Happy Holidays

Sorry for missing posts lately. You will have to forgive me as it is the holidays and my favorite time of year and I get to spend lots of time with all of these wonderful people....



I'll be back soon! Until then, Have a great holiday!

A NEW LOVE

Sorry for the delayed post. Aside from working and dealing with a few medical issues.....this is what I have been up to.

My new found love...digi-scrapping! It is so much fun.
Granted, I am just learning therefore this seemingly simple layout took me about 2 hours to create. But, still so much fun! I am using ArcSoft Scrapbook Creator currently to design although I plan to start using Adobe Photoshop as soon as I have time to play with it a bit more as it has more of a learning curve.

The best part???? There are so many GREAT FREE digi-kits out there for the taking! A BIG THANK YOU to Jeanelle Paige for this FREEBIE kit! Go snag one for yourself at: http://www.acherryontop.com/digital/free/artist/jeanelle_paige/9003474 and be sure to read all about Jeanelle at : http://www.jeanellepaigedesigns.blogspot.com/

Are my two oldest girls gorgeous or what???????

Quote for the day: The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend. ~Cali Rae Turner

Cookie Mania

I love to make sugar cookies for every holiday. Of course, I do enjoy the baking part but eating them is even better. Although, I sure do not need them. But, who can resist right?

This Christmas, being that I work in a dental office, I had the bright idea that I would make tooth and toothbrush shaped cookies. I had no idea if there were cookie cutters in these shapes but, low and behold, I found them on Ebay. Gotta love Ebay!

I thought I would try a new sugar cookie and icing recipe this year as I have never really been in love with the previous recipe I have used. Wow! I picked an AWESOME one! Love it, love it, love it! You can find it here: http://www.joyofbaking.com/SugarCookie.html

Now, I had a full assembly line running in my kitchen to manufacture these cookies, it was crazy! I made 6 dozen of each, tooth and toothbrush. Thank Goodness my dear husband volunteered to help me out.

Here are some photos of the cookies, sure to brighten your day. They are definetly adorable and have been putting smiles on our patients faces all week. Those little touches go a long way!

There are cookie cutters out there for everything you can imagine! What a great idea for your child's next sporting event, next bridal shower or your company Christmas party. Theme the cookies around your company's business.


Quote for the day: A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. ~Anonymous

TGIF!!!!!

Thought I would share cool new service:

Online Book Rental Club
BookSwim is the first online book rental library service lending you paperbacks and hardcovers, Netflix®-style, directly to your house, without the need to purchase! Whether it's new releases, bestsellers, or classics, we have something for everyone, with free shipping both ways! Read your books as long as you want — no late fees! Even choose to purchase and keep the titles you love!

Need a gift idea for someone special? Check this out.....

Check it out at http://www.bookswim.com/!

Quote for the Day:
“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
- Dr. Seuss, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!"

Wednesday Words of Woes........

I found this while perusing the internet awhile back and it is a dead on ringer for how I am feeling this week. I know most of you will relate. I hope it gives you a bit of a chuckle to start your day off right!

INTERRUPTED MOM

Hey Mom, where are my hockey skates? Hey Mom, have you seen my homework folder? Hey Mom, can I go to Elliott's house on Saturday?

I have figured out why old people lose their hearing: its because they want to. After raising children, they have used up their allotment of hearing for this lifetime. And they don't want to listen to anyone anymore about anything.Hey Mom, where's the glue? Hey Mom, do I have to practice piano? Hey, Mom, can you see somebody's soul?

I have not had a complete thought in eleven years. Come to think of its probably been twelve. It started when I was pregnant: clearly it must have been the hormones at work. Somehow during pregnancy, your brain starts to short circuit in preparation for the coming events of the child raising years, including sleep deprivation and your child's vocabulary development. Much like nature prepares your body for labor and delivery; hormones now help your brain develop pause waves, which cause all coherent thoughts to immediately vaporize upon formation. In retrospect, its probably a good thing.

Hey Mom, what is a prism? Hey Mom, where's the milk? Hey Mom, did you get to ride the bus to school?

It all begins shortly after birth as we coo over our adorable little bundles. Operating under the delusion that our child is a superior genius, we mentally transform a belch into our child's first complete sentence at about 8 weeks. Before long, when the authoritative parenting books tell us they should be using ten words, were certain our child is beyond brilliant and is actually using 50 or 60 words. The reality is before long they really do know 300 words and they use them all - before you've had your first cup of coffee.

Hey Mom, where do babies come from? Hey Mom, how long till Christmas? Hey Mom, what's a square root?

When they are babies, the interruptions are natural the cry for I need food, I need a clean diaper, I need to be held. When they are toddlers, it is most often a matter of playing goalie as parent: catching them by the seat of the pants before they fall down the basement steps, grabbing their arm before they reach to pet the snarling dog, keeping them from walking into the street. But once they start talking the real interruptions flow freely and you may as well put away the books, magazines and newspapers as well as any hope of a coherent thought. You've just entered the Stream of Consciousness Zone of Parenting where every thought that enters your child's mind is verbalized the moment it hits the first brain cell. While your child's inner monologue will eventually develop, don't count on it anytime soon.

Hey Mom, the dog just threw up on the carpet. Hey Mom, can I have five dollars? Hey Mom, how long till I can learn how to drive?

Most of the time, you think you can outsmart this immutable law of nature. But as you learn, one way or another, it is simply not possible. Once you've read the same paragraph seventeen times, you know its over. If you are lucky, you might manage to read a caption in People Magazine in its entirety when they're in third grade. But for the most part, don't bother. You can read after they go to college.Hey Mom, have you seen my saxophone? Hey Mom, where's Ecuador? Hey Mom, how come the milk smells funny?

Pretty soon, the lobes of your brain actually begin to shut down from lack of use. The lobes that remain functional now operate more like a strobe light. Your auditory nerve begins to shrivel and go limp like a long forgotten piece of celery. You fear that your ears might actually bleed if they tell you about that scene from the Star Wars again. Hey Mom, did they have electricity when you were in school? Hey Mom, can I have some candy? Hey Mom, can we get a pet llama?

But there will come a day and time when you can no longer stand the interruptions, whether its from PMS, a bad day at work, or simply exasperation. The resonating sounds of your child's constant chatter threaten to reduce your ear canals hammer, anvil and stirrup into a tiny pile of dust. Years of verbal tap dancing on the acoustic nerve will at some point shrink your patience to zero and you will snap. And just when you think that you cant take it anymore, that's when. .Hey Mom. . .WHAT??!! I love you. Author ~ Denise Malloy

Quote for the Day: When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they're finished, I climb out. ~ Erma Bombeck

15 Minutes Can Be All You Need

What could you get done in 15 minutes?

Ever have days when you just can not motivate yourself to get those mundane things done around the house? Yesterday was one of those days for me. Even though I would love to just let those dirty dishes stay piled up in the sink and the living room in disarray, part of what keeps me unmotivated is seeing these unattended to chores.

Next time you are faced with the "i just don't want to" blues, try this trick.

Set a timer (use the one on your stove or microwave) for 15 minutes. Use that 15 minutes to get as much done as you can around the house. I use this trick more often than I care to admit because it works. I am always amazed at how much I actually accomplish in just that short amount of time. In those 15 minutes, I have loaded the dishwasher, folded a basket of laundry, put in a new load of laundry, swept my kitchen and prepared tomorrows brew of joe.

The best thing about the trick is that it is contagious. I often find that after my first 15 minutes are up, I reset my timer for another 15 and do it all over again. It is motivating in itself to see how much you can accomplish and want to tackle more.

So, come on.......move away from this screen and go set your timer. Then come back and let me know what you got accomplished in your 15 (or 30 or 45) minutes! You can do it!







Quote for the day: It's all in the attitude - housework is exercise. Slim your way to a clean home! ~ Linda Solegato

When the day comes......

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my family and I went to visit my parents. As an adult, I have always lived within twenty miles of my parents and even worked for them for seven plus years where I spent most of my days with them. Then, two years ago they retired. They had lived for thirty years in one small city and felt it was time for a change of pace. Unfortunately, they chose to retire about two hundred miles away. At first it was extremely difficult for me, being the youngest of four children and very spoiled, to accept that they were going to be such a far distance away. I was understanding however to the fact that this was a good change for them as they were retiring to the country where my mother could listen to birds sing, watch squirrels play and plant a beautiful flower garden. My father would have acres of land to manage and a shop to tinker in.

In time, I have adjusted to the miles between us and although it is not my ideal choice to have my beloved parents so far away, I can say that over the past two years I have come to appreciate and understand their love for me and my family in a way I never knew before.

You see, as a mother I have an undeniable, sometimes crippling love for my children. Over the seventeen plus years that I have marveled in my role as a mother, I have poured my heart and soul into caring for them, protecting them, carressing them, feeding them, and so on. I believe in living for oneself, not for others. However, my children give my life a meaning and purpose which surpasses all my own selfish hopes, dreams and cares. As they have grown, I have had to face the realization that they are growing up and in a way outgrowing me. I know that this is not an intentional thing, it is but the flow of life. In realizing this, I can only reflect on the feelings of my own parents. How much they love me and my siblings, how they must feel to love us all so very much that it aches in their hearts to not witness and behold the glory of our lives as innocent children any longer.

Over the past year, I have undoubtedly changed as a person, a mother and a wife. By realizing the longing that my own parents have for their children and grandchildren, I have come to take more value in the everyday ups and downs that being a mother has bestowed upon me.

When my parents moved away, I worried most about myself and how I would cope without their support and involvement in my everyday life. In turn, it is they that I believe ache more for us.

I truly dread the day my children leave home. I see the longing my parents have for days gone by when they wiped our tears, held us in their arms, laughed so hard at our silly jokes that it hurt and taught us how to drive.

I do not mean to paint a picture of my parents living somberly. They have had a wonderful life, blessed with so much to be grateful for. They enjoy the life they have lived together over the past forty-five years and look forward to many, many more.

Years ago, my husband and I spent some time with some very wonderful people during the last months of my grandmother's life. During her stay in an assisted living facility he and I would go to visit and serve coffee and cookies to the residents there while listening to them tell of their lives. I have never witnessed so much happiness come from a ailing man as when he spoke of his beloved wife and the children she blessed him with. Or from the fragile women whose eyes lit up as she told of the man she knew she would call her husband as soon as her eyes laid upon him and how that instinct led to their fifty wonderful years together in a house filled with children. Not one of them spoke of their business successes, awards or material possessions they acquired. They only spoke of the joyous lives they lived because of those they loved whom loved them in return.

When you are nearing the end of your life, when you have nothing but time to reflect on all that you are and what you have done in your time here, what will you find the most glory in? What will once again ignite a passion and love in your heart and a sparkle in your eye?













Quote for the day: The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed in the bosom of my family. ~ Thomas Jefferson