Friday Fill-ins

1. I'm happy, I'm secure, I couldn't ask for more.
2. Why do I have to get up to an alarm everyday and not just sleep until I naturally wake up?
3. How does this Photoshop program work, anyway?
4. Every morning, I put slippers on my feet. (At least since we moved into a house with wood floors)
5. I consider myself lucky because I am. Seriously I am lucky because I believe I am!
6. One day we’ll see cars that drive themselves.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a walk and going to bed early, tomorrow my plans include doing a few things around the house then going to soccer with Abbie and the library and Sunday, I want to relax and scrapbook (not sure it will happen though)!

Cards

I spent a good part of the day today getting things ready for Feeling Scrappy's next class (Sketchapaloooza 3!) and I thought it would be fun to share a few of the cards I made in our last class all using Stacey's sketches. (Be sure to check the Feeling Scrappy blog tomorrow for one of Stacey's card sketches!) I was thrilled with the Year of Cheer class and so happy to have a nice stash of cards all ready to go!

17 years...

in the blink of an eye. Today Don and I mark our 17th wedding anniversary. We have lived through many wonderful adventures together and I know we have many more awaiting us. I look forward to the years ahead knowing I will have this man by my side :) Love you Don!!

Maymont

We spent the day Saturday exploring Maymont - which is about 15 minutes from our house. Maymont is advertised as having "History, Habitats and Horticulture" and it did not disappoint. It was in the high 50s so a little cool but not cool enough to keep us inside. We explored the 40 acres of space - the things we enjoyed the most were the nature center (with huge tanks that included all the fish that can be found in the James River), the Japanese gardens (with a large bamboo forest that we hiked through), the wildlife exhibits (the kids especially enjoyed the Birds of Prey) and the rolling scenic outdoors. We only looked around the outside of the Mansion and decided to save the inside for another day. Here are a few shots from our trip to Maymont.

Jacob (our fish expert) tells Don all about what is in the tanks.

Abbie and I touched and held the turtles.

Jacob and Sam:

Sam and Abbie in the bamboo forest.

Not the nest picture but I snapped this for you mom - to show you spring is already starting to show up in Richmond!

Hope you are having a relaxing Sunday!

Friday!

Love Fridays! Today I went to a local crop and I really like the group of ladies. They all seemed nice and welcoming :) I will be going back tonight after Don gets home from work (just to a mid-day break to get the kids settled) It feels so good to be scrapping again. I had a dry spell because of the move but I am back on a roll! Happy day :o)!

1. Give me some paper and a pen and I'll write down my thoughts.

2. Whenever I need to talk something through I call my mom.

3. I wish my family lived near by.

4. Thai beef salad was the last thing I ate that was utterly delicious.

5. To live in this world you need to focus on the positive. (At least to live happily in this world)

6. Other than this one, my friend Stacey's blog Curry Chaos is the last blog I commented on.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to scrapbooking some more, tomorrow my plans include hanging out with the family (we might go to Belle Island again) and Sunday, I want to relax and get a few pictures hung!

Free Stamp!

All you need to do is check out Shiela's new blog! How fun is that? Just click HERE!

Some goodies up for grabs...

I posted a little Valentine give-away over on the Feeling Scrappy Blog all you need to do is enter a comment for a chance to win :)

Also wanted to remind everyone of our next class - Sketchapalooza 3 starts on March 2nd! The class will feature all new sketches plus as you requested we have added several double page spreads and more photos per sketch! You can sign up for class here - Hope to see you there!

A one minute movie.

I was reading a post on The Happiness Project this morning and there was a link to a one minute movie about life. I highly recommend you take a minute to watch it - it is very well done and really helps bring the simple things in to focus. Thank you to Lee for introducing me to the site!

The Years Are Short

Friendship Blog Award :)

My sweet cyber friend, Shirley bestowed a friendship blog award upon me! Thanks Shirley! Here is the description of the award:
“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

As for my eight friends, I will pass this on to:
1. Stacey C.
2. Char
3. Becky
4. Stacey L
5. Kari Ann
6. Trudy
7. Tracy
8. Amy

Love - kitchen style :)

I am in love with my new stove and microwave! Seriously! Easy to clean, nice even heat, everything in the right place, and a microwave the Jetson's would envy. In Omaha, I had a cook top that was white (Hello - white? For a cook top? - What were they thinking - what a PITA to keep clean that was!) and a double oven that was never the right height for me so I was always burning myself on it. But now ahhhhhh...lovin' my oven!

Friday Fill-in

1. It seems like the laundry baskets are never empty.
2. Flush the toilet when you're done, please? (Said to my boys endlessly!)
3. If I thought you would come scrap with me I'd be thrilled!
4. Friendship is what I think of most when I think of you. (My blog readers :) )
5. To me, Valentine's Day means just a little fun. We don't do anything big - just a little fun for the kids :)
6. My mom gives me strength.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to baking goodies for the neighbors with Abbie, tomorrow my plans include some more family time exploring our new hometown and Sunday, I want to scrapbook and read!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Belle Isle

This weekend in Richmond the weather was beautiful! 70 degrees and sunny at the beginning of February. Ahhhhhhh! Love it! We decided since it was so nice we had to go exploring a bit and so we went to Belle Isle. This is about 15 minutes from our house and is in the middle of the James river. You walk over a long pedestrian bridge to get to the island and it is beautiful. Very wooded with a trail all the way around with fantastic views of the James and the city. We were excited to see lots of dogs to Zoe can go with us next time and in addition to the large rocks you can walk out into in the James there is a huge area filled with boulders to explore (this use to be some kind of foundry. The island it also filled with history - it was the site of a prison for soldiers during the war and you can read a lot of historical information about it there.

We really enjoyed the day and are planning to go back again soon. I am sure this will become a regular hang out for our family! Hope you had a great weekend!

The view of Richmond from Belle Isle:

Abbie on the bridge walking to the island:

A few shots of the James River:

Abbie and I out on the James:

Silly Putty

I use to love Silly Putty when I was a kid - my best friend Billy and I used to love to make copies of the comics with it! When I saw some here at Ben Franklin I picked up one for each of the kids and - Yep! They love it too! We have been molding, copying and shaping away. FUN! If you want to add a little fun to your weekend I highly recommend you pick up an egg full!

Friday Fill-ins

1. Please don't tell me any gossip.
2. Can you be quiet in the morning?I need a little quiet time when I first wake up
3. The color of ripe wheat makes me want to sigh with happiness!
4. I have a craving for a Thai beef salad.
5. If my life had a pause button, I'd pause it the next time we are on a family vacation.
6. Eyes are the prettiest part of the face.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing with the family and watching a movie, tomorrow my plans include maybe driving to the mountains for a hike and Sunday, I want to scrapbook!

From Mess to Success

I am just finishing up getting the insides of my new binder together today. (So excited about the system and think it will work well for me!) Here is how the outside and dividers turned out :)

10 Things - "T"

My friend Lee posted a writing-prompt and I asked to play along so she sent me the letter "T" - I am just now getting to this but it was fun so thanks Lee!

The rules of the game are simple. Once assigned a letter you are to post 10 things that you love which begin with that letter. (If you want to play, leave me a message saying you want to play in my comment area. I’ll assign a random letter and on and on it goes.)



Here goes - in no particular order!

1.) Travel - I absolutely love to travel. From planning the trip to scrapbooking about it afterwards and everything in between. I honestly feel that every trip I take stretches who I am and broadens my horizons.
2.) Thai food - yum. My favorite take out item - the spicier the better.
3.) Trader Joe's - I feel healthier just walking in the place. I like the fact that I can get "different" items there then the normal grocery store and everyone is always so friendly - workers and shoppers alike.
4.) Trees - I knew the minute I saw Omaha that no matter what I would grow to love about it - I would never love the lack of trees. I am trilled to be in Virginia now with trees galore! I can still see house but I see a nice gathering of large trees out of every window. Ahhhhh.....
5.) Treats - I love to give my dog Zoe her treats. She is very food motivated and therefore easy to train - she will do anything for a good treat. (Heck! She is not the only one :wink:)
6.) Touring - I really enjoy going on all those tours of old homes and historic sites. You can learn so much about the way people lived and I always find it fascinating.
7.) Teasing - one way I show my love it by teasing someone - ask my kids - I tease them all the time.
8.) Teeth - my teeth to be exact. There are not a great many things I like about my physical appearance but I do like my teeth. Never had to have braces - they came in nice and straight just like my Mom's. Thanks Mom!
9.) Thunder - nothing like a good thunder storm when you and those you love are safe and sound in the cozy house. Perfect for a good read!
10.) Teddy Bears - although I don't believe in having a ton of stuffed animals - I do think everyone need one good teddy bear. (Plus I love the story of how Teddy Bears came about!)