tonight.

I was a HUGE fan when he starred in 24 (gosh how I miss that show).  I'm hoping that this series strikes my interest from the premiere tonight.

A litte about the show ...

Blending science, spirituality and emotion, the series will follow seemingly unrelated people all over the world whose lives affect each other in ways seen and unseen, known and unknown. At the story’s center is MARTIN BOHM (Kiefer Sutherland), a widower and single father, haunted by an inability to connect to his emotionally challenged 11-year-old son, JAKE (David Mazouz). Caring, intelligent and thoughtful, Martin has tried everything to reach his son. But Jake never speaks, shows little emotion, and never allows himself to be touched by anyone, including Martin. Jake is obsessed with numbers—writing long strings of them in his ever-present notebooks—and with discarded cell phones.

Social worker CLEA HOPKINS (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) believes that Jake’s needs are too serious for Martin to handle. She sees a man whose life has become dominated by a child he can no longer control. She believes that it’s time for the state to intervene. So Jake is placed in foster care, despite Martin’s desperate objections.

But everything changes after Martin meets ARTHUR TELLER (Danny Glover), a professor and an expert on children who possess special gifts when it comes to numbers. Martin learns that Jake possesses an extraordinary gift—the ability to perceive the seemingly hidden patterns that connect every life on the planet. While Martin wants nothing more than to communicate directly with his son, Jake connects to his father through numbers, not words. Martin realizes that it’s his job to decipher these numbers and recognize their meaning. As he puts the pieces together, he will help people across the world connect as their lives intersect according to the patterns Jake has foreseen.

Martin’s quest to connect with his son will shape humanity’s destiny.

Sound interesting to you?  Will you be watching?

we celebrated rebecca ...

Rebecca turned two yesterday.  I think she had a pretty good day despite the little cold that she has.  Nothing stops her for having a good time. 

We hung out together all day, and then mom and dad came over around 4pm.  Mom helped me finish making dinner, while the guys watched football.  Nicholas and Rebecca played before dinner was served.

We had roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and fresh greenbeans (with sauteed onions and bacon).  It was a very yummy dinner if I say so myself.  After a little relaxation from dinner, we had cake.

Here are some pictures from last evening.

 

 

 

 

 

She was one happy little girl.  She loved her two new Zhu Zhu pets (a puppy and a purple hamster) and her other gifts.  She was also thrilled about her rocking doll crib.  Mom and dad found my old (but in excellent condition) baby doll rocking crib, so they brought it over last night.  It didn't take Rebecca long at all to put all of her dolls (and stuffed animals) in it to rock them to sleep.

Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!

And, like I promised, below is my layout from the first month of Ella Publishing's Take Twelve challenge.

And if you are wondering ... yes, Rebecca happened to stay in her jammies all day that day.  Sometimes we all need those kind of days.

Thanks for stopping by!

it's a movie theme this week ...

This week over on the This is Me Challenge Blog, the Fast Fact Friday theme is movies.

1. What was the last movie you saw in the theater?
2. What was the last movie you watched at home?
3. Who is your favorite movie star?
4. What movie can you watch over and over again and not get sick of it?
5. What movie will you never watch again?

And my answers:

1. The Muppets (2011)
2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
3. Meg Ryan
4. The Wedding Planner
5. Heathers (came out in 1989)

And my ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE ...

 

What are some of your favorite (or least favorite) movies?

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

i'll be scrapping tonight ...

This morning I took a quick run to Walmart to pick up the 12 pictures that I submitted online last night to be printed for my first Take Twelve scrapbook layout for this year.

Can I just tell you how excited I am to get this layout created.  I will be following one of the sketch templates that was provided when I purchased the Take Twelve kit.  And, just to let you know, it is NOT too late to join in on the fun.  You can do the Take Twelve challenge several different ways.  For example, you can take 12 pictures on any day of the month (not just 12 pictures on the 12th), or create a layout with 12 of your favorite pictures from the month (not just on one particular day).  The possibilities are endless and so much fun.

Go here to learn more.

all about music ...

The topic for this week's challenge at the This is Me Challenge blog is all about the kind of music you like/listen to.

I have to admit, I listen mostly to country music, but I could listen to just about anything (except for RAP).  Whenever I am in the car, I HAVE to listen to music.  Most of time, I plug in my phone and listen to the music on my playlist, but there are days when I'm looking for a new song, or just want a change of pace from the songs I listen to all the time and switch to what is playing on the radio.

So, for the challenge, I'm going to list the songs that are constantly played from my playlist, and then I'm going to list songs from the 70's, 80's, and 90's that I've enjoyed listening to over the years.  Many of them bring back a special memory (don't you just love that certain songs do that).

• American Honey - Lady Antebellum
• Anyway - Martina McBride
• Beautiful Day - Lee DeWyze
• The Boxer - Simon and Garfunkel
• Breakeven - The Script
• Colder Weather - Zac Brown Band
• Come on Get Higher - Matt Nathanson
• Dream Big - Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband
• Hallelujah - The Canadian Tenors
• Hello World - Lady Antebellum
• The House That Built Me - Miranda Lambert
• I Am .... I Said - Neil Diamond
• I Won't Give Up - Jason Mraz
• It's Only Life - Kate Voegele
• Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri
• Johnny and June - Heidi Newfield
• Keep  Breathing - Ingrid Michaelson
• Keep Holding On - Glee
• Little Miss - Sugarland
• Pie Jesu - Marie Osmond
• Rhythm of Love - Plain White T's
• Say - John Mayer
• The Scientist - Coldplay
• A Thousand Years - Christina Perri
• 1234 - Feist

And now the songs over the years ...

Songs from the 1970's

• Dancing Queen - Abba
• You're So Vain - Carly Simon
• Grease - Frankie Vallie
• Band on the Run - Paul McCartney and Wings
• How Deep is Your Love - Bee Gees
• Love Will Keep Us Together - Captain and Tennille
• You Light Up My Life - Debby Boone
• I Just Want to be Your Everything - Andy Gibb
• Escape (the Pina Colada song) - Rupert Holmes
• Even Now - Barry Mannilow

Songs from the 1980's

• Take on Me - aHa
• Walk Like an Egyptian - The Bangles
• The Tide is High - Blondie
• In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins
• I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight - Cutting Crew
• Life in a Northern Town - Dream Academy
• Faithfully - Journey
• Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper
• Toy Soldiers - Martika
• Send Me an Angel - Real Life
• Jessie's Girl - Rick Springfield
• Eye of the Tiger - Survivor
• Nobody - Sylvia

Songs from the 1990's

• My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
• Nothing Compares to You - Sinead O'Connor
• Give it Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day
• Everybody Hurts - REM
• Nothing Else Matters - Metallica
• Walk on the Ocean - Toad the Wet Sprocket
• Dreams - Cranberries
• I'll Stand by You

I hope you've enjoyed reading through my lists.  Do any of these songs bring back memories for you?