stick me with a fork


I"M DONE with blogger. you can now visit my tech savvy, rockin' pink world of half-tied ribbons at www.halftiedribbons.com

MUCHAS GRACIAS, Jeff! Noble Design is the best web helper in the history of my short-lived experience in cyberspace! thanks for all the hard work. and for looking at pink for so long you probably are ready to...

don't come here anymore but click the above mentioned link to keep up with the latest on this life of mine!

it's been fun, here in blogspot world but i had to move on!

favorite christmas pics

here's some of my favorite christmas pics from this season. i get spastic when it comes to the holidays and the camera. really, i just get in a big hurry and can't seem to be still long enough for the photo to not be blurry.... anyway, they're our memories, blurry or not. so here goes. next year we should visit grandma doris earlier before i've already taken so many pictures that i'm sick of being behind the camera and don't even bother to get it out. glad i took some good ones while we were there last spring.

i love this one of grandma ellie and lilly. something about the look on elloise's face!


here's mom's 4 grandkids. it was hilarious trying to get a good picture and this one captures the moment pretty well...cousins are grady and riley...


this is lilly with her new walking toy. oh my gosh, i can't believe she is almost walking... almost one year old...sniff, sniff!!!


abby got a big life-size groovy girl for christmas from santa. the thing is seriously bigger than she is...oh, the joys!


my silly girls. my version of "hey, get over there by your sister so i can get both of you in a picture. hey, wait a minute. look at mommy. lilly. abby. lilly. now smile." and here's the result!

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2007

Where did the last week go? We went to Knoxville to visit Mike's Grandma Doris and Arie over the New year and time has flown. It was a great trip thanks to our new DVD player for the Green Monster...Abby spent about 8 out of the 10 hour trip watching movies and Lilly never fussed but got lots of sleep! Our whole routine was, of course, not the same while there. I always feel like I'm in a time warp because we go to bed so late (2 am most nights) and get up so late and have breakfast around 11 am. I can't believe I've been going out there with Mike for 10 years now. We had gotten engaged by our first Christmas together and so I met his family 10 years ago. All his younger cousins have grown up since then, and heck, 2 have been born since then. Kinda cool to think about!

Lilly entertained everyone on our trip. Grandma Doris taught her how to say, "AHHHH!" after a drink from a big cup...everyone spoiled her rotten playing and walking her around. Abby has totally come out of her shell at Grandma's now. She used to have a really hard time answering questions and saying goodnight, etc. but this trip she even told Grandfather Arie "good night" and gave him the biggest hug ever. I'm so proud of my shy one. She had a blast playing with 7 year old cousin David the entire time!

I think this is the first year ever that I haven't sat down and made a list of resolutions...I'm not sure why but it could be the busyness of everything! I hope to enjoy life more in 2007 than ever before, love more, and laugh more...Happy New Year!

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merry christmas!



it seems like a cozy christmas day around here today. we are all feeling better and all went to church this morning. i ran into an old friend eating out and then talked on the phone to her for a while this afternoon. the weather is a little dreary but the temperature a little more crisp. i've been more of a scrooge this year than i'd like to admit, but hopefully that's all melting away. last night i took some time to read about the prophecy of Christ and his birth in the book of luke. i hope to never lose the wonder at it all. if you think about it too long, it's almost unbelieveable, yet we know it's true. we know Truth! it's amazing---- i mean, God is amazing! while my heart is touched by the beauty of God's plan, my home is warmed by my sweet family. mike and abby are making cookies right now while lilly is tucked away for a nap! we're enjoying the treasures in the simple moments of christmas! pause to reflect the real reason for our joy...trust me, it's worth it! and the chaos will be there when you're done!

OH NO!


just a little update. we've been through the "ick" 3 times now. i've had it twice in one week and now abby has it and was up sick half the night last night. it's never fun when your kids are sick! it did kick me into normal mommy mode and i have felt better today. something psychological when it comes to being mom and taking care of your child, it's like magic. even if you feel awful you can take care of them. and it makes you go into nesting mode all over again, or at least it does me. the bathrooms must be bleached. every shred of dirty laundry done. the pile of dishes in the sick gone. too bad she has to sick to get me motivated to do these things.

i'm doing the countdown til' christmas and making my list (i know, it's a little late) and checking it twice. i hope to get started and done with my shopping tonight. yep, you heard right. i have only bought a few things so far and still need to pick up for a few folks. i'm way behind this year. i'm in need of a christmas miracle, and fast!

lilly is almost walking but gets around really fast on all fours. i'm not sure how she does it sometimes but she's a little houdini. just now i've gotten paper out of her mouth about 3 times. and that only covers about the 15 minutes it took me to make our bed and put away some clothes left in piles. i'm beginning to wonder if it would stunt her development a lot if she just stays in the playpen for the next 6 months or so. she has learned the meaning of "no, lilly" for sure. when told no she just looks at us so cute and starts violently shaking her head no. still sort of a game but she's getting it. soon we'll be onto bigger and better words like, "yes, mommy, i would be glad to do what you asked". dreaming. one can wish, right! good thing she's so darn cute!

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high school revisited





since i'm up doing needless tasks i decided now was the time to go through my old photo albums and here's what i came up with for high school week. thanks, mark! it's so funny seeing how none of the photos are a good shot and none of them are a close up at all. and cruddy photos scan sort of cruddy too.

high school years(and all my years of schooling, for that matter) are full of fond memories for me. for the most part, i've always been pretty naieve to be such a deep thinker. i was an over-acheiver and over-involved, wanting to get the most out of life that was possible, in every club yearbook shot that was taken. i was a goody-2-shoes, a band geek (clarinet), and a general know-it-all. i've tended toward self-righteousness all my life. i always did my homework and worked hard at everything i did. music was a huge part of my life but no rock concerts for me. i could be found practicing piano for hours on end, going to band festivals, and singing with the school and chruch choir. i laughed a lot then, as i still do!

school was a little different for me as my dad worked there and i lived within the school grounds. the school family was like my extended family. it was sorta like cheers. i never did too much that needed hiding, but there was no way possible to hide. everyone knew my name. my family was very close to most of the school teachers , administrators, and other employees.

i graduated in 1995 along with 64 other students, most of whom attended Drew Central for all 13 years like me. i liked the subjects math and chemistry best but my favorite teachers were the english teachers (pictured here with 2 of them on my last day of school)...spanish class was also a riot with mrs. roggenbaugh, although i retain no spanish speaking ability save that which i've recovered by watching episodes of Dora the Explorer.

i dated a couple of guys but no one from my own school and no one for very long at a time. i hated it when a girl was stuck to a guy like glue all day long! i liked my independence.

i remain very close to 2 friends who have been with me since kindergarten, Becca and Carrie! we have so many funny stories and memories!

although the picture looks suspicious, i didn't spend weekend nights on a street corner... did anyone tell me that bright red lipstick was flattering? i was a family girl and spent lots of time at home with my parents and brother. my dad said that "nothing good can happen in the piggly wiggly parking lot" where most (all but me) of the kids hung out on friday and saturday night. now it's the Fred's parking lot and no one hangs out there. somehow i dont' feel like i missed much...i didn't know that drugs existed, let alone who did them. i was sheltered! when i wasn't at home i was at a friend's house hanging out, out with the church youth group, or babysitting to earn some extra cash!

okay, it's way too late now! thanks for strolling down memory lane with me. i'd love to hear from some other bloggers besides jeff, mark, angela, and kt on this subject. oh, what entertainment we have these days!

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why




...is it 11 pm and i'm posting a blog instead of sleeping?

...do i have a pretty long to-do list and i just spent an hour scrapping?

...is the sky blue?

...do little doggies jump on us?

okay, enough of the questioning myself. i didn't feel like i could sleep tonight without a little scrap therapy. so i made the wonder woman and the grandmother page. i must admit i've felt a tad bit frenzied (okay, a lot) and this is what i do when i allow 'frenziness' to begin creeping up on me. i wish it drove me to exercise or to clean out the fridge or rake the yard. and i've never said to myself, "I must fold some laundry before I lose it!" but hey, preserving memories sure beats some other inviting alternatives!

i made the summer page a while back and it's not quite done yet. i'm not sure what it needs but i've been looking at it off and on for about a month and i can't figure it out. the pink cardstock is way more vibrant than the scan lets on. i think it's the funky title that i don't like but i'm too lazy to change right now until i come up with the perfect solution!

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happy stuff


just a little painting break to post about a little bit of stuff. i know the sayings, "the best things in life aren't things!" and all the others like it and i know that's true and believe it but sometimes things do make me smile. like this little assortment of goodies. a friend was cleaning out her mother's sewing machine and thought of me when she came across this stuff. that in and of itself is enough to bring a smile, but when it's some of my favorite things to collect, well, that takes the cake! and it's the best colors and it is from the day when a package of ric-rac costs only 15 cents or 12 on sale. and i'm thinking the vintage crayon box would make a really cool home for a preschool mini album or something...just a little happiness to brighten my day!

on another note, i'm sitting here typing with the air conditioner going full force. you read correctly and it's just not right to be running the ac just 13 days before christmas. unless you're south of the equator, right? just a thought. good thing we didn't pack up the flip flops yet :)

oh yeah, and i'm looking for some old high school photos of me to share with you a little late for high school blog week. should be fun!

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priceless

Ahhhh, feels so good to be home!

we went to canton.
we didn't sell clipboards.
we're glad we went anyway!
we wouldn't want to spend the rest of our lives wishing we had tried this or that!
lessons learned.
hard work done.
gonna have an online store soon!

500 clipboards $600
paint and ribbon $300
booth at canton $150
hotel room $250
gasoline $75
relief felt from breaking even $priceless


This is our booth when we first arrived at around 2 pm on Thursday and it was sleeting. We quickly set up to take it all down in about an hour after we realized there were absolutely no shoppers!


This is me working on our first purchase!


This is my favorite shot of our set-up from across the pavillion! It was too cute!


Our wonderful product!

This is Carolyn working on one that she sold!

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