Party Prep

Yesterday well into last night was spent prepping for today's Easter Party. Started at the store shopping for last minute items, of course, and some things I wanted to wait to get. I then spent an hour stuffing eggs for the hunt. Then started in on the cleaning. I cleaned the kitchen top to bottom, including the microwave, the front of the oven , all of the counters and mopped the floors. I cleaned the bathroom very well. Folded laundry, and finally went to bed. As I was doing all of this , I asked my self why I was going through all the trouble. The answer : It's how I grew up. It's what I witnessed my mom do days before parties, and the week before relatives visit. It's laughable, to me because who's going to look that closely at my microwave? Is anyone going to inspect the toilet? And the answer is most likely no, but then there are people like me, who do notice that. So even after having this conversation in my head, I continued the cleaning and prepping this morning, dusting, cleaning windows, vacuuming floors, sweeping the kitchen again, cleaning the rabbit's cage , cleaning up the patio area- which hubs took over thank goodness. I did all of this knowing , that all of the hours of work I put in would be undone in less that an hour of the party guests arriving. I guess it's mostly for self satisfaction. I knew how clean it was and the effort put forth.

The party was nice, the food was great! Nana brought all kinds of goodies, and dad's smoke turkey made great tasting sandwiches. This kids colored eggs, and hunted for the yummy candy and toy filled ones outside. And after another half hour of cleaning my kitchen was returned to the basic clean I like. lol.

In an Instant

It's no secret that life can change in just a instant, you don't always know when or why. It's just a fact of life.

Last Sunday a friend of mine was in a pretty bad car accident. I saw the photo she posted on facebook, and first thought " wow, that's pretty damaged, and everyone survived?" I didn't know until recently that the car spun out and rolled three times, and that she was inside the car when all of this happened. She and her boyfriends cousin were the most injured. No major injuries, but scary all the same.

As she was describing the accident to me, I was looking at the photo, and couldn't help but tear up. It's one thing to look at photos like that, and another to know a person you care about was part of that. I am glad that she and her friends came out survivors. And have a little better appreciation for life, it can change in an instant. It shouldn't take accidents or other events to make a person realize this, but usually that is the only way we see it.

I tried to post the photo on here, but I wasn't able to. If you are a friend of this friend on facebook you can go to her page and check it out. Makes you think.

Goodbye 2010 Hello New Decade

So I've been sitting here for a long time now thinking of what to write. And I can't come up with anything that Isn't to vauge or boring. The truth is that 2010 was hard on my personally, and I learned a lot from those experiences.


Over the last couple of years I've resolved to not make new years resolutions. This year I feel it is important to make just one, and try so very hard to uphold it.

I resolve to make my self more of a priority.

meaning:
Get Healthier - losing weight would be great but not a must.
Indulge a little - I have the hardest time spending money on my self. If I like that shirt at the store I should actually leave with it.
Time away - I need to get out of the house more often on my own to do my own thing, whether its a short trip to the grocery store, window shopping or dinner with a friend.
Date Nights - Spending a little more one on one with my husband would be amazing.
A Monthly treat - Facial, manicure, massage, anything that benefit ME

These are just a few ideas I have. I may add or subtract from this list. The point is that I need to focus on me a little more than I do.

So here's to a great year for everyone.

Saying Good Bye

Yesterday was a truly sad day for me, and my little family. After spending two and a half years as a member of our family we had to say good bye to Chewy.

When I adopted Chewy he was 15 years old. I fell in love with him as soon as I held the little guy in my arms. I knew he was old and wouldn't live much longer, but I knew he deserved a loving home and family to spend the rest of his life with.

Chewy had a lot of personality, no teeth, and a tongue that stuck out of his mouth, and a slew of other corky issues. Some were cute and others - not so much. In spite of it all I loved him.

He spent his days sunning him self, sleeping and cuddling with me. He slept between Scott and I for the first year, and would curl his lip and growl if Scott touched him. Scott loved to get him to do this. When Annaleese came a long we found that he liked to sneak in her room and sleep under her crib in all of her blankets. He wasn't too fond of Annaleese as she got older and more curious about him. He would bark, growl and nip at her with his toothless mouth. When he was hungry he would find me and bark and bark until I got up and fed him. It was funny to see him bark- it literally took his whole body to do it, he would bounce.

I arrived home from vacation this passed Sunday, and didn't realize he was dying until the following day. His health quickly deteriorated in just a day, and after a trip to the vet we found out his liver and kidneys were failing and that he didn't have much longer. I spent a few hours with him and finally made a decision to let him go. As hard as it was, it was the right one. He is in a better place. We told Annaleese he is with the Moon and the Stars

In a Rut?

I'm twenty five years old, and twenty six is rapidly approaching. As far as age goes, I guess I am fairly young. True. Then why is it that I feel much older?

I've always been a little more mature for my age. I was always sitting with the adults and talking with them at parties I would go to with my parents. I was always the oldest of all my parents friend's kids. I was usually older then the kids in my class, and most of my friends.

I've always been a little more serious then most people I know, but I was still able to let loose and have fun.

So here I am. I am only twenty five and I feel much older. I feel old. I feel like I look old, and I am not really sure what to do about it.

Mirror Images

Ever look at your self in the mirror and think to your self , " I look pretty good, considering..?" Well I had been doing that for a while, and then I saw pictures of my self from the days I asked my self that question, and thought I looked pretty good. Boy was I wrong, I saw those photos and thought EEWWW OMG!!!

So again I am finally doing something about it. I did really well last year losing weight, I lost about 10 lbs and was feeling pretty good about it, then I got lazy with watching what I ate, and exersizing went out the window, and before I knew it , I gained that 10 pounds back and about 5-10 more ( really who's counting? lol)

So Last Monday night, after a wonderful day out in Monterey with the family, I broke out the tape measure. I measured my bust, neck, arms, waist, hips, and thieghs. Sometimes my scales not always accurate so I wanted to have something else to measure my progress in. I took photos for motovation and comparison. (No you will not see the before photos) And the next morning I took my weight.

I started working out on the elliptical for 30 to 35 mins. I did that for 3 days last week. Watched what I ate, even recording it, keeping track of calories and what not.

And am pround to say that this week I am 4 pounds lighter. I hope to exercise more this week. Should be a little easier now that Annaleese is starting to feel better.

I just wanted to share my success.

Back to Scrappin'

Wow. All week I have really had the itch to sit down and get some scrappin' done. It finally happend! After I got Annaleese to bed for the night, I sat down at my craft table, pulled out some photo's and just started scrappin. It felt amazing, theraputic, and well worth it. I made 4 layouts in a 3 hour period, and even got some organizing done. I forgot how quickly time passes when you get lost in creativity. Before I knew it , it was 11 pm. ( late for me).

Today while Annaleese napped I churned out another 1.5 layouts. I'm super psyched! I wish I had more friends who scrapped. I have some who are interested in learning. Selfish as this will sound, I don't really want to spend my scrap time teaching. I want to scrap. Jessica - why do we live so far? I blame you for this addiction - but I thank you also.