Last two cards for February

These are two of my favorite cards. One is an anniversary card, the other for a baby shower.

Gabe's first trip to the dentist!

Gabe had his first visit to the dentist this afternoon, and it went exceptionally well! He was already so excited to be going, and the hygenist was AMAZING with him! He loved the chair, the huge "flashlight", the tools, and even the flouride treatment that got painted on his teeth. And best of all, no cavities! He got to pick out a toy (an airplane), a new toothbrush and toothpaste (Spongebob toothpaste!), and a dinosaur sticker! He was so good for the hygenist and the dentist, and I was SOOOOOOO proud of him! We went to his new favorite store afterwards (TJ MAxx), and he picked out a super hero book for a present. I would say he had a GREAT day today-

Gina's baby announcements

The insides have the same "Our Baby is Here" stamp I used for the other announcements from a previous blog. I LOVE these announcements. I hope Gina loves them just as much!

STRESSED OUT!

I am swamped with an unbelievable amount of school work this week, so the blogs will be few and far between. This morning I had a doctor appt. and was pleased with my official weight of 176.2-with clothes on! Yes!!! At 175 I am allowing myself a pedicure or after I run the two 5ks next month, whichever comes first.

Also, I am busy working on a friend's baby announcements, so I will post pictures of those as soon as I finish them. They have to be in NJ by March 7th, so they should be done this week. They are ADORABLE!!!

Sweet Story

Here is a Friday story to put a smile on everyone's face-or at least on my face.

My mom babysat Gabe last night while Gary and I spent some time shopping and eating dinner in Greenville after my doctor's appointment. I called her from the restaurant to check and see how things were going, and she told me the funniest story about their dinner at McDonald's. Now Gabe is always a perfect angel for his Grandma, and last night proved no different. She told me they were seated next to a group of older gentlemen enjoying some McDonald's coffee. One of the men told my mom how impressed with Gabe he was and that he looked like a very nice young man. Apparently Gabe must have been on his super dooper best behavior. They continue on with their dinner, and when the men got up to leave, the same one that spoke to them before handed Gabe a dollar bill! He said that he was so impressed with Gabe and that he deserved an ice cream cone for dessert! So this random stranger was so impressed with my perfect angel of a son that he decided to buy him an ice cream cone. I bet Gabe was so excited to get that dollar bill. He loves money, and he especially loves to pay for things himself. I wish I could have been there. Funny how things like this only happen when Grandma is babysitting-

Thursday Thanks

I love this image! I know I am not the only woman with a closet organized not only by season, but by size as well. The only difference is my clothes are organized and labeled in tupperware bins on my closet floor. Here are some of the categories: Pre-baby spring/summer, Fat clothes spring/summer, pre-baby pants, and Fat clothes winter. I am dead serious. It is totally ridiculous. And I just remembered the maternity container in the attic!!!!

Anyway, on to the relevance of this picture.

1. I am thankful for my very slow, yet consistent weight loss this month. I am averaging about 1 lb. per week, and that was the plan from the start. I feel like I am still eating what I want, but I have completely cut out nighttime snacking, and I run close to 3 miles at least 3-4 times a week. This "diet" suits me just fine. Of course if I really wanted to kick it up a notch I could, but then it starts to feel more like work and I will lose interest.

2. I have my last post op appt. with my plastic surgeon this afternoon, and then I am officially done with those appointments! Everyday I am thankful for my breast reduction, and I still can't believe I actually got approved and went through with it!

3. Since I will be in Greenville, I am going shopping at Kohl's with $20 Kohl's cash and a 15% coupon! Time for some new shoes!

4. We finished painting the bedroom last night. This included 2 coats of primer (dark blue walls), 2 coats of paint, trim, windows and doors!

5. Chili's for dinner

6. My new personalized name stamp should be in the mail today

7. No cooking or cleaning tonight!

8. Grandma is babysitting for Gabe, and they will have so much fun!

Oops!

I can't believe I forgot to weigh yesterday! No big deal. This morning's weight is 177.6. Slow and steady, but I will get there!!!

And after all of these parties!

Chelsie's party

Samantha's party

Favorite Card

I think this might be my favorite card so far. I LOVE the pink, black, and silver together, and I especially LOVE my new watercolor pencils and blender pen! The colored image makes such a difference on the cards-so soft and pretty. This card was for Chelsie's birthday, and I think the design fit her perfectly.

Monday recap

Change of blog again. Monday will now be a recap of the previous weekend. The movie thing was not working out, because we aren't watching movies like we used to. Apparently there is not enough time in the evening to actually sit and watch a 2-3 hour movie anymore!

Anyway, this past weekend was just about the best weekend we have had in a long time. It started with that surprise snow Friday night, a snow that none of us was expecting! We even let Gabe stay up WAY past his bedtime to see the snow. He was camped out on the couch watching Spiderman 2 until 11 that night!!! The next morning we all played outside, making snowballs, snowmen, snow angels, and even sledding (check out the previous blog!). So much fun. Later that afternoon we headed to Samantha's for a birthday party, and Gabe got to meet and play with all of Samantha's friends from school. Everyone got along so well, and it was great to see a new crowd of kids and parents. After the party we all headed to Kohl's-my absolute favorite place in the world!! We shopped and ate at Michaelangelo's (my other favorite place), then headed back home for the night.

The next morning, Gary, Gabe, and I exchanged Valentine's presents! Gabe got a pack of Sponge Bob ring pops and a new pair of shoes, I got 2 boxes of chocolates, 2 candy bars (I'm in big trouble), and a pair of pajamas, and poor Gary only got a container of peanut butter filled pretzels! We weren't really supposed to buy each other anything, but you know how that goes. My real present was supposed to be painting the bedroom that weekend. Anyway, after all the gifts, we all got up and dressed for Chelsie's birthday party in Jamesville. She turned the big 2-0 this year which I still can hardly believe. Kelly cooked hot dogs, and we ate cake and opened presents-pretty laid back party. We left early so we could get home and start priming the bedroom. I'm not kidding when I said this was my Valentine's present!!!! We got to work, and stopped just long enough for a Valentine's dinner: pork chops, baked potatoes, corn, rice, and biscuits. We finished painting later that night, and settled down for the evening to watch some of the Olympics.

All in all, this weekend was hectic with all the parties and Valentine's day, but it was so great to play in the snow and get some things down around the house for a change. I have been spoiled with Gary home these past few weekends thanks to the bad weather, so I'm glad we got to spend some quality time together this past weekend!

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's day yesterday!

Redneck sledding!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2fJ2BK5KYk


Check out this video on You Tube!

Yummy snacks (or dinner)

These are my new favorite go to snacks or dinner foods. The pizza slices are actually filling enough to plan a dinner around, but the mozzarella bites are more for a quick snack. And what is so great is that they are just as good baked in the oven as their fried counterparts would be. Last night I made the bites for a quick dinner, and Gabe snarfed them down! I lost count after 10-that boy loves any type of pizza food. Be weary of the cheese sticks, though. Gary and I got those one time, and they have the marinara sauce baked right in. It makes for a soggy cheese stick-yuck. Anyway, they might not be the healthiest of snacks, but they sure are yummy.

Thursday Thanks

1. Our Stampin Up! order should be delivered this afternoon. Time to play with all my new toys!

2. The wind has died down.

3. We got our tax refund deposited this morning!

4. Valentine's party tomorrow, birthday party Sat, birthday party Sun, and Valentine's Day Sunday! Busy weekend.

5. I ran 30 min. yesterday

6. I'm all caught up on school work this week.

7. No laundry or cooking tonight-it's card making time!

8. Gabe has not been fighting in school anymore, and instead has been getting a chance to pick a toy from the treasure chest each Friday.

9. Our fireplace!!!!

10. Weight loss this week

Weigh In

178.8 for today. That is a mere .6lb loss from last week, but I'll take it. Too many brownies and caramel filled chocolate chip cookies last week. Oh and two birthday parties with two cakes I had to sample. Birthday parties are my downfall. And I have two again next weekend!!!!!

Day switch

I am going to switch my Monday and Tuesday blogs since I am still without a movie to watch!!! We should be getting our new Netflix movie tomorrow. Anyway, here are some pictures from the Jumpin Party we went to on Saturday. Needless to say, the kids had a blast, and it was just what everyone needed on a cold, rainy day. This place is the best!

New stuff!

I went shopping over the weekend and bought some new supplies at Michaels. I have been wanting some new paper, embellsihments, etc., so of course I had to make some new cards with all of my cool, new stuff. I LOVE this paper set, and the $1 Michaels stamp went perfectly with it. These will be two birthday cards for some of the March birthdays.

New Recipe

Does anyone need a yummy, fattening, Italian casserole recipe for a cold, rainy weekend? A co-worker gave me this recipe to try, telling me if you're a fan of sausage, you will LOVE this. I am going to make it Saturday, so I will let you know how it goes. It sounds easy enough, and I was told it makes a LARGE casserole-perfect to eat the whole weekend.

Here goes:

MOSTACCIOLI (I had to Google the pasta type to see what it was)

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 lb. Johnsonville Italian sausage (hot)
2 jars favorite spaghetti sauce
2 Cups Mozzarella cheese shredded
1 box mostaccioli pasta cooked and drained (I think I am going to try bowtie pasta instead)

Brown and drain ground beef and sausage. Add sauce and heat through. Mix with cooked pasta. Pour into greased casserole dish and sprinkle cheese on top. Bake at 325 for 30-45 min.

Thursday Thanks

1. I FINALLY finished a paper I have been struggling with all week-due tomorrow
2. I had $10 worth of coupons to use at CVS to get some new makeup!
3. Just found out John and his family are coming to visit in May
4. Stampin Up! party tonight!!!!
5. Utility bill was about $100 less than I feared it would be this month
6. Leftover stuffed shells for lunch today
7. Static guard spray (I had an episode this morning with the turtleneck sweater I am wearing today)

It really is the little things that make your day bright!

New technique

I found this flower technique in one of my mom's card books and fell in love with the "messy" look of it. I don't normally like rough edges and the "crumpled" look, but I love this flower. Allison searched it online for me and sent me to a blog that explained the whole process. I have included that blog under my cool links as a fun site to explore to get new ideas (Little Birdie Secrets). Anyway, here is my first card with the "origami" technique, as Gary calls it. I LOVE IT! I kept the card simple, but I am anxious to try it out with more paper, colors, embellishments, etc. Check out this blog if you are interested in learning how to make it!