Life, Organization, Scrapbooking and Valentine’s Day

(Photo heavy post ahead) 2011 is already zipping on by.  We have been keeping busy with long work days, home organization projects and trying to fit in some creative/hobby time (usually late at night after the boys go to sleep.

Today’s challenge at ScrapTiffany was to use metal or wire. I ended up making 3 layouts using this challenge. This is the one I submitted to Tiffany for the design team layouts.

This layout was rolling around my brain since a few days after my mom passed away in December. The Orianthi song Courage came on the radio and I knew this was something I needed to make….

For this one I used some old metal flowers mixed with new.

and this one I embossed a thin sheet of metal with the cuttlebug for the heart in the title and the photo corner. Pictures were from our photo shoot with Maggie Holmes.

We have been on a clean out, get rid of and organize mission lately.  Two weekends ago we attacked the pantry and the linen closet.

This is what the pantry looked like when we started.

And now, although I am not happy with a few things, so I have ordered some more of the larger baskets and will move some of the smaller ones to the laundry room cabinets. But it is nice to have a place for everything,.

This is the start of the new backsplash, behind the stove. I have one more piece on backorder that will fit below the shelf area down to the counter top. But this is making me very happy.

Superbowl Sunday was spent hanging around the house. Or climbing if you are Jackson…

Making some yummy treats…

Nicholas liked watching half time and the commercials more than the football game (just like his mommy)….

I was home early from a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. Jackson was playing and then suddenly it was quiet….

Nicholas now knows how to play Daddy’s train game on the computer….

This past Saturday, Mike’s mom came to watch the boys so Mike and I could attack this disaster.  Our house has a 2 car and 1 car garage set up. The 1 car garage has become a dumping ground for everything….

We took out everything opened all the bins and boxes. Moved all the shelves, swept, and wiped down everything.  Then we added new shelving and a file cabinet. And we actually have a garage again.

In January I also did the larger garage. It wasn’t as crammed with stuff. This side just needed a better set up and a good clean out.  I guess I didn’t take a before shot, but here is how it looks now….

my favorite area is this one. We do most of our grocery shopping at Costco, saving money is great, but storing the bulk stuff is a pain. Now it is all in one place, convenient to grab when we need it and easy to unload after the Costco trip each week.

Nicholas in daddy’s shoes (showing off the closet that is coming up on the list of things to clean out).

Mike has been busy working on his radio project.

We celebrated Valentine’s with a few goodies for the kiddos.

my Valentine’s present will be shipping from Verizon soon….

After the kiddos went to bed, my Valentine and I spent the rest of the evening enjoying

Dinner….Greek Salad

Wild Mushroom Lasagna and Meatballs….

and a movie…

Have a great week!

Superbowl Party Food….

Our Superbowl Sunday tradition for years has been to make  some treats to enjoy during the game…honestly the yummy food is the best part for me. I get bored with the game and usually go scrap with the game on, just to watch the commercials and half time.

Last year the boys participated in the festivities, and we kept the food simple so they would like it.

Nicholas even cheered on the teams…..

This year we decided to up our “game” menu.  We haven’t settled in on the final menu, but I thought I would share a few ideas for more upscale appetizers for your Superbowl Party.

For New Year’s Eve we made several appetizers for our evening at home. We will  be doing something along the lines of these on Sunday, but they will definitely be of this caliber…

Grilled Stuffed Jalapeno Chiles with Grilled Red Pepper-Tomato Sauce(Bobby Flay Food Network)

Grilled Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms (myrecipes.com)

Next a few of my recipes....

Parmesan Crusted Shrimp Bruschetta (recipe below)

and our favorite….

Filet Parmesan Crostini (recipe below)

Then of course we had to have dessert….

Coconut Cake (bakeat350.blogspot.com) 

Recipes…

Parmesan Toasts

• Long thin sourdough baguette
• olive oil
• cooking spray
• garlic powder
• fresh grated parmesan

Slice bread into 24ish  1/2 inch thick slices.  Spray cookie sheet covered in foil with cooking spray. Brush both sides of bread slices with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic powder and parmesan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 6-10 minutes until lightly toasted.

Parmesan Crusted Shrimp Bruschetta (makes 12 servings)

• 12 Parmesan Toasts (see recipe above)
• 12 large deveined cooked shrimp
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 12 parmesan cheese slivers
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 1 Tbsp fresh grated parmesan
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 fresh tomatoes
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 12 torn fresh basil leaves

1. Heat up shrimp in skillet with olive oil.
2. Toss cooked shrimp in bread crumbs, grated parmesan and garlic powder
3. Finely chop tomato and garlic clove, toss with olive oil
4. Layer each parmesan toast with one basil leaf, a  spoonful of tomato mixture, a sliver of parmesan cheese and 1 large shrimp.

Filet Parmesan Crostini

(this was our favorite and is on the menu for Superbowl Sunday)

• 12 Parmesan Toasts (see recipe above)
• 12-16 oz thinly sliced filet mingon medallions (Whole Foods sliced it for me)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 12 parmesan cheese slivers
• Horseradish Sauce Recipe
• 12 fresh parsley leaves

1. In a skillet melt butter and add olive oil. When butter is melted and oil is hot, add filet and sauté until desired doneness. Cut to 12 slices.
2. Layer each toast with sliver of parmesan cheese, slice of filet, drizzle with horseradish sauce, and top with parsley leaf.

Hope you have a tasty Superbowl Sunday!

Has it really been 2 weeks?

I guess so.  Life has been busy. I have been working a lot of late nights and time with the kiddos has been short, so I my time online has been very limited lately.  We have also dug into a few house organization projects, so that has kept me busy on the weekends. It is time for a ScrapTiffany challenge. The first challenge for February was to use a yellow and grey color scheme.

Good colors for a Studio Calico kit. I think this was Napa Valley (November), with a few other things thrown in.

I have always loved this picture of Mike and Jackson.  Jackson is definitely Mike’s son. Jackson is very attached to his daddy. He is super grumpy when he is hungry, doesn’t like to be told he can’t do something, quiet at times and a chatterbox other times….which one am I talking about? Both.

I have been sidelined by heel pain. I was doing well on my walking for the 3 day Walk, but I am suffering from plantar fasciitis. My doctor has tried several treatments to let me keep walking, but I haven’t seen a tremendous amount of improvement, so I agreed begrudgingly to wear a boot for 2 weeks. Which means no walking, no extra things. Lots of rest. But hopefully it will be what I need to get over the hump and avoid physical therapy or worse, surgery.

Since I didn’t have to get up early to walk or go to work, I stayed up until 12:00 am on Sunday night and got 4 layouts done with January’s Studio Calico kit. I was struggling with this kit, so used a couple of challenges to get a start.

First was the Sunday Sketch at Studio Calico. I converted the sketch to a 12x12, but otherwise stayed pretty close to the original design.

Studio Calico was hosting some CHA challenges this weekend, one of them was a self portrait, so this was my take.

I’ll share the other 2 and more soon.

I have lots more to talk about, but it’s getting late and I am trying to get more sleep. So it will need to wait for another day.

Have a great week!

ScrapTiffany Sketch Challenge

It’s time for another ScrapTiffany challenge. This time the Design Team was asked to work with this sketch by our own Bev. If you want to join in the fun, email your take on the sketch to Tiffany at Tiffany(at)ScrapTiffany(dot)com.

Here was my take on it with a couple of my more recent favorite pictures of me and my mama.

I picked out the pictures when I saw the sketch, but I have to admit, when it came time to journal I couldn’t do it, so I found some sentiment stickers that said something instead.

It’s funny how some days you can write or talk about someone you miss easier than others. The day I made this, just wasn’t one of those easier days. But I am okay with that.

Hope you have a great Saturday. And if you are a lucky one with a 3 day weekend (I’m not), enjoy!

School Time

Today our littlest man started pre-school….

We debated if he was too young. If it would be a good thing for him.

He isn’t talking much yet,  and probably needs a bit more of a push and some social interaction.

We thought pre-school at 2 might be better than waiting until 3.  So today, we let go and watched our baby become a toddler….

He had a good first day and will go twice a week for now.

Nicholas gets his daddy to himself 2 mornings a week, too. Although I think he was sad not to be able to stay today when we dropped off Jackson. I think he missed his “may-me”.

Today was exactly one year ago that Nicholas started pre-school at 3.

And this afternoon we realized…they wore the same sweatshirt to their first day of school….

…maybe it’s happenstance…

…..I see it as good luck….

           …don’t you think?

This kid….

Planned to post this Sunday, but we were too busy spending time with this kid….

This kid…

…is a big lovebug

…is obsessed with trains

…can do a US map puzzle

…is enthusiastic about learning

…is curious and inquisitive

…talks about his extended family all the time

….has a mind like a steel trap

…loves to play with his Daddy

…is compassionate and kind

…is a protective big brother

…is sweet to his doggies

…loves to cuddle with his Mama

…is 4!

At his request he had a Thomas party on Saturday…

Nana and Grandpa C and Grandpa R were in attendance for his party…

Dinner was one of his favorites, hot dogs and chips….

presents were opened (that is the US puzzle that he figured out how to do in no time)…

cake was had (no frosting, please, mom)….

Sunday we headed up to North Phoenix to the Adobe Western Railroad where we road the train a couple of times….

Nicholas and Mike spent lots of time inside watching the small trains

and more time outside watching the train that looked like the one we had under the Christmas tree…

I hung out with this guy while he wore himself out running all over the place

and just a little something for Grandpa and Grandma J….

All in all a great birthday weekend.

Tuesday Tutorial at ScrapTiffany

I'm hosting the Tuesday Tutorial over at ScrapTiffany. Come on by and learn how to make this:

Peace–It’s Just One Little Word

On December 1st I wrote this from a journaling prompt to “encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?”

December 1 ~ One Word.

2010 in one word…Chaos. It has felt like we are chasing our tails all year. Our business was so consuming so we stopped, but the rest of the year has been a whirlwind. Some self imposed, some imposed on us. As we are winding up the year, work for me has been more crazy than normal with a structure reorganization. And November brought us heart break in the sudden bad turn in my mom’s health. Now that we are in December, I am spending my evenings in the hospital, my days at work, the few minutes I have in the morning with my boys and squeezing in Christmas shopping on my lunch hour.

As I look to 2011 I hope for Peace. Time to enjoy our life, time to enjoy our boys, and some freedom from everyday worries. No life is perfect, but I pray we have some peace in our days.

Little did I know when I wrote those words, that we would be faced with more before the year would end. Ten days after I wrote this, my mom left us. We dealt with the holidays grieving our huge loss, one we didn’t expect to happen so quickly.

I have never chosen a word of the year before, it is a “popular” thing for us scrapbookers to do. But this year it seemed so appropriate. I felt a need for calm, quiet, reflection, hope, and serenity.

Peace – (noun) – 1. a state of tranquility or quiet. 2. harmony in personal relationships

Synonyms – calm, quiet, stillness, silence, tranquility, harmony, serenity, agreement, friendship, love, order, unity, relaxation, rest, repose

Quotes that resonated with me  -

“Peace is not something you wish for; It's something you make, Something you do, Something you are, And something you give away.” ~ Robert Fulghum

“When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others.”  ~ Peace Pilgrim

“Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it”

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”  ~ Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta

“Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Peace is its own reward.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere” ~ François de la Rochefoucauld

“Peace is the deliberate adjustment of my life to the will of God.”

“All we are saying is give peace a chance.” ~ John Lennon

“Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures.” ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

To help me remain committed to my word for 2011 I have signed up for Ali Edwards One Little Word class at Big Picture Classes. Each month we will receive an assignment to help us remember what we have committed to, I know this will be important for me this year.

ScrapTiffany…playing catch up

I think it’s about time I do a ScrapTiffany post again. With the loss of my Mom last month, I have been off of my regular blogging routine, and Tiffany has been graciously understanding with my ScrapTiffany assignments.

I wasn’t sure I would have the desire to scrap, but found during the past few weeks I have found a bit of solace in a little scrap therapy.  So if you check in at ScrapTiffany regularly you would see I have had submissions posted most weeks, but hadn’t updated my blog .

Anyway, we are going to remedy that today with a big catch up post. First, today’s post over at ScrapTiffany is the kick off of the new Design Team and a brand new blog design. Our challenge for the week was to scraplift another design team member.  I chose a layout by one of the new designers, Sophie to scraplift. I still want to do a more thorough “Turning 40” post and layout, but other things took priority on my birthday and I just haven’t gotten to it. For now, I have the most important things documented on what I want to focus on at 40…

I used the Studio Calico December Metropolitan kit and add-on’s for this one.  This was Sophie’s layout that I lifted….

Next in the catching up department, a couple weeks back we did an All About Boys challenge. I was able to scrap one of my favorite pictures taken this year of Mike and Jackson using a Citrus Tree Studio kit I picked up over the summer.

Check out the other designers here and here

And one last ScrapTiffany layout I have not posted.  Last week we had a Year in Review challenge which I happily used as an excuse to use my Studio Calico month stamps along with a quick collage and another layout from the Studio Calico December kit.

Check out the fun ideas the ScrapTiffany designers had to document 2010 here and here.

On Tuesday it is my turn to host the ScrapTiffany blog here is a peek at what I have coming….

See you soon….

Merry Christmas!

Mike surprised me with an IPad.  Literally, I was shocked and had no idea he had bought one for me. A few weeks ago I mentioned I would like one. But I didn’t think I would be getting one any time soon, and it wasn’t even on my wish list for Christmas.

Even better, he actually got a picture of my complete surprise.

I think he is the best husband ever…..

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. More to share soon.