{Life & Musings}

If it's Wednesday, it must be...

It must be Glee night!

Enjoy!

The Daily Question & a Layout

Every day I ask myself the same question.  "What to make for dinner?" 
I really hate that question.  For once I would like someone else to answer.  

You would think that pasta would be a slam dunk but NO! I have one kid that will not eat it. I struggle to get my kids to eat their veggies.  Please don't tell me your kids would rather eat veggies than candy. My kids love their carbs and it's a struggle to get them to eat protein.

Trying to please 5 peoples' various desires is tiring.  I have to get creative.  I'm always looking for new ideas and recipes. I read magazines and scour the internet.  9 times out of 10, I'll find one recipe in a cooking magazine to try.  The recipe needs to be simple.  Something quick is best.  It has to contain ingredients that they might recognize. 

So Max is out tonight at a dinner meeting or something in the city.  We are having Chili, which the kids love and he doesn't.  It's a recipe that I found in Cooking Light magazine. 

I promised you a layout.  Here it is.  Another digi layout from our anniversary trip. 

Template: Paislee Press
Embellishments: Taylor Made; Paiselee Press & Me.

Enjoy!

Crunch Time

Ok, maybe Christmas isn't next week, but it's coming, and FAST!  There is now less than 45 days until Christmas.  Then you need to subtract mailing time.  So less another 10 days.  That means there is really 35 days left to get those Christmas projects done.

I don't do a lot of home made type of gifts but do a few and they are now EXPECTED every year. So I need to get going on ...

-Christmas cards.
I don't make my cards but I do make photo cards.  My trauma every year is coming up with a picture of my kids.  I've given up on trying to get a picture of them together, because it's just way too hard to get 3 kids looking cute and in the same direction at the same time.  Need to take pictures, figure out what they are going to wear and order the pictures

-Create calendars
A LONG time ago, I started making photo calendars.  Now they are expected.  I really should start on this today because it does take some time to get them printed. 

-Finish layouts for the inlaws/outlaws albums
Every year, I make some pages to add to my inlaws album of shots from the past year of the kids.  I'm sure my efforts aren't appreciated very much, but the effort keeps the hubby happy. 

I've got a list of layouts that need to be done and I've actually finished 10 of them.  But I still have at least 6 more layouts to make.  

So in the spirit of getting stuff done, I'm adding a countdown to Christmas widget to the blog.  (I'm hearing a collective groan here).  Yes, a constant reminder that we need to get our act together. 

Do you have projects that you need to get cracking on?
Enjoy!

Friday Afternoon

Enough said.

Enjoy!

A Reader

Are you a reader? 

I was a reader when I was little.  I totally remember racing through books as quickly as possible to ride my bike to the library and get another book.  Some of my favorites were The Bread & Butter Indian, Little House series, Nancy Drew & Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.  I remember our school librarian, Sr. Victoria, a little old nun with her walker.  

Then I wasn't a reader.  Life and education got in the way and I only read what I was required to read.  We had kids, and my reading consisted of Dr. Seuss, Arthur and cookie eating mice. 

Now that my kids are older and reading on their own, I've rediscovered books and reading.  My friend and I have formed a book club.  I guess we are on our 3rd or 4th years now.  Last night we had our monthly meeting and discussed The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. 

I think it's always interesting to get people's take on a book.  They see things differently than you might or have a totally opposite opinion on the book. 

I don't always enjoy the club's book choices.  They wouldn't be something that I would choose.  I think that people should have read the book before they choose it, so we know it's not a stinker. We've had some stinkers, but we've also had some books that I've LOVED.  Some of the best books that we've read are...

    

   

Do you have a great book that you've read recently?

Enjoy!

What I'm loving now #4

It's been a while since I've posted one of these, but here it is the prompt today in Shimelle's class.

Right now, I'm loving...

Cinnamon Dolce Lattes. 

Something about fall and a cinnamon dolce latte just sounds good.  It's warm and comforting like a snuggly blanket.  This week my starbucks broke out the Christmas cups too.  They make anything taste great!

These shoes:

I bought a pair of these about a month ago and LOVE them.  They are a brownish/gray color and they are so me.   They are by Simple.  I love the floral print inside them. They make me happy.

  

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

These books are supposedly teen lit, but OMG! I read them each in one sitting.  They are a great story set in the future.  Now I have to wait a year until the sequel comes out.  

Paislee Press
I think I might have mentioned before, but I'm a HUGE fan of Paislee Press digital products.  I the digital layouts that I created for my Anniversary album were almost exclusively from Paislee Press.

What are you loving right now?

Enjoy!

An Open Book

If you asked me earlier today, I would have said that my life is an an open book.  I feel that way, but as I was reflecting on today's prompt for Shimelle's class about privacy in blogging, maybe I'm not so open.

I think that I've tried to be protective of my real life and maintain some sense of privacy.  My internet persona is kathym.  People know I live in Silicon Valley.  I'm sure I've let details slip about my life but I do try to safeguard our privacy. 

Today's lesson was a good reminder that we need to be vigilant in protecting our identity in scrapbook layouts and what we share online.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The most wonderful time of the year for me is not the holidays, but they are a close second.  No, the most wonderful time of the year for me is the beginning of a new school year. I love the smell and feel of new school supplies.  Today is the beginning of new school year for me--well sort of.  I'm starting Shimelle's class on blogging today.

Yes, I've been blogging since 2005 (according to typepad), but I feel that my blog has gotten a little stale lately.  I have a fine line to walk between what I share on the website and what I say here.  If I share too much on my website, then there is really no reason to come here and read my "insightful" ramblings. 

So on day one the prompt is to show where you blog and maybe share a layout.

I blog on my laptop usually sitting on the kitchen counter. Here is a layout to go with how I'm feeling today.  It's an oldie, but a goodie and I think it's  is somewhat appropriate with the beginning of a new class for me.

Enjoy!

Trick or Treat

Jack Skellington from a Nightmare Before Christmas

 

Scooby Doo

 

Kind of says it all.

I got my digital layouts back from Scrapping Simply today.  OMG!  They are GORGEOUS!  I definitely be using them again to print my digital layouts. 

Now, I need to find a post bound album that I like.  The album that I was going to use is much too big.  It is an American Crafts binder and my almost 30 pages are swimming in it.  I think a post bound album will be better.

Enjoy!

Taking the Plunge

So today I took the plunge.  I made a commitment and uploaded my layouts to be printed.  I decided to try a new site to print them, www.scrappingsimply.com.  The price was right and they had good reviews.  I'm anxious to see the results. 

I found a blog today that has some great free digital stuff on it.  It's called Pixels & Ice Cream.  Be sure to check it out.

Enjoy!