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a project 64 catch up ....

I sadly haven't participated in Project 64 in many, many weeks.  I decided to stop by their website today to see what what was going on.  They had posted their last color a few weeks ago and also kept a few of the previous week's links open too. 

I thought it would be fun to close out the project with them by taking pictures for the last color prompts they gave.

Week 59 - Color Reveal was TAN 

Week 60 - Color Reveal was CORNFLOWER 

Week 61 - Color Reveal was PEACH 

Week 62 - Color Reveal was GRANNY SMITH APPLE 

Week 63 - Color Reveal was VIOLET 

And the final week's color was MAUVELOUS. 

For more entries for each of the colors, visit the link below.

 
Thanks for stopping by!

meeting famous people ...

The This is Me Challenge prompt this week is "Who is the Most Famous Person you have Met?"

The first famous person I ever met was someone I didn’t actually know was a famous person.  I was attending a concert with my mom (don’t remember who we saw ... maybe Connie Francis).  I was definitely in grammar school, but don’t recall what grade I was in.  I sat down into my seat, and the person next to me introduced himself to me as Brendan Byrne.  He was the governor of NJ from 1974-1982.  When I was younger, I didn’t have any desire to learn about our past or present history, so I sadly have to say that I didn’t know anything about him. 

The next famous person I met was when I was in NY City attending the musical “The Goodbye Girl” starring Martin Short and Bernadette Peters.  After the show, we went to the door of the studio where all the actors leave from.  We were lucky to have been standing right in the pathway of Martin Short.  I was able to get his autograph on the Playbill for the show.

At another show we saw in NY City (“Grease”) in 1994, Maureen McCormick (the Brady Bunch) starred in the show as Rizzo.  We again waited at the actor’s exit door at the end of the show and luckily was able to get her autograph as well. 

And, back in 1999, I attended Country Music’s Fan Fair in Nashville, TN.  I was able to meet new and  upcoming artists, as well as current popular singers.  I stood in line for over an hour to meet, have my picture taken with, and get the group Lone Star’s autograph.  The entire few days I was in Nashville was one of the best events I have ever attended. If you are a big country music fan, this is an event you should at least attend once in your life.

What famous people have you met in your life?  Who would you like to meet?

31 things ...

It looks like Big Picture Classes (and Ali Edwards) have a great workshop starting in May called 31 Things.

Here is a synopsis of the workshop ...

31 Things is an
invitation to "see into the life of things."

31 Things is an
invitation to document your everyday life in a way that includes descriptions and reflections.

31 Things is about capturing life right now, but will be much more in-depth on a single daily subject than the documentation you might be used to with projects like Week in the Life or Project Life.

This is an opportunity to get more specific pieces of your story told with the goal of going more in-depth; get those pieces of your life documented with words.

Writing these 31 stories will be the heart of what we do over the 31 days, but our words will be supported and inspired by a single daily photo and a bit of crafty decoration.

And the prompts ...

Over the course of 31 days in May and June you'll receive a daily email that prompts you to document one story from your everyday life. Each email will include a specific word/theme for the day, a detailed writing prompt with suggestions on how to tell the story, and a photo prompt.

Some people will use the month to gather content and then put the project together at the end of the month. Others will create their layouts as they go each day. My hope is that you take this opportunity to really get down to the business of writing some of these special stories of your everyday life. PLEASE NOTE: What you choose to do is completely up to you and your personal situation. You will continue to have access to the classroom, message board, etc. even after the live class has ended.

And the album ...

Your photos and words will come together in a 12" x 12" album. It will take up sixteen 12" x 12" pages-front and back-in an album. You can also choose to simply take the content you gather throughout
the class to make it into whatever you'd like (maybe collect your content on a blog, Project Life, smaller album, etc.).

The content for each day will fit on a 6" x 12" foundation.

I just love the whole idea of this workshop.  I probably won't make a dedicated album for this project, but will fit the pages into my already "in progress" scrapbooks.  These are the kind of workshops I LOVE because it gets me thinking outside the box.  Won't you join me?

firsts ...

The Fast Friday Facts theme is "firsts" over at the This is Me Challenge Blog.

1. What was your first car?
2. Who was your first crush?
3. Where was your first apartment away from your parents?
4. Where was your first airplane flight to?
5. What was the first school you attended?

And my answers.

1. My first car was a sky-blue Hyundai Excel hatchback.  It was the cutest car and even got me through driving in a blizzard to West Virginia back in 1992.
2. My first crush was Brian, my next door neighbor growing up.  We loved to make mud pies together.
3. My first apartment was in Highbridge, NJ.  I lived on the top floor of a house for a little over a year until I bought a condo.  Living in that apartment was one of the BEST years of my life.
4. My first plane ride was to Disney World in Orlando, FL when I was in the seventh grade.
5. The first school I attended was St. James.  I started Kindergarten when I was only four-years old.

And, yesterday was the 12th of the month, so that means that I had my camera out all day taking pictures for the Take Twelve challenge over at the Ella Publishing Blog.  The pictures that I will be using in my April layout are below.

 

Even though I was at the office yesterday, I was able to capture some pictures highlighting the events of the day.

Thanks for stopping by!

easter weekend ...

We had a wonderful Easter weekend.  On Saturday night, we colored eggs.  The kids had fun picking out what colors their eggs were going to be.  Nicholas drew on a few of his eggs first, but the design didn't show up very well after it was dipped in the dye.

The evening started off when Rebecca put a "coin" of dye on her tongue. 

Here are the kids coloring the eggs and the finished products. 

 

 

And on Sunday morning, friends of ours (Rebecca's godfather and his wife) came over early to hide almost 50 filled eggs for the kids.  We have lots of great spots to hide (and place) eggs.

 

 

After the "hunt" the kids got dressed and we hung out until we had to go to my parents for Easter dinner.  I tried my hardest to get a good picture of the kids together.  They just wanted to sit there and make faces.

 

 

We all had a great weekend!

taking a spin around the yard ...

I came home the other day to find Nicholas' bike in the driveway with a pink binkie sitting on the seat.  Rebecca came running around the corner with Nick's helmet on.  Rob had taken Nick's bike down from the garage and put Rebecca on it and took her around the yard. 

Boy did she have fun, and now she calls it "her" bike.

And here is Nick showing her how to ring the bell.

I'm sure there is going to be a lot more riding around this weekend.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful for Easter.

Hope you all enjoy the weekend, and I'm hoping you get some nice weather to enjoy too.

heaven has another angel ...

My sweet, loving, grandmother passed away yesterday morning.  She was a true fighter to the end.  I am grateful for all the years that I had with her, and was so happy to be able to share her with my husband and children.  We loved her so much.

This weekend will be very rough, but I just have to remember that she is in a happier place and is now with her daughter, her brothers, her parents, other family members, and friends.  I look forward to the day we meet again.

When Nicholas was born, I interviewed all of the family members to make a keepsake album for Nicholas.  Well, unfortunately, that album was never put together, but I still have all the answers to the questions I asked everyone ... one person, being my grandmother.

For those of you out there who never thought to do this ... take some time to interview those you love.  You will forever treasure what their past was like, what their present is, and what they want their future to be like.

Some of the questions that I asked my grandmother ...

1. Were you named after someone?  No
2. When and where were you born? 1921 in East Newark, NJ
3. Tell me how you are like your mother/father?  No gray hair like her father, and crocheted like her mother.  She had her mother's nose.
4. Was there a chore you really hated as a child?  Washing dishes
5. What were your favorite childhood games? - Double-dutch jumprope
6. What were your favorite/least favorite subjects in school?  Fav - Drawing; Least Fav - History
7. What school activities did you participate in? Dancing and was in a few plays
8. How did you spend your summers during grade school?  Took vacations to the farm
9. What were the fads during your youth that you remember vividly?  Funny hats - one looked like a funnel
10. Name a friend that you have known for the longest period of time - how many years? Louise, 83 years
11. How did you meet the person that you would later marry?  It was a blind date that a girlfriend set up
12. When and where did you get married?  February 1947 in Arlington, NJ
13. Where did you go on your honeymoon?  Niagara Falls
14. What's been your greatest accomplishment so far?  Living for 83 years (that is when the interview happened) ... and still alive and kicking (quoting my grandmother)
15. How did you find out that you were going to be a parent for the first time?  Went to the doctor's because she thought she had the flu ... but was pregnant.
16. What was your first job?  Clarks Thread Mill
17. Who was the person that had the most influence on you?  Uncle Joe (her father's brother)
18. How tall are you?  5 x 7
19. What color are your eyes?  Hazel
20. How would you describe your sense of humor?  Funny
21. If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?  To be thinner
22. What are your hobbies?  Crocheting, gardening
23. What pets have you had?  Two dogs and one cat
24. What is your favorite style of music?  Oldies
25. What is your favorite instrument?  Piano
26. Who is your favorite singer?  Engelbert Humperdinck
27. What is your favorite TV show?  All game shows (especially Wheel of Fortune)
28. What is your favorite season?  Fall
29. What is your favorite flower?  Orchid
30. What is your favorite holiday?  Christmas
31. What is your favorite color?  Aqua
32. What is your favorite sport?  Ice Skating
33. What is your favorite fruit?  Blueberries
34. What is your favorite vegetable?  Corn
35. What is your favorite drink?  Alexandra's
36. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?  Chocolate
37. What are you frightened of?  Mice, rats
38. Do you like rainstorms? No
39. One word on how to live successfully?  Rich

So, there you have it, a little peak into what my gram was all about.  I sure do miss her so much already.

Rest in peace Grandma.

digging in the dirt ...

Yes, we are still enjoying the great outdoors this month.  The kids love to find sticks and dig in the dirt (I remember doing that as a kid too).  I came home the other day and Rebecca was filthy ... good for her for having a great afternoon playing with her brother.

Here they are from the other day .... maybe they are looking for treasures.

What kind of things do your kids do for fun in the backyard on nice days?

Now onto the Fast Fact Friday questions on the This is Me Challenge Blog.  This week's theme is first jobs.

1. What/where was your first job?
2. How old were you?
3. How did you get there?
4. How long did you work there?
5. What did you like/dislike about it?

And my answers.

1. I babysat at an early age, but when I got a bit older, I was hired to work as a clerk in a video store.
2. I started working at the store when I was 14.
3. Since I couldn't drive at the age of 14, one of my parents would drive/pick me up from work.  Once I got my license, I drove to/from the store.
4. I worked there from the age of 14 until I got a full-time (real) job in corporate America.  I believe I was 19 when I stopped working at the store.
5. I LOVED everything about working at the store.  Of course dealing with the public,there were times when a customer would get upset for having to pay a fee on a late return of a movie, but everything from my bosses, to the people I worked with, to the customers (99% of them), to the ability to rent movies for free, it was definitely by far the best job a high school girl could have.

What was your first job?  Did you like it?

Have a great weekend everyone!

choices ...

This week's prompt at the This is Me Challenge Blog is "choices."  I could have gone in many different directions with what kind of layout I was going to create.  I decided to go with a choice that I made in the seventh grade ... one about my hair.

The journaling in my layout reads …

In 1986, I was in the seventh grade.  Up to that point, my hair was very thick, and just kind of "wavy."  That was until my best friend Suzanne decided that she was going to get her hair cut and layered.

Well, I needed to be just like her and decided to get my hair layered too.  Looking back now after all of these years, that was probably one of the worst CHOICES that I ever made.

I have wondered so many times since then that if I hadn't gotten my hair layered way back when, would my hair still only be "wavy," and not so "curly."

What were some choices in your life (big or little) that you often think, "Did I make the right decision?"

picking some flowers ...

We are completely blessed with this beautiful weather we have been getting here in NJ.  It definitely is warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt .... yes, and it is only March.  I am not complaining.  We spent quite a bit of time outside this weekend.

Rebecca is definitely an out-doorsy kind of girl, where as Nicholas likes to be inside (yes, even if it is nice out).  Rebecca had fun picking all the little purple flowers from the grass.

We just love watching her explore through the yard.

Thanks for stopping by!

twelves for february and march ...

I completed my layout for February's Take Twelve Challenge, but I forgot to post it.  So, here is my layout from February.

The photos that I will use to create my March layout are highlighted in the mosaic below.

I actually took both horizontal and vertical pictures this month.  It is very challenging for me to hold the camara vertically, but I went out of my comfort zone this month to get different perspectives.  Don't you just love the mess the kids create in the living room?

This week's Fast Friday's Facts at the This is Me Challenge blog is about "favorites."

1. What is your favorite drink? (and how often do you drink it)
2. What is your favorite team?
3. How do you like your steak?
4. What is your favorite toothpaste?
5. Where is your favorite place to shop?

And my answers:

1. My favorite drink is milk, and the colder the better.  I even put ice cubes in my milk.  Drink it everyday.
2. My favorite team is the NY Yankees.
3. I like my steak cooked medium and I usually use A1 on it, unless it was marinated in something else.
4. My favorite toothpaste is Colgate.
5. My favorite place to shop is Target.

What are some of your favorites?  Would love to know!

And in ending this post today, I just want to ask all of you to keep my grandmother in your thoughts and prayers.  I would appreciate it.

her first egg hunt ...

The working mom's group that I am a part of held the annual Easter Egg Hunt yesterday afternoon.  This was the first egg hunt that Rebecca participated in.  We definitely lucked out with the weather - it was a gorgeous afternoon.

The kids had fun finding the eggs, checking out all the animals (chickens, a pony, dogs, puppies, cats), trying to knock down the candy-filled pinata, going in the bouncy house, and just spending some much needed quality time outside in the beautiful weather.

Nicholas helped his little sister a lot in gathering the eggs.

Nicholas broke the pinata for all the little kids to get their goodies.

And ... Friday's Fast Friday Facts had a cooking theme.

1. Do you like to cook?
2. What is your favorite dish to make?
3. Do you like cooking for others?
4. Are you a baker or mainly just a taster?
5. What food will you NOT cook under any circumstances?

And my answers ...

1. I cook when I have to.  I am definitely not creative when it comes to cooking.
2. I love to make baked ziti.  I also like to make fresh green beans sauteed with onions, bacon, and garlic.
3. I like to cook for my family.  I get nervous if I have to cook for a lot of people, but I do like to host certain holidays at our house (Easter or Christmas).
4. I like to bake, but again, I am not creative ... just the basic cakes, brownies, and cookies.
5. Even though I eat it if my husband cooks, I personally WILL NOT cook venison.

What would your answers be?  Would love to know.

a haircut ...

Rebecca's hair seems to grow so fast.  It feels like yesterday that Rob had just trimmed her bangs.  Last night after her bath was the perfect time to give her a haircut. 

We sat her on the counter and Rob dug out the scissors and comb.  Usually it is impossible to get her to sit still, but she actually sat there without giving him a hard time.  She did move every so often, so her bangs did not come out straight (they never do).  And, Rob cut her bangs a little too short for my liking this time.  But like they say, it will always grow back.

For now we are keeping the back of her hair long.  It looks so pretty when her hair is dry.  Her hair has a little flip to the back and it always looks so cute.

are you happy with the results ...

So, who watched last night's American Idol?  Are you happy with the results of who made it through to the top 13?  There definitely were some that I wouldn't have picked (would have preferred a few others to go through), but there are some that I'm SUPER glad made it through.  Like ...

Phillip Phillips

And Jeremy Rosado

And Elise Testone

And Skylar Laine

Who are your favorites?

And, the theme this week for Fast Fact Friday at the This is Me Challenge Blog is TRAVEL.

1. Where is your favorite repeated vacation place?
2. How long do you like to go on vacation?
3. Where did you go on your favorite vacation?
4. Where was your most recent vacation?
5. If no were no object, where would you like to go?

And my answers.

1. Definitely Disney World; however, I haven't been there since 2001.  We NEED to bring the kids there.
2. A real vacation is at least a week for me.  Anything less than that is not really a vacation .... by the time you get there, you have to turn around and come back.
3. My favorite vacation was when I went to Europe in 1998.  I went to Italy, Switzerland, and Paris.  BEST vacation EVER!
4. My most recent vacation was a few years ago (yes, a few YEARS ago).  Went to the Outer Banks for my girlfriend's wedding.  We all stayed in a beach house for the week.
5. If money were no object, I would defnitely go to one of the islands, stay in the most exclusive resort, and get pampered from head to toe from the minute I arrived until the minute I was leaving.

Do you travel?  How would you answer these questions?

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

crushes ...

Over at the eighteen25 blog a few weeks ago, they listed their current favorite "crushes."  I thought it would be fun to play along.  I picked some of their topics and came up with what my current "crushes" are.

Main Crushes (my kids)

 Star Crush (Josh Ritter of Parenthood)

TV Show Crush (Celebrity Apprentice) 

Dessert Crush (Applebees Dessert Shooters)

iPhone App Crush (Scramble) 

Food Crush (onion/bacon pizza)

Music Crush (Adele)

 

Ice Cream Crush (New York Super Fudge Chunk)

 So, there you have it, some of my recent favorite crushes.  Do you have any crushes?  Please do tell.