The Simple Woman's Daybook - November 30, 2009

For today...

Outside my window...cloudy and cool.

I am thinking...that this may be the only time today that I get on the computer. I have a bad cold and my bed is calling me.

I am thankful for...the long weekend. We had such a great time this weekend and I'm so thankful that I got to share it with so many people that I love.

I am reading...still so sad...nothing. I have just been busy with other things I haven't had (or made) the time.

I am hoping...to feel better so that I can go to BSF tonight, but it's not looking good.

On my mind...not much. It's kind of cloudy at the moment.

From the kitchen...Leftovers are almost gone, I'm making baked ziti this week and cookies for a cookie exchange party that I'm going to on Saturday.

Around the house...my craft stuff because I finished my Christmas cards (I'll show them after I've mailed them out), I am almost done with my advent calendar and there are little gifts I want to make.

One of my favorite things...Christmas shopping with my mom.

A few plans for the rest of the week...put up our new Christmas tree, bake cookies, and take the kids to get their Christmas pjs.

Here's a picture I'm leaving you with...

This is supposed to be a scene of us watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas last night. We were all ready with snacks and Jamison even had her book ready. BUT, then Mommy realized that it comes on TONIGHT. Oops. So we watched Little Einsteins instead.

What's going on with you today...share here.

Friend Makin Monday - Survey Says

Amber has another survey to fill out for FMM and I must say that I do think these are fun. Here we go:

1. Favorite website - I would have to say blogger since it keeps me connected to what I love doing...blogging.

2. Favorite color - YELLOW

3. Facebook? Yes, but I blog much more often.

4. Favorite Christmas song? This Christmas and Sleigh Ride

5. Christmas tree: Real or fake? Fake because I'm allergic to either the fresh tree or the chemicals they spray them with.

6. Hottest celebrity? Richard T. Jones (check him out here). He's not real popular, but I love him.

7. Favorite restaurant? Abuelo's and Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro (when I make it back to Atlanta).

8. Favorite magazine? Real Simple.

9. Favorite thing to drink around the holidays? Cranberry Gingerale (remember my excitement here?).

10. Favorite Christmas movie. A Christmas Story and The Santa Clause.

Thanksgiving Recap

We had a nice Thanksgiving holiday this year. We went to Cleveland to have dinner with my dad, Renee, siblings and family. Since Rondell had to be at Best Buy in the middle of the night (I mean, 4 am...same difference) we only stayed for the day.

My friend Marja and her sweet Mila came with us too.

Here are Caleb and Mila in the back of the van. They were pretty cozy, except this picture makes me realize that Caleb is ready for the next size car seat. When did he grow?

Once we got to Cleveland our first stop was our friend Melanie's parent's house. Mel was in town from NY and it was really nice to see her. Melanie and I have been friends since the 3rd grade and we met Marja in college. They are like sisters to me...I love them!

Jamison giving Mila some love!

Renee and her baby...oops, Evan. They have a neat relationship and I love to see their open communication. Evan was home on break from college and I think we grew while he was there...and got some facial hair. He's grown into such a great young man.

Here's what Evan ate for Thanksgiving.

Evan and his peeps. I remember coming home for holidays and getting together with my HS friends. Seeing all of Evan's friends come over took me back to the good old days.

My kids stayed in Cleveland and this was the scene when it was time for Rondell and I to leave. Rondell brought their car seats in and they decided to sit in them in the middle of Nana's kitchen. Caleb is blurry because was he was on super geek and wouldn't stay still. I see I need to work on my camera skills in that area.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well. I'm off to our meeting place to pick up my babies. Happy Saturday!

I Just Wanted to Say...

Happy Thanksgiving!

My blog-friend Ave gave me this wonderful award because she thinks I'm creative...how sweet of her.

The rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award - Thanks AVE!!!

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each.

7 things that people may not know:

1. My favorite color has not always been yellow...it used to be green.

2. I have not read Twilight...gasp, I know.

3. I love doing laundry (me too Ave!)

4. Dakota Fanning is currently my favorite actress.

5. I used to be a TV addict but now it is rare for me to sit and watch a show. I have a lot stored on my DVR that I need to watch.

6. I fell in love with my house the moment I walked in.

7. Friends is my all-time favorite show. I can still watch it today and laugh.

I award...Bobbi, Joanna, Jen, Jaydee, Tiffany, Carrie, and Kelli

The Simple Woman's Daybook - November 23, 2009

For today...

Outside my window...cloudy. We are supposed to have cloudy and cooler temperatures this week. That unspoken season is not too far behind.

I am thinking...about the fact that that Christmas music really does put me in a good mood. I broke out the Christmas station today...I just couldn't wait.

I am thankful for...a short work week...only 3 days.

I am reading...sigh...still nothing. There are two books that I am going to look for at Half Price books tonight, one of them is Twilight.

I am hoping...for smooth travels to and from Cleveland on Thursday.

On my mind...the errands I need to run tonight before BSF. I need to go to Bath and Body Works, Old Navy, Target, Half Price Books and Sam's Club. Whew!

From the kitchen...light meals before the big meal on Thursday. Renee is doing most of the cooking and I will help where I can. On Friday I'm going to make dressing, macaroni and cheese and a sweet potato pie. My MIL is deep frying a turkey for me and my mom is bringing over greens. I like to have food at my house during the holidays even if I'm not hosting.

Around the house...for the last week I've been cleaning out my room, trying to simplify and it is coming along nicely. Now if I can only get Rondell to work on his side (hint, hint Ron).

One of my favorite things...OSU football. I'm sad that the season is over and I can't wait for the Rose Bowl.

A few plans for the week...LOTS of errands tonight, Cleveland on Thursday, dinner with my mom Friday, finishing Christmas cards, making my advent calendar, shopping for the kids and going to a Pampered Chef party.

Share you entry here.

Have You Heard of This?

It is called The Couponizer and I am in love. Todaysgiveaway.net is giving one away and I really hope to win. Wish me luck.

Friend Makin Monday - Thanksgiving

Amber has a really cute Thanksgiving-themed activity today. She has a few Thanksgiving questions for us to answer:

1. Turkey or Ham? Definitely turkey!

2. Favorite side dish. Stuffing/dressing...I love them both.

3. Favorite dessert. Sweet potato pie.

4. Black Friday: Are you going or not? Nope. I've been once but since I don't really like to shop anyway this is really not my thing. Rondell has to be at Best Buy at 4AM that morning. Whoa!

5. If so, what's on the top of your list? N/A

6. Going out of town or staying close to home? We are going to Cleveland to my dad/stepmom's

7. Hosting or helping? Helping

8. Name one family tradition at Thanksgiving. We don't have any. We go to different places each year so it's hard to have any traditions.

9. What do you do after dinner? We'll be driving back home.

10. What are you most thankful for this year? Tons...God's answer to prayer and my growing relationship with Him, family, friends, my home, being able to carpool with Rondell, healthy kids, Stampin Up!...so much. I am truly blessed.

Just Thought I'd Share...

This tip:

http://workingwomansguidetodomesticsuccess.blogspot.com/2009/11/setting-thanksgiving-table.html

I am not hosting Thanksgiving dinner, but I thought this was a great post to share if you are hosting this year and need some guidance.

Happy Friday.

Thanking God on Friday

** I am thankful for a hug I received from a member of my Crown group. I wasn't in a I-need-a-hug mode, but I love hugs and it was just nice to get an unexpected squeeze.

** I am thankful that our trip to Destin is officially booked! I can't wait until May 2010 to be able to sit on the beach and watch the waves, swim in the heated pool, sleep in, eat great seafood and just enjoy being with my family. I also plan to hook up with my blog friend Joanna for a fun game of Scrabble.

** I am thankful for a nice forecast for the weekend.

** I am thankful for book suggestions. I've been in a reading slump and I need to get back into it and I've seen some great books to pick up. I plan to settle down with a new read this weekend.

It's Here!!!!

And I couldn't be happier!!!

One Thankful Turkey

I saw this cute craft idea on a post by my blog friend Bobbi. When I saw it I knew I had to try it because we have been really working on being thankful in our house and since Jamison loves to do crafts I thought this would be a good activity for us to do.

First I printed off a turkey coloring page and we colored only the turkey, not his feathers.

Then we cut out the turkey body so that we could add our own feathers. See Jamison concentrating on her cutting.

Here's my turkey all cut out. Jamison told me that I did a great job coloring. I just love her.

Caleb wants you to know that he was there too! He colored his entire turkey. He's my turkey!

I cut feathers out of construction paper and we wrote what we are thankful for.

Jamison and I had similar items and we didn't even copy. I guess she is a little like her mom.

Here's the finished product.

They will hang on our fridge as a reminder to be thankful.

Wordless Wednesday - Testing Out My New Camera

Tackle It Tuesday - Preparing the Christmas Cards

It has been a while since I participated in Tackle it Tuesday and it feels good to do it again. I need to participate more often.

On Friday I start getting the pieces ready for the Christmas card that I'm making. I have finally decided on a design and now it's just a matter of building the cards. There's a lot that goes into putting together multiple cards so I took the idea from Lisa's workshops to have all of the pieces ready and then build the cards (all 30).

So first I cut out the base of my card. I used the basic card size of 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 so that I could get two card bases out of one piece of cardstock. Here's my base:

I chose the color Real Red for my base.

After I was finished cutting out all of the bases I put them in a baggie (that's my bone folder that you see, it helps to fold my cards smoothly).

Next I figured out the measurements for the other layers of the card. I am using a printed paper on the front of my card (called designer series paper by SU!). Down by my thumb (see below...sorry for the pictures, my lighting was not good) you can see the paper that I'm going to use, one with ornaments and another with snowflakes. I cut out all of the pieces of the printed paper that I'm going to need.

Then I cut out pieces of off-white (Very Vanilla) paper for the inside of the card where I will stamp my message. And then finally I cute out strips of paper that will go across the VV paper to add a little something to the inside (that's the stripe paper that you see below).

I put everything in baggies so that they'll be ready to go when I start building my card. Now all I have to do is cut out one last layer of paper (it should be delivered today), stamp and build.

Here's a preview of one of the stamps that I'm going to use that came in the mail yesterday:

Tackling anything good...share here!

The Simple Woman's Daybook - November 16, 2009

For today...

Outside my window...overcast and a little cooler. This weekend was just beautiful!

I am thinking...about how dishonesty really makes me angry.

I am thankful for...beautiful weather. This past Saturday was a perfect and I enjoyed every minute. I even played around with my camera and I'll show you the results this week.

I am reading...OK, this is getting bad...nothing. Maybe I'll stop by Half Price Books tonight. There are quite a few books out there that I want to read so I don't know why I haven't picked anything up.

I am hoping...to find a descent sewing machine for little to no money.

On my mind...my To Do list.

From the kitchen...tacos. We love taco night at our house. We also made pizza last night and we plan on making it an every Sunday thing to make pizza. Last night we used store bought dough but just wasn't the same. This Sunday we are going to be brave and make the dough ourselves.

Around the house...there's laundry to be put away and we really need to clean our carpet. You'll also see toy catalogs on the table because the kids have been going through them.

One of my favorite things...mail. I have gotten a few things in the mail lately and I love it, even if it's just a thank you card. I think that's why I love making cards so much and sending them off because there's nothing like the feeling of getting something in the mail.

A few plans for the rest of the week...finish my Christmas cards (I worked a bit this weekend and I'll show you my progress tomorrow), pick one of my organizing projects to do, take the kids to get the H1N1 vaccine, and catch up on some taped shows.

Here's a picture I'm leaving you:

My friend Lyndsey posted this picture she took of Caleb on her blog today. I love it!

Share your daybook here.

Friend Makin Monday - Recipes

Amber has a great topic this week, one that we can all benefit from...recipes! She is asking us to share our favorite winter recipes.

Here is a link to my lasagna recipe. Now don't be thrown off my the picture because it's not the best, but this lasagna is yummy, easy and makes for great leftovers. Enjoy!

So stop by Amber's to share your recipe, get a few new ones and check out the cute recipe book that her MIL made for her.

Thanking God on Friday!

** I am thankful for a great fellowship last night with my BSF discussion group. Discussion groups are supposed to try and have fellowships once a month and this month our discussion leader hosted it with a pizza party. We made individual pizzas and sat around and discussed how God is working in our lives and our thoughts on the John study so far. It was a great way to spend a Thursday evening.

** I am thankful for beautiful weather. It has been so nice all week and I love it. This weekend is supposed to be beautiful too, so we are going to do some work around the house...inside and out.

** I am thankful for stamping blogs. Since I am trying to figure out the design for my Christmas cards it is nice to have so many people to get ideas from.

** I am thankful for Friday evenings. They are my favorite time to relax and enjoy my kids. I might even catch up on some shows once they go to bed.

** I am thankful that our trip to Florida is booked! I booked it yesterday and now we will be counting down to May 2010!!!!!

Back in the Day

Me, Charisse and Fashun (yes, that's Fashion with a U)

My cousin Charisse posted this picture of us on Facebook and I had to put it here to share and as something to keep since this is my online journal. Charisse and Fashun are my mom's cousin's daughters and we are all about the same age. I can tell this picture was taken at my great Aunt Bernice's house (Fashun's grandmother) when I was about 3. This picture makes me laugh because Fashun looks exactly the same.

I moved to Cleveland when I was about six so I didn't grow up with Charisse and Fashun (and Ebony, not pictured), but they are all really close. Now that I'm back in Columbus I get to see them a little more often, even though we need to work on getting together more often.

Thanks for flashing back with me.

More Card Makin'

Yesterday while I was off I made two cards. One was a sympathy card. My friend Marja's grandfather passed away and so I wanted to make a card for her parents. I was able to use something I made at another workshop...actually my very first workshop at Lisa's.

At the workshop we used Stampin Up's die cutting machine to make this elegant shape. I then stamped the tree and sentiment (my first time stamping!). I was able to use the piece for my sympathy card. I just adhered it to a background and then to the card base. Inside I stamped "with sympathy" and wrote a little message.

The next card I made was for my sister. Her birthday was at the end of October (I know, I'm a little late).

The inside of the card has a little pocket for the gift card that I got her. I just cut a piece of card stock to fit the card and then used my scallop edge punch on one side. I adhered the card on the three straight sides and that's how I got the pocket. The gift card fit in perfectly (sorry, I don't have a picture of that).

And there you have it, two simple cards!

Counting Down

This year I really want to make an advent calendar. I've seen the cute ones at Pottery Barn, but I don't have that kind of money. I want to make one that we'll be able to use year after year.

I've found some inspirations...what do you think:

A Stampers Touch

Jen at Tatertots and Jello

Carrie at Buzzing of a Queen Bee

Are you making an advent calendar or have you already made one? Please share.

The Simple Woman's Daybook - November 9, 2009

For today...

Outside my window...overcast. It is supposed to get up to 70 today.

I am thinking...about the cards I need to make for my sister, brother and Marja's parents.

I am thankful for...a great birthday weekend.

I am reading...still nothing. This is unusual for me. I really need to sit down and figure out what to read next. I miss reading in the evenings.

I am hoping...that I get all of my errands run this week.

On my mind...finalizing my Christmas card design.

From the kitchen...leftovers from the party.

Around the house...still trying to work on some organization projects. My next tackle is the hall closet.

One of my favorite things...birthday wishes...thank you all! My grandfather called too to sing to me.

A few plans for the rest of the week...clean my room (it's a disaster), work on some cards, go to a pizza party with my BSF group, and tackle the always-growing To Do list.

What about you? Share here.

Happy Birthday To Me!

First, I want to say thanks for all of the birthday love! I had a great weekend. So many people made my birthday weekend special!

Saturday I got to sleep in because Jamison and Rondell went to Home Depot and Caleb was already over my MIL's house. Then it was time to get ready for the party. The theme was yellow, of course.

Here's Rondell preparing some of the food. He went and picked out all of the decorations and went to the store to get all of the items we needed for the menu.

Gramma Lee came over a little early so I could show her my camera and test it out on her. I still have a few things to learn about it (as you may be able to tell in some of the pictures...lighting, focus, etc.)

I decided the day before to also invite Jamison because she really loves birthday parties. She helped so much with the decorations and getting things ready. I was very happy that she was there. **She ended up losing her other top tooth later that night.

Here's the table set up (with some food missing). Rondell bought me some beautiful sunflowers as a centerpiece. We had chicken club wrap, vegetable pizza (with yellow banana peppers), beer bread with Garlic Garlic dip, veggies and dip (with yellow peppers), spinach dip with chips, meatballs, Tonya's famous mac and cheese, pineapple, cookies and apple crisp. Oh and lemonade.


My friend Jodie made her famous sugar cookies and made them to look like sunflowers. My friend Sara added the yellow pepper to her veggie tray. People are so thoughtful.

Meredith, Sara and Elliott. Meredith gave me ingredients to make her aunt's famous chicken noodle soup and the recipe card because Rondell said that I like recipes in the evite he sent out.

Jodie and Andy.

Ben and Laura.

Bo and Christa. They are due with their first baby in January.

Mommy, Rondell and Tonya.

Mommy and her two kids.

Here's a picture of everyone who wore yellow. Check out Elliott...he really knows how to accessorize.

The girls.

Tonight we went to dinner with my friend Lyndsey and her family. They were out of town yesterday so we decided to meet up for dinner tonight to celebrate.

My partner in crime! I also gave blood today so that's what the big sticker is on my shirt.

Lyndsey and her crew + Jamison. It was such a beautiful night.

Caleb and Gramma Lee.

It was a wonderful 33rd birthday! Until next year...