Photo of the Day

2009 Prom Dress

(01-31-09)

Goal for the day--find the "perfect" prom dress that Kelsey loves and not spend all day doing it!!! Yeah! We succeeded! The trip included filling the car up with gas, going to 2 ATM's to get cash (with 2 tries at each one!), having a quick lunch at Sonic, HEAVY traffic up and down 71st street in Tulsa (it was beautiful outside), 3 different stores (with high prices), help and support from friend Sara and mom (me) and finally, one perfect dress! She's happy, so I'm happy!

Photo of the Day

Our "Not So Smooth" Morning

(01-30-09)

Most mornings run fairly smoothly around our house. Not so this morning. Kelsey's car wouldn't start when she got ready to leave for school. Thankfully, I was still home, I don't leave the house until about 30 minutes after she does. And truthfully, I like it that way. I like to make sure she gets to school safely before I'm out and about. It also works out well when she needs a ride to school--because I'm still at home to help. The bad thing about it is I'm usually in the middle of drying my hair--and not ready to be seen in public! But if I don't stop and give the girl a ride, she'll be late. And if I take the time to finish my hair, she'll be late. So off we go in a mad rush! I have just enough time to drive her into town, drop her off at school, turn around to return home, 10 minutes to finish my hair, then back into town to work. It's days like these that remind me to be thankful for all of the days that our 4 cars DO get us where we need to go, and thankful that I have a handy hubby!!!

Photo of the Day

Warm and Cozy

(01-29-09)

A perfect way to keep the chill away! This was a fun little scarf to knit, it went quick and painless. I found the pattern in this book,

I'm really enjoying the scarf because it is narrow enough to wear all day without feeling too bulky. This is on the list to try next, in lime green.

Yummy, yummy.....

I'll admit it. I'm addicted to fruit smoothies! Here's a very versatile recipe that's so, so easy. And of course, it's very yummy! This recipes makes enough for 2 large glasses, (because I have to share with hubby) or 4 smaller ones. Enjoy.....

Fruit Smoothie

1 cup yogurt, any flavor

1 large banana

1 cup whole strawberries

1 tablespoon milled flaxseed (optional)

Place in a blender or smoothie machine and blend until mixed.

Add 1-2 cups of ice (I like mine slushy!) and enough water (1/4 to 1/2 cup)

to blend until thick and to desired consistency.

Variations: Sometimes I add 2 bananas if I need to use some up quickly.

Add other fruits, fresh or canned to suit your taste. I've used blueberries,

pineapple & peaches. If using canned fruit, I use the fruit juice from the can

instead of adding extra water.

Here's Gavin...

Sweet baby Gavin and his daddy. Looks like little G's going to have the same sense of humor as his dad!!! This photo was taken on the first day home from the hospital.

Photo of the Day

Icy Morning

(01-28-09)

Here's what our yard looked like as I viewed the scene from our front door. Sleet is still falling. We're all 3 home today-school is closed. Just got word school will be closed again tomorrow.

Photo of the Day

Trying to soak it all in....

(01-27-09)

trying to read,

trying to learn,

trying to practice,

trying to make sense of it,

trying to just have fun.

Photo of the Day

Comfort Food

(01-26-09)

My lunch today

Wheat bread & peanut butter

Fresh fritos

Served on my cute polka dot plate!

Photo of the Day

A Lazy, Laid Back Sunday...

(01-25-09)

The only time I stay in my pj's all day is on Christmas Day. Its a given--it's just one of the things we do in my family. But, this weekend I broke the record! I can now report that I've been dressed in my jammies all day for 2 days out of the year! It was just so, so cold, and we didn't have to go anywhere. It sounded so tempting......and I did it!

Another layout....

Another layout finished, yeah! These photos were taken on the day Gavin went home from the hospital. Robin took me to meet him, and she got in some extra G'ma time!

Photo of the Day

Red Canyon Grill

(01-24-09)

New restaurant

Red Canyon Grill

Hubby's belated birthday dinner

45 minute wait

Yummy food

Chicken Enchiladas

Wood grilled beef Tenderloin

Yeah for leftovers!

Photo of the Day

Common Sight

(01-23-09)

Hubby on the computer....This is a common sight at our house everyday. If he isn't or looking up something on his, he's fixing something on mine! I'm really grateful that he enjoys the computer and knows a lot about all of the "technical" stuff. I can't begin to imagine how much money I've saved! Thanks, honey. I owe you!!!

All Cleaned Up....

Here's the first shelf you see as you walk into the scrap/computer room from the front of the house. Wonder how long I can keep it looking this nice?

I moved this table in from the garage. I'm using the baskets on the top to hold my magazines and idea books. Those got purged, too. I had been saving way too many!!!These baskets were moved from the space where I put the table from the garage. They hold tons and tons of stuff!Here's the main reason for all of the cleaning and rearranging--I wanted my Sewing Machine in my scraproom. I was not utilizing it very much in its old space. i think I'll use it much more now, for sewing on my scrap pages and for sewing projects.

And, here's my desk, ready for some serious scrappin'! If you need a reminder of how messy this space was, look back on Photo of the Day, dated 01-20-09.

Finally....

I finally got in some scrappin' time! It's been way too long since I sat down at my scrapbook table--it was nearly impossible because of the mess that had been accumulating since before the holidays. I've since purged, cleaned and reorganized, and I'm ready to spend some quality time in my favorite creative space. (See next post for some new pics of my cleaned-up room!) This layout is of Robin and her new grandson--he's a real cutey! Hope to post more layouts soon!

Photo of the Day

On My Plate...

(01-22-09)

On weekdays, this is my usual, quick breakfast--yogurt with a tablespoon of Grape-Nuts on top. The weekends are reserved for fruit smoothies, when I have more time to mess around in the kitchen.

Photo of the Day

Wal-Mart

(01-21-09)

Not a glorious photo--but very much a part of my life. I make an average of 2-3 trips to Wal-Mart each week. Since it is on my way home from work, it seems easy to run in to pick up a few things at a time. While I would love to live in a city with more shopping choices, I'm super-glad we at least have a super-Wal-Mart!

Photo of the Day

Messy Scraproom

(01-20-09)

I'm behind in posting because of the mess you see above. I've been purging and cleaning my scraproom the last couple of days. I decided to move my sewing machine into this space so it would be more convenient for me to use. You know how cleaning goes, for everything I've moved and cleaned--two more items show up to be dealt with. Now I have to decide what piece of furniture to put in the empty space left behind. I'll update my progress in a couple of days.

Photo of the Day

3 Cousins

(01-19-09)

It was a lot of fun to spend a weekend with my cousin, who I don't get to see very often. This photo was taken right before we left Texas to make the drive back home.

Photo of the Day

3 Sisters

(01-18-09)

Even though I had another photo that was clearer and more "portriat-like", this was my favorite. I love it because it really shows the relationship these 3 ladies (& sisters) have with each other. The women in my family share lots of laughs together! Aren't they cute?

Photo of the Day

On Our Way!

(01-17-09)

Me, my mom, sister, aunt and cousin have been trying to plan a trip together to visit my mom and aunt's older sister, in Texas. It gets rather challenging to work around 5 different family schedules, but we finally made it happen. We surprised her last weekend and had a great time. Here's documentation of our favorite road trip pit-stop, Sonic.

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Happy Mail!

(01-16-09)

Those who know me well, know I'm a magazine junkie. Thanks, Mom! It's your fault. I just can't resist the fun colors and shapes, stories, recipes, art projects, gardening tips, home organization ideas and on and on.....Not that I do anything with any of the ideas, most of the time I just enjoy looking. It just makes me happy!

Photo of the Day

Snow Flurries

(01-15-09)

This is what I saw this morning when I peeked through the window blinds. The weather man called for a 20% chance of snow today--I guess that's just about what we got, 20% of our yard was dusted with fluffy white stuff. It's strange how relaxing this scene can be if it happens on the weekend when I don't have to get out and about. But, on a school/work day--my emotions are completely different. I immediately wonder if it is safe enough for Kelsey to drive to school, or should I take her? It might be fine now, but what if it snows all day? Is there ice on the vehicles? How long will it take to get the car cleared off and warmed up? Oh no! Should I have gotten up earlier? Thankfully, dear hubby called me on his way out to let me know the roads were safe for travel. Great news! And just for the record, it only snowed for a few hours.

Photo of the Day

Can you say CHOCOLATE ?

(01-14-09)

While shopping for a few dinner items, something shiny caught my eye. The candy aisle had been transformed into Valentine-Land. Oh my, I just couldn't resist those red, pink, and white mixed M&M's! Red is my color, and chocolate is what I'm all about. Wonder how long they'll make it at my house?

So much fun....

Morgan is really starting to be awake more and more during the day. I love watching him look around. He turns his head toward voices and is beginning to share little smiles. He likes to relax in his swing and is already watching his red ladybug on his play mat. It reminds me of all of the time we spent on the floor watching Grayson with the same toy. Deda and I had so much fun playing with him and big brother, Grayson. We stayed very busy playing trains, blocks, reading books, watching "Finding Nemo", coloring, pushing the grocery cart, walking down the sidewalk, having snacks, "climbing trees", on and on.......I certainly got in my exercise! Oh, he even helped me make pancakes one morning. I asked him what he wanted for breakfast-he usually wants chocolate milk and yogurt-he said "pancakes, Grayson help." So, off to the kitchen we go, we set up the step-stool and began to stir away. I asked him how many eggs we needed and he said 2! I was figuring out he must have done this before. He is so, so sweet!!!

Photo of the Day

List Maker
(01-13-09)

I love to-do lists! And this is where I usually keep them. On top of my Sonic cup. I tear a hole in the middle of the paper and slide it down around the straw. Sometimes the lists pile up, and that's O.K. I have water with me all the time--so that just seems to be a logical spot to keep my list, very visible--all day long. Sometimes the list gets marked off and thrown away. Sometimes the list gets moved to tomorrow's cup. In this photo, Kelsey made a grocery list for me, (she's making dinner tonight!) and my notes are on the top. An added bonus is knowing which Sonic cup belongs to me!!

Photo of the Day

Garage Door

(01-12-09)

I have to admit, I spend little time (almost none at all) thinking about my garage door. Until it doesn't work. And by "work" I mean, it won't open up when you push that little button that is adhered to your car visor. And it won't budge when you try pulling up on the outside handle. Dear hubby got to experience the "not gonna budge" garage door this weekend while I was gone to Texas. You see, we have so much stuff stored in our garage, only one vehicle will fit. Of course, that would be my car, because that's just the way it is. So, when I'm gone for the weekend, hubby likes to take advantage of the garage space and park his car inside. After 2 or 3 minutes of doing so, he heard a really loud "crash". Imagine him thinking one of the kids had crashed into the garage door! He ran outside to check the damage, no car in sight. He went into the garage and found that the spring that helps "lift" the garage door had broken and uncoiled. Now his car was safe inside the garage, so safe--it might be there for a while. He managed to pry the door up very slightly, place the car jack underneath to help lift it a bit, then went back outside to heave it up the rest of the way. His car is now parked outside and the garage door company is on their way to replace the spring. I continue to be grateful, even for the little things. Things like the garage door opener!

Photo of the Day

Ready for Outside

(01-11-09)

Aren't they cute? They're getting ready to go outside to run off some energy (Grayson will run, mommy will watch!) The cap G. has on is one I made for him last winter. What was I thinking? It's still too big for him, but I love the colors! This picture was taken the morning before Deda and I headed back to Oklahoma after our weekend visit. I already miss them!

Photo of the Day

Tree Climber

(01-10-09)

His new passion is "climbing" trees. He says, "hang", meaning he wants to be lifted up so he can grab onto the tree limb and hang on for dear life. He's pretty proud of himself. Of course, as with the tree in the photo above, his feet are actually touching the ground! Note that it is in the middle of January and it was warm enough for a short sleeve shirt!

Photo of the Day

Deda meets Morgan

(01-09-09)

Deda finally got to meet her 4th great-grandchild. Because of the holidays, she didn't get to travel to Texas when little Morgan arrived. She has been around, either at the hospital or waiting back at the house, for every grandchild (10 of them) and every great-grandchild(4) in our family! We got some quality time in this weekend helping with Morgan and his big brother, Grayson. We had a great time. I just love my family!!!

Photo of the Day

OU Sooners!

(01-08-09)

OK, they didn't pull it off--but it was still the focus of our (rather, my husband and son's) day. We all watched with nervous stomachs to support our favorite team. I even gave up before the game was over and went to bed. The photo is a little fuzzy since I took the picture of our T.V. in action. Guess I could have tried to pause it, huh? I did figure out I couldn't use the flash because each angle I tried reflected off of the screen leaving a huge glow in the middle of the picture.

Photo of the Day

Inspiration

(01-07-09)

Ok, we all know I can't sit still without something to keep my hands busy. Well, I can't walk on the treadmill without reading either! It's just so boring to me. Even though I'm exercising--I feel like I'm wasting time. One motivation for walking in the mornings is being able to read inspirational quotes or uplifting messages. It really helps me focus on the positive events of the day and reminds me to "live in the moment." I'm happy to report I've been able to get up and walk for 4 days in a row!

Sweet, sweet boys......

Look how sweet they are! Grayson is helping mommy with Morgan's first tub bath. Aunt Sissy said he got to wash Morgan's tiny feet! Grayson looks so big next to baby brother. Can't wait to see them this weekend!

Photo of the Day

Morning Routine

(01-06-08)

I'm trying to get back into the routine of walking in the mornings again. If I don't get up and do it first thing--you can forget about it! I always feel better and have more energy when I do. Here's to making it a morning ritual! I'll let you know how it goes.....

Photo of the Day

Colorful Yarns

(01-05-09)

I forgot to take a photo before dark today, so I wanted to find something inside the house to shoot. I discovered that using the camera flash in the evening (inside the house) casts an ugly shadow on almost every shot I took. I tried taking the above photo from up above the yarn, as opposed to taking it from the side, showing the ceramic dish it was in. It was a little better, and I love all of the colors. I think I'll set my alarm tomorrow to remind me to experiment before dark!

Photo of the Day

Cheese Dip Anyone?

(01-04-09)

Photo of the Day

Table Mess

(01-03-09)

Surely I'm not the only one who hasn't finished cleaning up the holiday mess? Am I?

Photo of the Day

Colorful

(01-02-09)

This photo was from Friday night. I had spent the day with mom, having lunch with her, my aunt, cousin and sister. I was hoping my photo of the day would be a group picture of all of us together--it happens so rarely. My aunt didn't feel well, though, so I didn't want to ask her to pose for a pic. I remembered driving home that I still hadn't taken a picture for the day. So, when I stopped at the stop light coming into my hometown I snapped a quick picture inside the car. The flash wasn't on--but the light turned green so I didn't have time to take another shot. When I got home and checked my camera, I was pleasantly surprised. Since the flash wasn't on and the shutter stayed open so long, and of course my hand wasn't steady--this was the result. I'm sure I could never get the same result again, it was definitely a colorful accident.

Photo of the Day

Deda's Coffee Cake Recipe
(01-01-09)

I remember my mom making this simple, yummy coffee cake when I was growing up. I usually get hungry for it around the holidays. It's a great comfort food for me. The original recipe follows, with my additions in parentheses.

Mix 3/4 cup sugar with 1/4 cup shortening (I use my pastry blender)

Add 1 egg, mix well

Stir in 1/2 to 1 cup milk (I add 3/4 cup)

Add 2 teas. baking powder and 1/2 teas. salt (I use 1/4 teas.)

Mix well. (I layered half of the batter into a 9x9 inch glass pan, sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon, then added the rest of the batter.) Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Add butter and cinnamon on top while still hot. (I rubbed the top of the cake with butter until melted and then sprinkled it with cinnamon/sugar mixture.) Enjoy!