Scrapping, Cooking, & Reading...

I made a commitment to join Ali Edwards in her year long "One Little Word" workshop for 2014. It sounds like a very enlightening/fun project, and so far I'm enjoying the process. You can read more about it here. I chose "prosper" as my word to focus on for the year. The first two pages in my 2014 album are dedicated to the thinking process of what prosper means to me, and where I would like it to lead me. It's all about mindful thinking and being more intentional in your life-lessons I hope to gain from. Here are my first two pages:

 

 

It looks like a lot of writing, but most of the monthly prompts are project oriented. The first month, as you get comfortable with your word, is more about really thinking about what you would like to see evolve for yourself during the process. It involves some soul-searching...I'm incorporating this project with my photo.a.day so they will both be in the same album. I can't wait to see what 2014 has in store for me and my family!

Another thing I have really enjoyed while being on break is reading. I got a Barnes & Noble gift card from my hubby for Christmas, and of course I've already spent it, plus more!! Here's the newest Amy Tan book I'm reading:

...and I also scored two new cookbooks to go with my new Kitchenaide mixer, and I got sale prices on all 3 books, score!

I think I'll have to start taking some of my baked goodies to school to put in the teacher's lounge, or feed them to my students. I so enjoy being in the kitchen baking or mixing up something new, but I certainly don't need all of the calories.
I can happily report I have been headache free for 4 days in a row! That is such a blessing...my husband (and a few close friends) are probably the only ones to really know how they have affected me in the last year--and bless their hearts for putting up with me. I'm getting back my energy and feeling so much better. Yeah for modern medicine!

I'm off to meet Jamie and Joel for dinner. They are in Tulsa for the weekend for a family wedding. They didn't bring the boys, I will miss them dearly, but we can have a real grown-up visit!

Happy Weekend to all!

Happy New Year...

It's been a great day for me. It seems like the first time in forever that I woke up without a migraine, and I haven't had a headache all day, woohoo! I had been having more and more debilitating migraines this past year, and I was absolutely ready to throw in the towel. Thankfully, a new doctor and some new tests found what we figured was probably causing the problem. I have degenerative discs in my neck and spine-and not just kinda-but very much so...My physician thought I might benefit from steroid injections in my neck, not exactly something I wanted to do, but I was willing to try almost anything because the pain has been so great. Migraines and middle school students are not a good mix, so I needed to do something. So, fast forward to yesterday-hubby took me in to have the pain management physician give me the injections. After we got home I started feeling a headache creeping in...I was so disappointed, but thought maybe I was dehydrated since I couldn't drink my usual glass of water when I got up that morning. I decided to take a nap to see if that would help. In a couple of hours I woke up with a horrible migraine, so I had to take meds and lay around the rest of the evening. I didn't even get to enjoy my yearly glass of champagne to celebrate the new year...I did manage to stay up until midnight, though. The doctor told us it could take 2-3 days, or even up to 10 days to see if the injections offered any relief. I've decided I'm going to take today as a great sign-a sign that I will have fewer migraines this year. And, I loved getting to spend  New Year's Day without a headache, able to do some of the things I really enjoy, especially when we are out of school and I have extra time at home.

 

I was so excited to try out my new mixer and pasta cutter that I spent the day in the kitchen baking apple cake and fresh pasta. I'm happy to report that they were both a big success.

 

 

I think I need to invest in a drying rack for my pasta--I didn't have anywhere else to put it!

 

I also got my first layout of the new year completed today...from pictures I took of the ice a couple of weeks ago. It felt so good to have some creative time today. I hope I get to do the same thing tomorrow. I'm thinking it would smell really good to have some fresh bread baking in the oven...

          I want to wish everyone a joyous and happy New Year!

...lately

a few things I have been enjoying this week...

finishing a birthday layout of M's...I made the Happy Birthday title
with my new Cameo Silhouette-it is so much FUN!

making smoothies for the freezer...why do bananas go bad so quickly?

I finished my last chair...I'll post a pic of
everything I did in the dining room soon...

my azalea plant that never ceases to amaze me with so many blooms,
this is the plant that died several years ago and I finally got a small stem to take root, now it will not stop growing-I've started so many new plants off of it, I've lost count...this summer I gave one to mom and one to Jamie-I hope their plants flourish for them like mine has for me...

I started another table top quilt...

and last, but not least-this is a current pic of Marley and her wild hair-
guess who gets to go to the Spa today? I hope everyone has a joyful week...

the past few days...

 

Kelsey and I went to Texas to enjoy some playtime with family. Last Thursday was G's last day of school so we showed up after he got home to surprise him! We crammed in as much as we could in 3 days: a trip to the park, swim lessons, gymnastic lessons, computer games, movies, board games, swimming at the pool, snuggle time and more! And, we may have or may not have consumed a large quantity of homemade cinnamon rolls. We were even there to join in on G's very first friend sleepover, and I'm happy to report it was a big success!

 

 

G and M playing games...

M loves to swing. They have a really cool park within walking distance
from their house, so there's no excuse not to go have some fun.

Competitive gymnastics has given G a lot of confidence.
He wanted to hang from every bar he could grab a hold of!

And, I was pleasantly surprised when we got
back home to see my hydrangeas beginning to bloom.

The trip was fun, as always. And, now that I'm back home,
I have our annual Eureka Springs Girl's Trip to look forward to.

Projects

I wanted to purchase a new wreath for my front door this summer. I really liked the one I currently have, but I've had it for several years and I'm getting tired of it. Not to mention it was beginning to fade and look kind of drab. When I went to Hobby Lobby to look for fabric for my dining room chairs I thought I would check out the ready made wreaths....have you priced them lately? They were way more expensive than I wanted to pay. I thought about just buying the flowers and putting together my own...still came out pretty pricey! So....creative juices flowing, I decided to just get one length of some bright white flowers and trying to spruce up my old wreath. I'm very pleased with the results. And, instead of spending $50+, I only spent $5. I'm happy now...

And now, I'm thinking of painting the front door turquoise.

I'll let you know what happens next...

...layouts lately

...some recent layouts...

...have I mentioned lately how much I enjoy scrappin'...





...and I'm off to scrap some more...

...around the house

I look forward to summer vacation every year. I always have several projects I've promised myself I will complete during my time off from school. A few weeks ago I decided it was time to update the curtains in my scrap room since I was planning on spending a lot of time in there over the next few months. The pic above shows the old curtains-along with my inherited chair from Jamie. She decided it didn't fit in with her new décor. I have since moved the chair to the living room because I really enjoy the light coming in through the window, and I thought it looked a little crowded with the chair in front of it.

And, here are the new curtains...and new curtain rod...

...a different view, I love all the natural light.

Another project I started a couple of weeks ago, in anticipation of being home for the summer, was repainting one of my brown tables. I forgot to take a picture before I painted, but trust me-it looks a lot better now. 

It looked too bare without something on the top so I put together a quick quilted runner to add more color. I'm really happy how it turned out. 

I also enjoyed putting it together just to be able to quilt again. I don't have time during the busy school year, and quilting is one of my favorite hobbies.

I think I have enough fabric to quilt non-stop for about 10 summers in a row! Now, off to start a new project...