randoming

on hold with paypal.
so i thought id use my time 'wisely'.
and write a post while i wait.

*new stuff up at LBE :)
check out the LBE blog or LBE *new* page.

*more My Life People... coming soon!

*working on a fun 'invented' recipe today... hope to share with a tutorial soon ;)

*dealing with paypal is not fun.

*working on a number of crafty projects, baby and bday and vday gifts :)

*look for a special Valentine's blog project post (it's unnamed yet)

*need to get my LBE taxes done so i can reward myself with a FUN new item to sell...

*more life changes going on in our home

*hoping to help a few friends out this week... to let them know i love them ;)

*need to save and sort and print my december and january pics

*need to print of my next batch of scrapping pics

oh... paypal finally answers.
and now they have to transfer me. again.

*want to make some more cozies

*starting to feel better today (yesterday i was 'sleep all day, go to the doctor, cant taste my food' sick)

*printed and cut lilly's valentine cards this morning

*turned in lilly's girl scout cookie orders yesterday :)

ok. that's good for now. the next post may be more exciting. or not ;)

i scrapped {again}

i had a few ladies over to scrap last weekend.

i love a day of scrapping, eating, and chatting ;)

i used to scan my layouts.
see. like this.

by scanning each side of the page.

(or even each corner of the page.)

then stitching them together with photoshop.
they are so much nicer to post that way.
(bigger to see the pictures and journaling better.)

but taking a picture is easier.

and i think less time consuming.

someday i may own a 12x12 scanner.

or not.

i uploaded these last night during the presidential address.

is there anything more humorous than a bunch of politicians who stand to clap everytime they here something that sounds good?

i giggled during the whole thing.

the one thing that kept crossing my mind?

'imagine if we did that at church.'

now that would be fun.

and id be grinning and giggling the whole time.

corn chowder

my first ever craft show last fall was at a historical day event.
i didnt make a single sale.
but i did score this delicious corn chowder recipe.
from the sweet lady in the one room log house next door.
so it was totally worth it.

CORN CHOWDER

2 cans (13-14oz.) chicken broth

3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup diced smoked ham

1 can (8 3/4oz.) whole kernel corn

¼ tsp. ground pepper

¼ cup flour

1 cup milk

¼ cup butter or margarine

Mix first five ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until potatoes are tender. Whisk flour and milk in a bowl until smooth and then whisk into corn/potato mixture. Stir in butter or margarine. Simmer, stirring two minutes until butter has melted and soup thickened. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley. Makes 5 cups.

Jen's modifications:

i hardly ever have chicken broth on hand, so i used 4 cups of water and 3 chicken bouillon cubes. i used turkey ham. i didn't measure the pepper, i didn't add parsley... but i did use real butter ;)

My Life People (Me - Part 4)

so i dont know if this should really be part of My Life People... but my dear husband did leave me this question, so technically i guess it should go here ;)

The question... What do you want for your birthday?

i guess i can't ignore that one.

turning 30 was pretty horrible for me.

but 31 doesnt really bother me a bit.

yet.

i do hope this birthday is nicer than the last.

i still have 2 months to get there.

but my hubby likes to shop early :)

and mother's day follows shorty after.

so feel free to let this list overflow into May, sweetie boy.

Here is my birthday wish list for my 31st year of life.

in no particular order :)

chamilia April and March birthday stone beads.

the chamilia camera bead :)

a new Vera Bradley backpack.

(i *think* i like the pattern below the best right now.)

i use mine daily and ive been informed that my current one is a bit grungy.

i prefer to say that it is very well loved.oh my.

this cookbook please.

to further my addiction with homemade food.

(which makes running a MUST in my life.)

homemade soup recipes?

yes please.

i'll stop there.

that's plenty.

oh. one more. just remembered.

a new pair of these please.

(arminda... we got them at target the 1st go around)though no need for an ipod now.
we found a used one on craig's list this weekend for $25!

sweet. (who says that anymore? me i guess)

... and this was my last MLP question, so if you want to know anything else, you're going to have to go leave me a question :) and that means i get to interview you too :)

my $100 hoodie.

a few weeks back i got a new hoodie for jogging.
it was on clearance, and i had some Kohl's bucks.
so i got a jen deal.

but the best part?
it has thumb holes in the cuffs.

i was super excited about those thumb holes.
then i learned it had an inside pocket for my ipod.
yay!

so, flash forward to this weekend, i was scooping up clothes for the laundry and threw my new fancy jogging hoodie in the laundry basket.

do you see where this is going?
threw that load in the wash friday night.
forgot to switch it over to the dryer.
put it in the dryer saturday morning.
buzzer goes off.
laundry still damp.
run the dryer again.
buzzer goes off.
laundry now dry.
pulling dry clothes out.

and then i see it.

my ipod.
my hand-me-down but very loved little 2gig ipod.
my poor poor washed once, dried twice ipod.

i wanted to cry, but no one was home to share in my sadness.
so i held it in and just moped around the house.

later in the day, i was telling the story to some friends who came over to scrapbook and lilly so sweetly says...

'at least you still have your kids."

yes lilly, very true :)
and i am so glad for that.

but im still sad about my ipod.
sad that i didnt check my pockets.
(because normally i wear my ipod on my armband.)
i normally dont have a fancy hoodie with an inside pocket.

and even more sad that i dont have money laying around for a new one. right. this. minute.
we do keep checking to see if it comes back to life.
but i really dont think that's going to happen.

dave says... 'put it on your birthday list'
but i dont want to.
i already have that list in mind and an ipod was not on it.

and i lost my ear candy too.

ohhhh. i'll get over it ;) it really isnt the end of the world.

but now that silly hoodie wasn't such a great deal after all.

LBE for Haiti

You may have noticed a new button on my sidebar.

My heart was aching for Haiti, and I had the idea (floating around in my head) of hosting a raffle over on my LBE blog in hopes of raising some money to help out... then the 2nd earthquake hit, and I knew I had to do something to help out, even if only this small bit.

Donations are $2.00 per ticket, with a chance to win a Little Bean Embroidery gift set :) ALL proceeds will go to Haitians in need.

Visit the LBE blog for more information.
And please spread the word to anyone you think would be interested in being a part of this.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

hockey socks

cohen has an issue.
his socks have been getting holes in them, in the same exact spots, almost daily... for the past few weeks.

at first i didn't think much of it.
just figured they were the older socks...
you know, the worn out kind.

then i realized that some of these socks were from Christmas.
and they were already getting holes?
hmmmmm.

i finally figured it out.
see the evidence below:

1. pile of holey toddler socks to be sewn.

2. one 'unknowing' boy. (and his sister who butts in...)



3. the truth of how the socks get their holes.
(and please pay little attention to my fine sports announcing skills.)


this is his thing.
he 'skates' all day long.
(well, not all day long... but a lot of the day.)

once, when i was replacing his holey socks with a fresh untorn pair, he proudly stated... 'skates on'.
im considering sewing him a pair of 'hockey sock/slipper/covers' in hopes of saving some socks.

for all he cares, he is a Blue Jacket.
though i am not sure that NHL players lick their hockey sticks after they score a goal.
i should pay better attention.

boo.

i have a whole big post typed out titled... 'hockey socks'
but.
blogger wont take my videos.
and what's a 'hockey sock' post without some videos?
not much.

so instead, i leave you with a few pictures.

or instead. i leave you with no pictures.
because apparently, blogger does not like my pictures either.

boo.
ill be back.

My Life People ~Meet Sandra!~

The 6th segment of My Life People is here!
Meet Sandra Simpson :)

(I had to share a good shot of her hair :)

And now... to Sandra's answers!

1.How do you know me?
We are very good friends. We meet at the Preschool our kids went/go to, then started scrapbooking together and now are just great friends! :)

2. Name 3 things always in your fridge.
Oh...that is a tough one, I have WAY more then 3 things that are ALWAYS in my fridge, but I will go w/filtered water, Mt. Dew (that is all Stacy drinks!) and ketchup... is there any other condiment???

3. What 5 movies should I (meaning Jen) watch very soon?
Well if that isn't a question perfect for me...the only problem is there is no way I can only pick 5...I swear I tried...so here is my list of the top 20 (or so!!!) in no particular order - and none of these are movies that are at the theater right now, I went with all "older" movies - and just all around great movies that I love - all different types of movies too!!! And Jen, I own all of these movies, so if you want to borrow any of them, just let me know.

Pirates of the Caribean 1, 2 and 3
Oceans 11, 12 and 13 (I LOVE George Clooney!!!)
Son-in-law
The Ref
Enemy at the Gate (Great War movie)
UP
Steel Magnolias
Iron Man
Desperado
Wedding Planner
Batman: Dark Knight
Enchanted
Sweet Home Alabama
Outsiders
White Squal
Braveheart
Evita
Gladiator

4. You get a guilt free day… tell me about it.
I would go shopping...and I would buy all new clothes for me and not have to worry about the cost or a budget. I would probably buy all kinds of stuff for the house too, new big screen TV, Wii games, anything really, just not have to worry about how much money I spent or feel bad about spending it...that would be GREAT!!!

5. What is the best vacation you have ever been on?
So before kids, my parents took Me, Stacy and my sister, Paula, on a Cruise to the southern caribbean...it was sooooo much fun. Just the five of us, it was over Christmas too. It was just the best experience ever, the food, the sights, the excursions, all of it. It was just a fabulous trip and we will never forget it.

Check out Sandra with her adorable kids... oh so cute!!

My Notes on Sandra:

I started jotting down some notes on Sandra over the weekend, so I thought it'd be fun to copy and paste them raw right here...

-Sandra and I met through the preschool :) (See I told you I LOVE that place... for so many reasons.)

-Sandra and I share the same type of brain. We think the same way about many many things. You know those people you just connect with, and are constantly saying... "Me too!"? We do that. A lot.

-She tells THE. BEST. STORIES. The kinds that you don't get tired of hearing. The ones you want to hear over and over again.

-She is genuinely funny. Always makes me laugh. She honestly cracks me up… from the list of words she can’t stand, to her 'lack-of-love' for a certain grocery store, glitter, mushrooms, and tomatoes ;)

-She shows her true feelings. There is no hiding it. If she’s happy... you know it. If she’s not... you know it. I love that about her.

-When I'm down, she hears it in my voice. She asks me 'what’s up'. And she really means it. She listens, and asks questions. She truly cares.

-Sandra is so giving. Of her time, her friendship, her scrapbook supplies (like when I need some dinosaur brads), her true opinion, her movie collection :)

-She asks me to help her. She asks for my advice. Which makes me feel special. And I need that.

-She's a tad like me. Check out her list of movies (does that remind you of my song list?) And how about her answer to #4? do you think I could have written that myself? (And she asked me to fix any typos. hello. i am the spellcheck freak. grammer and punctuation, not so much.)

-She makes her own laundry detergent. And gave me the boost (and a sample and the recipe) I needed to make my own too!

Sandra is another 'newer' friend that I am so grateful to have in my life. Amazing how even now, as an 'adult', I am making all sorts of new friends whom I could not imagine my life without!!

(And by the way Sandra, you are not too boring for a blog… but I do know you are a busy lady and you probably do enjoy getting to sleep at night ;)

winner draw!

it's too early to think... so a video blog today.

big thanks to all who left their answers below!

it was so fun reading about each of you :)

hello out there.

Who are you?
Yes you.
You... reading this blog entry.

Nice to meet you.

I’m always rambling on about myself.
My husband.
My kids.
My hobbies.
But I want to know about you!
I want to know about who is reading here.
I want this place to be more interactive.

Would you take a few minutes to answer a few questions in a comment below?

What state do you live in?
What is your ‘job’? (As in… what do you do all day long?)
Any kids? A darling spouse or other in your life?
What are your hobbies?
How did you find my blog? (If you can remember…)
What do you enjoy reading here?
What would you like to see more of?
Anything else to share? I'd love to hear..

And if you do comment here (answering a majority of the questions above) you will be entered to win a little prize. Just something fun I picked up on clearance last weekend. Something I use for creating :) I bought 9 boxes, so I figure I can share one with a lovely blog reader ;)

(I will draw a name Saturday (1/16/10) night, or sometime Sunday (1/17/10), so get your comment added by Saturday to be sure to be included in the drawing!)

drama 101

Lilly happy.Lilly sad.Lilly mad.Lilly scared.Lilly surprised.Cohen happy.Cohen sad.Cohen mad.

(need to work on this one. or not. yah, let's not.)

Cohen scared.Cohen surprised.

Mommy cold.
Mommy achy.
Mommy tired.

Mommy feels better now ;)

praying.

praying is a constant in my life.
i pray all the time.
for so many things.

thanks to God for all He has given.
thanks for all the things He puts me through (even when I don't like and/or understand it) ...because I learn through Him.
thanks for the people He has put in my life.

i ask for peace.
i ask for contentment.
i ask for strength.
i ask for forgiveness.
i ask for guidance.
i ask for patience.
(and a little more patience please.)

i ask for Him to be with me.
to be with my husband and my children.
to be with a friend whose heart is broken.
to be with a friend whose mother has cancer.
to be with friends who have babies in Heaven.
to be with family and friends who long to conceive.
to be with family and friends who are growing sweet little babies.
to be with a friend who battles with Lupus.
to be with those whose hearts He has not yet been able enter.

i'm not outgoing.
i don't shout from rooftops, or write on walls.
but i do pray.
i pray a lot.

food and blogging and comments

we watched Julie & Julia last night.

i really liked it.

2 of my favorite things combined.

cooking and blogging ;)

(if you like either of those, i would recommend you see it too)

there were so many moments in the movie where i just giggled. (and dave nudged me several times)

*like when she got her first comment. and then 53 comments.

*or when her husband told her not to blog about the argument they had. (but she still did)

*and how she refers to her 'readers' and the advice and encouragement they give, as if they were her real 'in true life' friends.

*how her mom just 'didn't get' the whole blogging thing.

*declaring that there really isnt anything better than butter.

love it.

so funny we just watched this blogging movie, as i already had the idea to blog about 2 comments i had recently received. neither of which had been posted to my blog comments, yet.

the first, from a friend who replied to my mass 'a new blog post is up!' email. her email made my heart smile, so i asked permission to share. Permission was granted as long as I fixed typos ;)

"I was never into blogs....I always thought they were diaries online. Then, I met you. I learned so much! I was totally wrong and now realize what a world of amazing ideas exist on blogs. not diaries but creativity online to inspire...share and create masterpieces. So I've decided I will quit my job (after we win the lotto!) and make all these amazing things I've been introduced to via your blog and links. The prudent site was adorable!! Congrats on your 'shout out' there too! In reality....I will be at work at 9 tomorrow ....however I am now DETERMINED to scrap AND make J's dress this weekend. :) Happy only 2 days til the weekend....I'm ready. The crafty side of me wants out!"

The second, an annoymous comment that was waiting to be accepted. This one just made me giggle. Whoever you are annoymous... I'm happy to hear you think my blog is on the upswing ;)

"Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!"

Thank you. To all who read here. To all who comment.

And even if you dont comment. I'm glad you are here.

You make me smile more than you know.

And now I am off to accept the annoymous comment to see which post it was on :)

My Life People ~Meet Julie!~

Moving right along now to the 5th segment of My Life People... introducing Julie!
I'll let you use your awesome deductioning skills

to figure out who she is ;)

Here are Julie's answers to the 5 questions I asked her :)

1. How do you know me?
I met Jen when Lilly was in my class a few years ago. I have really enjoyed getting to know the whole family. I have had so much fun scrapbooking with Jen. It’s has turned into a great friendship.

2. If you could have any job, what would you really like to do?
I really love my job working with all kinds of children from age 3-8 except for the paper work. So I guess if anyone knows a job that I could work with kids and make the same money without the paperwork let me know. I’m all ears.

3. You can have bottomless gift cards to 3 stores, name them.
This is a hard one because I hate to go shopping. I would go to REI because I could get all my fun outdoor stuff from biking, kayaking, and hiking, Joann’s for all the scrapbooking stuff and Giant Eagle for all the groceries since it’s the closest store to my house.

4. What song would be your theme song?
Teach Your Children by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young Or Times Like These by the Foo Fighters What's your favorite song? I don’t really have one. I love all different kinds of music from Michael Buble, Josh Groban, Social Distortion, Dixie Chicks, The Cure, Brownie Mary (I use to be a groupie when they sang in Columbus) Snow Patrol, American idol singers and much much more.

5. Name 5 things in your purse/bag?
I like to carry a little purse. I’m actually looking for a new one right now. Let’s see Cash, credit card, hand lotion, chap stick and my phone, nothing too exciting.

My notes on Julie:

Julie is one of my newest friends. I am so so grateful to have met Julie through Lilly's preschool!!! (Another reason why I LOVE that place.... have I said that before?) I am so glad that I stepped over the teacher/parent line (and Julie let me...) without being too much of a stalker, to become friends with her! The 1st time that I knew Julie was something extra special was when she brought her kayak into the classroom :) She has proven herself an amazing person time and time again... ice skating in shaving cream at school, coming to Lilly's lemonade stand, her gymnastics class... and then we invited them over for a Wii 'party' and now we feel so lucky to call her and her husband, John, our friends! I so much enjoy my time with Julie.... scrapping (and eating), sharing all kinds of stories about our adorable husbands, my silly kids, and now stories about pregnancy and babies (my old stories... Julie's current stories)! We can't wait till the Spring to meet little Julie or John :) (ps. i LOVE your mix of music and that you are so practical with your bottomless gift cards!!)

blog fame

lilly's at school and the little kids are napping.**
i get 'about' an hour or so for me time.

what do i do?
laundry? no
dishes? no
clean? no
pickup toys? no
eat? no
sleep? no
watch TV? no
check my bloglines? yes.

im browsing...
scrolling pictures...
and i see the outfit i made for the little lady i watch...
on someone else's blog!!
and not just any blog.



Prudent Baby.

which is where i was originally inspired :)

here is their post... with me in it!

i feel famous ;)
and that feels so nice.

**started writing during nap time... finished, edited and posted later ;) (because my little man woke up right in the middle of my 1st attempt to blog. then we started making dinner, the other kids woke up, snacktime, change a few diapers, take the little man to the potty a few times, get lilly from the bus, unpack the packback, listen to lilly read a few books, change another diaper, mend a bumped head, and so on and so forth... until i had 5 minutes to sit down again)

i do scrap.

see?
here is proof.
i do scrap.

(special thanks to blogger for allowing 18 pics in this post!)