saturday accomplishments

Among all the fun (not fun) errands that I do on Saturday I was able to work on my studio a bit. I finally hung up the bulletin board I bought a couple months ago and set up a bigger table for my computer so I can actually type without my arms hanging off the edge. It makes the room feel so much more open. I can't wait to fill the board with inspiration. I have stuff I want to hang I just haven't had time to find pins to put it all up. Also I had Adam hang my 3 shadow box frames right outside my studio so its the first thing you see as you come in. It make me so happy to walk down the hall now. I just love the way it looks. I hung 3 of my favorite layouts and plan to change it every few months.

sorry the lighting is so bad but i tooks this at night.

a taste of what's to come.

Bella had school early today for a field trip and Tess had school this morning too. So I find myself home with only Megan this morning who is sleeping since she doesn't feel well. I am sorry about that, but am really enjoying the quiet in my house right now and in the morning...this never happens.

So I was thinking about how awesome next year will be. Bella all day and Tess in preschool 3 days a week. I am looking forward to getting to spend some one-on-one time with Megan since I've never really had that with her. I think it's exactly what she needs.

So I want to know, what do you do when you're all alone during the day or if you have a day off?

photos of April

i've updated my photoblog! I think I am on a monthly update or at least that's what it feels like. I need to be better about this as I really enjoy looking back at these and so do the kids.

Enjoy!

Tagged...by me

I stole this from another site. I always enjoy reading these and I really like the questions this time.

5 Things in my fridge:
Milk
yogurt
Grapes
cheese
tortilla

5 Things in my closet:
loads of t-shirts
long and lean jeans
gym bag
shoes
cell phone charger


5 Things in my purse:
blistex
wallet
reciepts
chocolate/candy
cell phone


5 Things in my car:
crackers
kid socks
diaper/wipes
floss
water

5 Things on my Tivo:
24
the office
decoding the past
good eats
everyday italian


Tagging:
Lori
Jill
Robyn
Amy F

It seems there is never enough time in the day

Why is that? It is a constant frustration that I go to bed wishing I was able to do more. Perhaps it is my "keep it at an easy pace" lifestyle. Honestly I don't live like that, but I sure wish I did.

Anyway, this is what I'm up to.

1. I need to start working the kindergarten opera scrapbook for Bella's class. I volunteer to help and am finding I'm doing it myself. I think I would rather it that way. I will be putting it together in photoshop since it is going to be color copied. Thank goodness. I don't think I could make 20 scrapbooks.

2. We are finally getting our driveway poured on Thursday so now people will know where our front door is. We are also getting our blinds installed on Thursday or at least half of them. Looking forward to that. The temporary blinds are bugging me.

3. I just got done making enchilladas and am very excited to eat....can't wait for Adam to get home. The girls have been crying for something else, but am hoping they will give it a try. I made a deal with them long ago that they can have whatever they want for lunch as long as they eat the dinner I make. It seems to be going ok, but it takes definite encouragement.

4. I have been working on uploading photos to my new smugmug site. I am excited to have all my photos in one place and perhaps some kind of security. Can't hurt to have your photos in more than one place. I don't have much on there, but I am working on it.

5. Wanting to get our study a little bit more useable. I have been filling the 1 bookshelf we own, but we have so many books we either need to store them or buy more bookshelfs.

6. Found a very cool site that allows you to backup your blog so you don't loose anything. You could even put them in PDF format and save to disc as is with photos and all. I think it is very cool. Just go to the web site and download the program. it is so simple and easy to use. If you don't want to use that my advice for the day would be to back up you blog. How horrible would that be to loose it all.

7. I have 9 9x9 frames I want to fill with photos. Been looking through my 5x7 stash and other photos to see what copies i want made.

8. Just in case anyone is interested Rhonna is doing another art challenge. It started yesterday but you can start whenever. I am still working on round 2.

So that is some of what I am working on or want to work on. I have plenty more to do like time with kids/adam, YW lesson etc.




i also want to give a big shout out to sweet olivia who is turning 3 today or yesterday...I can't quite figure that one out. we love you. thanks for letting me steal the photo jill. its adorable.

Happy Birthday Robyn!

i am all mixed up with the time difference so i hope i didn't miss it. hope you have a fabulous day. we love and miss.

We just finished it.

I am thrilled about the mantle project I (and Adam) have been working on.

I previously wanted the photos to be sitting on the mantel as I posted earlier, but after further scrutiny of the room I realized (with Adams help) the photos really needed to be higher to give the room something vertical...everything seems to be the same height. So we hung them on the wall above the mantel between the lights. I may add a little something if I can find what I am looking for, but for now this is it.

I absolutely love it. I can't stop staring at it. Literally I sit on the couch just to look at the photos. Its makes me very happy.

so I am curious...what in your house makes you happy?

Our living room

Our living room and office are connected by two French glass doors. One thing we wanted while designing this house was to have an area that the family would hang out in. We tried to keep in mind older kids and their needs. We thought having everything out in the open was the perfect why.

For the first couple of months we had no furniture in there. It was one of the things that kept me from feeling like we had moved in all the way. I knew we were going to buy a few pieces of furniture, but I hated to go in there. It just made the entire space, office included, non usable. Two weeks ago Adam and I went to Envy in west jordan and bought two black leather chairs and a smaller sofa made out of microfiber. On another outing to downeast home we found a cool black buffet/console (I'm not sure what it is) that serves to hold our media. (just as a side note we have found countless good deals there so if you have never gone...Go)

I just love being in there now. We had some friends over last weekend and it was the perfect place to just sit and talk. It is exactly what were going for when we designed the space.

I also included a photo of our stairs since we hung some framed leaves. Looks so much better.

can't live without...or at least i don't want to.

So I have been thinking about jill's post...the no TV for a week experiment and whether or not I could. I do believe I would have no problem. The kid thing might get a bit hairy as I feel it's the one time I get a break. Anyway, it's got me thinking about the things in life I can't live without...on a permant basis.

so here's my list: keeping in mind these are strickly material items and in no particular order.

1. my computer. I could not live without my computer. I find comfort in it. It connects me to other people, places I would not normally have in my life. I have thoroughly enjoyed the blog community and how it constantly keeps me thinking. There is so much information and so much to learn that the computer make available to someone who is constantly at home. I could not do without it.

2. my ipod. It has really change the way I listen to music in a big way. I do enjoy the quiet as I rarely get it, but I also enjoy the way music makes me feel. How it changes my mood in an instant. It keeps me going. It holds with it loads of memories just waiting. I love that.

3. long and lean jeans. if I could. If it were fashionably ok. I would wear my long and lean jeans everyday. I love them. They are so comfortable and I love the way they fit me. I am such a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal. It is a must have for me.

4. chocolate. I don't know if the world could exist without the pure rich delicate taste of chocolate. My mouth waters just thinking about it. I must have some everyday and I do. Without fail after lunch and dinner I always pop something chocolaty in my mouth.

5. my camera. I have fallen in love with taking pictures all over again. The ability it gives you to stop time in its tracks. To hold onto the memories that are long since gone. It's priceless to me. I also love the work. The challenge. The excitement of getting that one good shot.

6. paper. I love using my hands to work. To create. It makes it feel real. I love the colors and textures paper provides. I feel like such a complex person these days I could not go without creating. Letting my feelings out on paper is very therapeutic. I don't want to know me without it. i need it.

a new look

i have been playing around with photoshop. love this progam. i quite enjoy figuring out how to use it. my knowledge is very limited, but am currently searching for the right book for me. i'm a visual person or at least i learn better that way. if i can see it chances are i won't forget it.

i can't believe this

i went to bed last night with my window open it was so warm and woke up to snow. it started probably around 7:30a and quit around 4 or 5pm. it was a crazy day for weather. i must say i am grateful it waited until today. I would have been very bummed trekking through the snow to get to church. i'm really hoping warm weather will melt it quickly.
i want spring!

happy easter!

sometime i prefer easter over christmas. don't get me wrong i love christmas, but with all the hoopla about gifts and parties etc. it's so hard to really soak in the season. the true meaning. i crave it every year, but too often it slips by. it's so nice easter allows me that. to really ponder what the holiday is about. Christ and his sacrifice. how grateful i am for that knowledge.


have a great day everyone.

easter traditions

we always decorate eggs and have easter egg hunts. it is something i really enjoyed as a child and still do to this day. i love to watch my girls faces light up as they find one egg after another. yesterday was no exception. even though it was inside they still had a great time.


















thank you also to lori and jill who both gave me thoughtful gifts and stocked me full of yummy chocolate. thanks for thinking of me.

thought i would share

since i am up (since 4am) i've been looking through and trying to organize my photos and came across these layouts I did for my parents for christmas. I made them an 8x8 album of layouts of each family and grandchild. A few of them i like so much i want to copy and make into 12x12.

what i have been thinking about....working on

So for a while I have been bothered by the fact that my house seems dead. We have nothing on the walls and it's so bare. This past week Adam and i cracked out some of our frames and are figuring out what we want where (we have a few hard spots like the entry). We actually only hung a few things, but it makes a huge difference.

One of the ideas I have been thinking about is the mantle in our living room off the kitchen. In my old house I desperately wanted to do something over my mantle, but it didn't lend itself to that. Eventhough I don't particularily like this mantle/fireplace it will serve it's purpose and allow me to do what i have been thinking about for years. So this week i have been looking through our stash of frames (also bought a couple) and am trying to work out a pleasing arrangement. I have been thinking about adding the word family or memories...something of that nature, but haven't found anything yet so i will keep looking. For right now i just love looking in the room and seeing the progress.

Please don't mind the pictures/mats as I want to figure out what frames i am using and then get the photos. I am planning to put my most favorite blk/wht photos of us and the girls. I also have adam on board to cut me a few mats. (So glad he has skills.)

so i have been taking a break.

taking a break from me stuff. it hasn't been easy, but something i need to do in order to make my life livable. i know that doesn't seem to make sense as why live if you don't get to do what makes you happy. ah...the beauty of life and the choices we make. i am beginning to realize there will be times in my life for me and times when i don't really factor in. why has it taken me 6 years to figure out i don't get me time.

all week i have been struggling with the have tos and want tos of my day. staying home obviously brings about all the house work, bills, laundry, etc. that need to be done. then there's my callings. of course time with your kids & the things they have to do. time with my husband (something i enjoy doing). where in this day is there time for myself? when i do try to make time i end up quite frustrated because i can't get anything done. always someone pulling at my sleeve.

so this week i let it go. go of the notion that all things can be done. i spent time with my kids. we played outside, i took them to the park, played with friends, etc. i felt like a good mom. however, at the end of the week the house is a disaster, the laundry has piled up, i feel drained, i pushed every desire to work on projects aside. so i feel like it will take all next week to catch up when really shouldn't i do the same thing again....spend time with my girls so at least i feel like a good mom?

honestly i don't know how anyone does it? i don't know how we are suppose to do it? these organization plans are great for families where the kids are primarily at school or at least older, but no matter what i turn my back and megan has taken an entire bag of chips and smashed them into the floor. not literally, but there are crumbs following her every move. i just can't keep up. i am not one of those people that can keep up, i know some of you can. too bad for me.

the insanity is a little much to handle at times, which is why my experiment in the first place. i am not sure how i feel about the result, but at least i did feel like a good mom and that's something. but what about feeling like a good wife? or a good house keeper? or a good person?

if you can't do it all what should you focus on?

a good sunday

So today was my last day teaching my primary class. I was sad/happy all day. I love the three little girls in my class and dare I say they really like me. They always have something funny to share and I sure enjoy the spirit they bring to the class.

During singing time i had a special experience that brought my attention to how important primary really is. At the end of singing the chorister started talking about how this week would have been the last week in Jesus life. With visual aids she talked about what Jesus would go through in the next 7 days. The thing that struck me the most was how quiet it suddenly got in the room. I mean it is normal to get a bit rowdy at the end, but once she started talking about Jesus all eyes were on her and no one made a sound. It really spoke to me. I knew that these kids really do know Jesus. They have testimonies of what he did for them. I felt so very fortunate to have been in primary for so long. I will miss them.

So i have to share with you what happened when I was sustain to be.....the beehive advisor in young woman. Yes that is my new calling. I am really looking forward to it as I have not been in YW since I was one myself so this will be interesting. Anyway, when they announced that I was the new beehive advisor i heard a "yes" in the congregation. I almost started laughing. It turns out the advisor now is pretty old and the girls have been dying for someone young. I have been told there were a lot of happy girls that went home today (we had an elders quorom party tonight and spoke to the parents) and a few sad ones. One of the girls in my class kept asking her mom "what does released me?" and then started to cry when she realized I would not be her teacher. It makes me feel good to know they enjoyed me as their teacher. I feel that perhaps I did make a difference.

I am excited to get involved with theYW even though I know it will be a lot of work. It will be very different than what I am use to, but I know really good for me. I hope I can be a good influence to these girls and look forward to being able to put my talents to use.

day 10

so lately i have been in a bad way. i never understand why. it is just my life cycle. the one where nothing is good but really everything is. its hard to get out because all i want to do is embrace it. this entry for me was trying to let it go.

what is going on?!?

I desperately want spring. I have had one day of it. Isn't it suppose to be spring? It has been raining/snowing/hailing for the past day now, but for the last several hours it has been pure snow. So when I went to pick up bella from school there was at least 3 inches of snow on the roads. It made for quite the adventure getting up and down the hill. When I spoke to Adam on the phone he said...nothing here just rain, and he was so delighted.

So I want to know....what is the weather like for you today?

day 9

I have decided i miss my stamps. I still have them all clustered together in a box. The stamp shelves Adam made me are too large for my wall. I need him to cut it in half or figure out a different place to put them...any ideas? It makes a difference not having them out at arms length to draw inspriation from. This afternoon I was looking in my box for something, found the flowers, and went for it. The entry did not take me long at all...about 15 minutes while tess was cutting up her paper.

I enjoyed the process of making this one.

day 8

I am finding this to be a little bit more difficult than previously. I don't know if it's because i'm finding less time to work or if my ideas aren't flowing as easily. I won't give up though.

it just made me happy.

this morning when I was pulling into my garage my eyes were drawn to this beautiful lone flower admits the piles of dirt.

I am sure there is tons of symbolism that I could talk about and metaphors to draw inspiration from, but right now it just made me happy.

Happy to see a flower in my yard since all I see is dirt. Happy that spring is coming. Happy it will start to warm up (i think). Happy life is good. Happy to be having some friends over. Happy to be a mom. Happy the house is clean and dinner made.

Happy I feel happy.

day 7

Initially i was going for something different, but like the path it took instead.

finally

This layout has been sitting on my desk just like this for 3 weeks now. I kept looking at and looking at it feeling like something was missing. I tried to add to it, but was not please so I decided to let it be finished. I like it a lot. I am not sure why I felt the need to belabor the inevitable. I seem to do that quite a bit. Hopefully I will be better able to make decisions with my new creative endeavor.

Anyway thought I would share.

Day 6

This took no time. I think I may also incorporate this into a layout.

added swirls (rhonna farrer) in photoshop after I scanned it. However the black one is a rub-on.

on my mind

1. recovering from a late night last night. I had scheduled a night scrapbooking with my friends, which I had to put off due to a dinner with Adam's banker. I seriously thought this would not be fun at all and I would just sit there listening to their converstions for 2 hours. Boy was I wrong. I had a really great time. The conversation was excellent and the food fantastic. We went to Harvest at Thanksgiving point. Delicious. So why am I recovering...I ended meeting up with my friends at 10pm for a couple of hours. I didn't take any of my stuff since 2 hours is not enough for me to do anything, but i did enjoy their company.

2. looking forward to conference this weekend. I feel I really need it right now. I suppose I always feel like that. I usually work on a project during the Saturday session, but today I am going to be folding laundry (my favorite pass time while watching tv) and maybe organizing a bit. I am hoping the kids will cooperate and either use their packets we made in primary or play well. What do your you or kids do during conference?

3. Thinking about making my grocery list and what to eat for the next week. I always hate doing this. I never know what to eat. I am bored with our food choices. Any suggestions?

4. Hoping to work on my art journal this evening while adam is gone (6-8) and the kids are in bed. I have had a lot of ideas running through my head. Problem is for me it's so easy to think about, but once i have paper in front of me I freeze. I don't know how to get my ideas, or thoughts for that matter, out on paper the way I like. The way I am really feeling.

5. Enjoying the art journals for those of you who have started. Really enjoying. So glad you have decided to take the challenge. I am having fun with it...playing around with stuff I never do.

'til next time.