Inspiration

I've cleaned out the Favorites tab on my computer and added some of the sites I regularly visit to my sidebar under My Favorite Sites and Inspiration. For my crafty/sewing readers, you might find something interesting for your next project. My list of "projects" has morphed into something huge! I have so many ideas swimming in my head...

Any new projects in your life?

We're Still Here!

It's been awhile! I have no excuse except I haven't felt motivated to update the blog. We've been busy with school and "stuff", the kids have been healthy (except for the runny nose you see in the picture!), and life is normal.

Brent and I are celebrating 9 years of married life today. Rachael is coming to babysit tonight and we're going out for a kid-free dinner.

The weather is awful! Cold and rainy...we haven't seen the sun in days. On our wedding day, it was rainy like this. The sun came through around time for the ceremony then disappeared. It started raining again and rained for 2 weeks! The town of Apache suffered major flooding; many people's lives were in danger when the water rose so fast that they were trapped in their homes.

The kids and I have Fall Break Wed. Thur, and Fri. I'm having a garage sale Fri. to clear out the garage. Mom's coming to help with the kids. We plan to have an uneventful break and stay healthy!

The End Is Near...And I Might Not Make It

I have an untold number of pictures on my camera that I don't have time to post.

My house is a wreck.

I can barely drag myself out of bed in the morning.

It must be May and the end of school.

Until I crawl out of this hole, here is my stimulating post for the week:

Top 10 ways to know you are ready for school to end:
10. You are so tired, you now want to answer students' questions with "shutup"
9. Your friends call to ask how you've been and you immediately scream "Stop asking me all these questions."
8. Your garbage can is now your "INBOX"
7. You wake up to discover your classroom is on fire, but go back to sleep because you just don't care.
6. You consider a 40 hour work week a vacation.........
5. Visions of the upcoming summer and sleeping in help you make it through Monday.
4. You don't set your alarm anymore because you just don't care if you are late or not...
3. The next kid who asks you for a pencil is going to hear "Don't you ever have anything? Do you see WalMart tattooed on my forehead?"
2. Your day timer/work planner exploded a week ago...
1. You fantasize about how relaxing it would be if you were in jail right now!

Housecleaner, Anyone?

While practicing for the "Big Hunt", Lillian discovered a moldy painted pumpkin left from Halloween. Obviously, I should be careful of how many real eggs I allow to be hidden around the house this weekend!

My Collection

I've never been one to have a collection but I stumbled upon one without meaning to begin. Once I admitted that I had started collecting, I mentioned it to a few people and the collection grew quickly.

I collect cookie cutters. There. I said it. I have a collection. Let me share it with you!

This picture shows all of my cookie creations. Each one has a story and a memory. Is it like that with all people who collect items?

The red arrow points to a spring set by Martha Stewart. My mom bought these for my birthday this year. Directly behind the arrow is a set of circus animal cutters with a mix to make animal crackers. I am looking forward to trying this with my kids. Again, this was a gift from Mom. The cutters are darling ! Moving clockwise, the green arrow points to a set of 18 fall shapes. I bought this for 75% off after Halloween. The set includes a bat, a coffin, leaves, an apple, and many others related to autumn.

The Christmas shapes were a gift from a former student. The clover and rabbit were in Mom's birthday gift this year. The red bunny was found in an antique store in Guthrie on July 4th 2 years ago. It is made by Tupperware. I intend to find more like this because it reminds me of making cookies with my mom as a child. She had several red cutters in different shapes. Does anyone else remember doing that? Finally, the turkey was attached to a Thanksgiving towel my SIL, Sarah, gave me a year ago. She's always doing nice things like that!

Close up of the Martha Stewart cutters.

One problem...how do I store/display/organize these? Any ideas?

Blog Blah

My blog design is blah. I am waiting on my new design from Simply Yours. I have been trying to figure out exactly what I want and put it in words. She is being very patient and I hope to have the new design this week. In the meantime, the blog is blah. How's that for alliteration? BTW, try to say that 10 times fast!

So Cute!

My sis-in-law, Lindsey, started an etsy business at www.shopsweetsimplicity.etsy.com. She is making adorable onesie designs for our little ones and I think they are awesome! Give her some support and check out her site.

Sites You Gotta Visit

These sites inspire me when I feel stuck in a funk. The colors, thoughts, and ideas take me to a place other than small town Oklahoma. Wander through these pages for your inspiration!

Grosgrain

DesignMom

Date Night

Friday night was one for the history books! Brent and I hired a babysitter (2 to be exact) and had a real date to celebrate our 8th anniversary. We ate at my favorite restuarant (Olive Garden) and spent some time browsing Barnes and Noble (something I haven't done in ages!). I had been looking forward to this for soooooo long and it was worth the wait. We promised ourselves we would do this more than once a year; there's something about having 2 kids that increases the need for adult time. My big purchase was Trisha Yearwood's cookbook, Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen. There are some down home, yummy recipes in there that I can't wait to try.

No. 8

That's right...we broke into the Top 10 after an impressive win over Missouri. The kids were decked out in OSU gear for the game even if we were deep in western Oklahoma where no one saw us but grandparents. Hey, fans wear their gear everywhere!

You're It

According to the rules I read on Sweet Simplicity's blog, I'm supposed to "tag" other people to write 6 random facts. I might have readers who haven't already been tagged so I'll choose Bloggin It From the Burbs, Yng4Evr, Davis Kids, and MonkeyToes and Chicken Hair. Get to it, girls! I want to know 6 random facts about you!

Random Facts

Lindsey tagged me to list 6 random facts about myself. At first, I thought I wouldn't do it because I don't have the luxury of free time to sit down and come up with 6. But... I finally decided I could do it. Here goes...

1). I secretly dream of being a librarian because I love the smell and feel of books. Am I weird yet?

2). I keep a journal of lists about everything from ideas for gifts to lesson plans. I recently made a list of ideas for Lillian's birthday party and a list of books that I want to read this school year.

3). I love to organize! Brent has accused me of making up reasons to go in the attic and sort clothes in boxes. Hey, I can't help that OCD part of my nature.

4). I can't just sit and watch tv. I'm either reading a book or on the internet at the same time.

5). I despise cleaning bathrooms and folding clothes. Who doesn't?!?!

6). My mind is not wired to remember titles of songs, who sang them, or when they were released.

Weekend Warriors

We haven't been very warrior-like this weekend. It's actually been too quiet around here. Lillian has been gone since Thursday; she's spending time with both sets of grandparents before school starts. Here is a pic of the kids last week:

Lucas was thrilled to spend Sat. morning without clothes. He looks like a starving child with a skinny chest and arms. Check out the farmer's tan on the arm.

Lucas misses Lillian. He keeps looking around like he expects her to pop out at any moment. Whenever we pass her room, he looks in like she might still be asleep. It is really sweet. I'm not sure she misses him but she did tell Grammy that it was awfully quiet without Lucas around.

As he approaches 8 months, Lucas has been trying more "people" food. He's had turkey, ham, pears, and grapes. In fact, I just spent the last 15 minutes peeling the skin off tiny pieces of grape so he could mash them easier between his gums. We'll try ravoli pasta tonight.

Lillian prefers to just stay home and play on Sat. mornings so we took advantage of her absence and ventured in to Guthrie's farmer's market. That has Brent brimming with ideas for next year's garden. We shopped in a thrift store I've always wanted to see and found some great deals. Ralph Lauren and Baby Gap shirts for 99 cents are too good to pass up!

Winning is Great!

Last week, I entered a giveaway on The Pink Potpourri to win a set of handmade notecards. Much to my surprise, I won! The cards came in today and I absolutely love them. Pretty paper, cute cards, and unique writing utensils are my thing. The cards were designed by a talented etsy designer; go to her site to see her delighful wares. Happy Friday, readers!