difficult

although I was able to post a picture, it was not QUICK, that's for sure. And look at how big the image is. (Probably why it took so long to upload.) I just might move my blog. Stay tuned.

test

[IMG]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n28/misskenjr/12-12003.jpg[/IMG]

That's it!

I am PISSED! For over a week now, I have not been able to upload pictures! It MUST be something on my end becuase other blogger blogs aren't having problems. I am NOT very computer savvy, so I'm going to have to

A)Call my brother
B) wait for Ken to get home tonight
or
C)Go to Yahoo! Answers and hope someone can help me.

UGH! ugh ugh ugh!!!

:-(

Be back asap

Kitties and Christmas trees

I know, I know--this post is no good without pictures. Well, believe me--I'm going to let blogger.com know that something is up with me not being able to post pics. I've checked EVERYTHING on my end, and it's all good.

Anywho, we have an artificial tree, the kind where you fit each branch end into hole. SOMEHOW (I don't know how) the kitties have released about six of the branches! I come downstairs this morning and see that the tree looks a little. . .off. Lopsided. Upon further inspection I see that there are branches laying ontop of other branches! I tried putting them back in the holes they belong in, but some of them didn't seem to fit. All the while, orniments are crashing together, the lights and ribbon are being all upheaveled---I was pissed! That's it. Kenney can put it back together! Let me find those damn kitties. . .

Then I come here and STILL can't upload pictures! UGH! I'm TRYING to be 'jolly', but I'm telling you, it's easier to be pissy lately. Once I can share my pics with you I'll be happier. . .

FRUSTRATED!

For two days in a row, now, I've tried uploading pictures to a post and they won't work! I'm not having a problem anywhere else on the net as far as uploading, so I'm guessing it's got to be this site. UGH. Say a quick prayer that next time I try to upload the pics for todays post, it actually works.

**grumble, grumble**

Baby, it's cold outside!

Hi everyone!! I hope all of you are doing well!

I have some pictures to upload, but I can't take the time right this second--I have to get dressed and run out for a while.

Grab your coffee or tea and get motivated to cross an item or two off of your 'to-do' list! That's what I plan on doing today.

I'll be back later!! :)

(Eric has fully recovered, by the way. ;)

Delayed one more day. . .

No go on coming home today. (Friday) His oxygen saturation wasn't high enough, espically while sleeping. By this evening he was doing MUCH better.
The hospital had Nintendo Game Cube as well as Wii. He only wanted to play Gamecube.

He also watched a SpongeBob Marathon on Cartoon Network.

If I never see (hear) another episode of SpongeBob again, it'll be too soon.

Meanwhile, I finished "Breaking Dawn", the 4th (and last *sniff sniff*) book in the Twilight Saga. Great saga--I highly recomend it!

I started "OutLander" by Diana Gabladon. It was highly recomened to me by a friend.

So Ken is at the hospital now with Eric. He'll be released tomorrow, we'll go to my in laws' for leftover Thanksgiving dinner, and sunday morning I'll be shopping with my sister in law, mother in law and best friend.

Most of my christmas shopping is done, though. Thank God for that. But the Christmas season wouldn't seem to be 'kicked off' if I don't get out in the crowds with my girls and shop!!

I'll be stopping at Target in the morning. (I'll probably hit a few other stores, too, before Eric is released!) Target has The Notebook on dvd for $3.98!!! SHUT!UP! I'll be looking for that.

Ok, I'm dead tired. Be back asap.

Update

Hey everyone.

I was sick for a while, if you remember, and then my husband got sick. Now my middle child is in the hospital with asthma/pnemonia. He was admitted yesterday, and the dr. says it looks good that he'll be out tomorrow.

A small dent in our turkey day plans, but that is OK! The food will wait, the family will be happy to see us when we can get there, and the mall isn't going anywhere!! (I shop on black friday. OH, wait--I *did* mention that a time or two.) SO this year it'll be saturday. No biggie.

The most important thing right now is that Eric gets well and can BREATHE. (Small detail, eh?)

Walking update--I've been walking two days a week with Wendy and I'm noticing I feel stronger, sleep better, and am not as hungry. (Weird?) I was complimented, too, that I"m looking slimmer. Polite, yes. Flattering, yes. How true, I'm not sure. ;) I'm going to keep my routine the same right now, as December tends to get full pretty quickly. I am almost ready to add a third day. I think first I'll add a day (at HOME) of strength training. That will be my challenge and change for December. Come January I'll be regularly walking twice a week and strength training once a week. Then I'll add another day of walking. :-D

Ok, I am going back to the hospital. Enjoy your turkey, family, shopping-- look around and really notice just how rich you truely are! Eric being in the hospital made me sit up and take notice of how much we have and how lucky we are!! :)

PRAISE GOD!

Hibernating this weekend

I was suppoused to go to a weekend crop, but I just wasn't well enough. I'm glad I stayed home, becuase I slept quite a lot--and I know I needed it. With my husband around 24/7 this weekend, there's been ALOT of chores accomplished! I surely appreciate it. I *did* get a little scrapping done. Here's what I did--
I worked on our family Christmas pictures from last year. I want to get them done before I take 2008's pics. Then I won't be more than a year behind.

It's so hard to photograph layouts. This shot seems so far away. You certainly can't see the pictures in the layout.

This page shows our FIRST time of having stocking hung 'by the chimney with care'!!

While I was laying on the couch at one point, JackJack got comfy with me. He's such a purr-er!!

Ugh. Nice shot. Can I note here that my psoriasis gets worse when I'm sick. Psoriasis is an auto-immune disease, so it gets worse when my body has to fight an illness.

Mmmm. .. fresh bread! I didn't make it from scratch, but it tasted like it. It's a frozen dough that you put in a loaf pan, let it rise for about 8 hours, then bake for 25 minutes. It went well with the homemade chicken noodle soup I made on saturday. Today (sunday) will probably be chili. Mmmmm. . .


Maybe it's becuase I haven't been 100% health wise, but I feel like I"ve lost some of my scrappin' 'mo-joe'. Maybe I just need to jump back in the saddle and do some more today.

That sounds good. That's what I'll do.

On the 'shrinking' note, I"ve been walking with my girlfriend two days during the week. The first time we walked (two weeks ago) I was really working to keep up, and was having a VERY hard time talking while walking. This past week on one of the days we walked I felt much stronger and wasn't working quite as hard! My finger nails have been NOTICEIBLY stronger--I wonder if that has something to do with the better eating I'm doing? At any rate I'm now looking around for signs of improvement other than just on the scale, which is, by the way, down a total of 5 pounds from my all time highest. It's a far cry from pulling 50 pounds off this year (which was my goal back in January), but I need to look forward, not backward. I have three weddings to go to next year, and I want to have a good chunk of this weight off. I'll be posting more about shrinking from here on out--I need to be accountable.


Thanks, friends! Be back later :)

Under the weather

Hey everyone~~ I've been as sick as a dog. (Wait, where did that saying come from? Well, I"ve never been a dog person, so I don't know how sick a dog can get.) Anyway, I've been resting up and starting to feel better. I'll take some pics, make some cards and post up this weekend. I suspect I'll be in the family room with the fireplace going, Ken at the computer next to me at my scrap desk, the kids playing in their playroom down the hall. Sounds fantastic! I was suppoused to go to Kankakee to scrap this weekend, but there's just no way. I am not well enough to drive and be up all day and night. I'll be taking rests on my cozy couch frequently this saturday, I'm sure. Hot tea in hand.

Ok---I'll get back to you all soon!!!!

Thank you Card

I had to make this tonight for a friend who not only stepped up to help me without hesitation, but actually went beyond what I asked for and put me in a comfort zone any mom would be greatful for!

Thank you, Wendy!!

I'm falling in love!!!!

There's a new thing I've fallen in love with-----IRON ONS!!!!! I made a t-shirt for myself for halloween that says "Trick Or Treat" in 'bling'. .. I'll take a picture when it's out of the laundry. Anyway, I got the idea for black friday (my FAVORITE day of the year!) to make t-shirts for my group and I, but it got a bit costly----so I made these little canvas bags!! It was so much fun! Now I know what you're thinking: "What the heck are you gonna do with that little canvas bag that doesn't have any kind of closing mechanism, won't fit over your wrist, much less your shoulder and can't be attached to another purse handle?!" Well I thought it through and have a few ideas. Either A)It can fit in a bigger purse (like mine) or B) it'll just be for in the car. (And will come out at our 'pit stops' like Starbucks or Panera) I'm thinking this little bag will hold our small notebooks with lists of what to buy, who to buy it for, what store to get it at, which store has what on sale, etc etc, a pen, chapstick, gum,. .. whatever. It's just so cute and it was SO MUCH FUN putting it together!! I have to buy one more for Deata; I had another black bag, but Abby was helping me and she really wanted one. So I made one for her. It says "Abby's Stuff". (She's not on the list of those who are going shopping on Black Friday. Oh, no.) I'll go back to Hobby Lobby and get another black one for Deata and maybe I"ll find more things to iron letters to. I LOVE it!

{{Clapping and laughing!}}

Sugar high

Here are the kids on halloween! Eric is the one to the right with the "scream" mask, and Tom is the grim reaper, covering his face with the hood.
Taking a break. We did ALOT of walking, and the kids got ALOT of candy!! Their friend was trick-r-treating with us.

LOL! It looks like in this picture of the kitties they are looking up at the picture above!

The kids LOVE to sort their candy. Piles of 'like' candy as far as the eye can see. Notice the jenga and pyramid - type structures.

Eric tosses a piece of candy to Tom. They trade like they're on the floor of the stock market exchange. Candy flies everywhere--and the kitties try to catch it!

There's the jenga pile I mentioned. (Kit kats)

How cute is my niece?!

Tom turned 11 on Novemeber 3rd.

Time sure does fly.

Quickly~~

I have lots of halloween pictures to share with you, but right now I'm rushing to get the kids out to school and right after that I'm meeting a friend for a walk! I'll get back sometime today :) . . . Enjoy the warmer weather today becuase it's slipping away quickly. . .

Happy Halloween!!

Creative at my scrap desk? Yes. I enjoy that. Creative in the kitchen? Not so much. But I tried.

Check out these candy mummy molds! They're pretzel molds, but I didn't have pretzel rods, so they're just candy.

Poor mister mummy here lost his head. Maybe he was laughing too hard. (Laughed his head off.) Or maybe someone didn't embalm him correctly.
Trick - r - treat!

Look at the little mummy army! Hee hee hee!

Have a great Halloween! I need to get half a million things done before the kids get home from school :)

Switching things around again

This switch-a-roo began with the need for better lighting in my frontroom. My parents are over for a few days and I know they always come up with solutions for my problems. When I mentioned to my dad that the lighting my frontroom sucked, and could he please come up with a better design, it didn't take him long.

The above pictures show the corners of the family room. The table in the above picture and the floor lamp in the first picture came from the frontroom.

(Will I ever NOT have laundry baskets in my life? The answer is a resounding NO.)

Without going into a million details, the two corners shown here have been decluttered. The floor lamp was removed as was the bigger end table that is now downstairs. (See the soap opera on the tv? Trust me, I didn't have it on for long. I haven't been into watching it for years. I get back into the swing of the plot, and it's the same story, different characters. And there's always characters on that you're like "who is THAT teenager?" and then you find out it was a BABY last time you were into the show. Crazy. But I digress. . .)

Having the tables on either side of the sectional is what I needed, so I could have a lamp on either side. Side note: do not ever buy a sectional! What a pain in the ASS!! We tried to move the 'wedge' out of there, but the MONSTROSITY wouldn't fit down the stairs. So we shoved it as far back into the corner as we could, and moved the two end pieces as close as possible. You need a really big room for a piece of furniture like that. But I can't complain, becuase my in laws gave it to us. I didn't buy it. And, like I said, I never will buy anything that big.

Maybe if I used a flash you'd be able to see through the window and not a big white glare. I'll try later, in the evening maybe.

Ok, on to my day! Ta ta!

Another 'boots' card

Wouldn't it be nice if it snowed only through december? Just for effect. Oh well.

I've been up since 7am and I'm getting alot of 'chores' done. I'm feeling ready for lunch now, but it's only 11:10am. I'll have a healthy snack and get busy on a few more chores to pass another hour or so before I have lunch. I'm on a streak with eating good/right! I'm down another 3 pounds this week. I know some of that is probably water weight, but . . .it's still good to see the numbers go down. This year has been pretty bad as far as taking the weight off. I really wanted to do a better job. So far the total pounds down is only 8. I guess I'll just look at it as going in the right direction and keep on doing the right thing. The year isn't over yet. . .

Card for the day

Getting a little ahead of myself, I know, but how cute are those boots!? Click on the image to get a better look at them. So cute! I had to have them becuase of my three kids. You'll be seeing alot of that image in days to come, I'll tell ya that.

I've been choosing wisely with food and it's paying off! I still haven't started walking consistantly. .. always something going on every day, and really--wednesdays are usually pretty busy. PLUS the kids were off of school today for parent/teacher conferances. I'm happy to report that my kids are doing well. :)

Ok, I'm beat. I need to get my kids into bed and collapse. See you tomorrow!

It's getting chilly outside!

I know halloween is almost here, but I can't help thinking of Thanksgiving and BLACK FRIDAY on days like this! It's brisk (too brisk for even ME) and the smells of the holidays are all around our house (thanks to yankee candles :)

We've had a busy weekend, but it was fun. We went to the zoo on sunday and carved a pumpkin! Some pics are below.

This card is more on the simple side, but I love the image (from stamping bella --minty coffee) Click on the picture to see a closer shot, and you can see the sparkle I added!

I've been kind of on a slow boat as far as the shrinking goes. I'm not walking as much as I need to be, but I *am* making better choices, and I know that is helping me go in the right direction. I know that if I stepped it up a bit I'd be losing quicker, but there's only so much I can fit on my plate. (HA! No pun intended!)

Oh, and for those of you who were waiting for a report on Ken's visit to the dermotoligist, the spot on his temple is nothing to worry about. The dr. said to come back to him if it starts to turn black. Yeah, no duh.

Ok, I need to get to the post office and run some errands! I will be back TOMORROW for sure becuase I have another card to show you! :)

. . . . . . . . .. Please stand by

It's been over a week since I posted! We were very busy with yard work over the weekend, homework last night, and I've been tending to bills, cleaning, and a few stray problems. I also have been walking every other day, and I can feel my body changing, even if it's just the achiness in muscles from being used for the first time in a while. *SIGH*

I'm finishing up my work today and delivering the albums in Oakbrook tomorrow. (Wednesday) I have a bunch of ideas for some cards I want to make, and I'm ready to catch up on some of MY scrapbooks! I'll be sure to show them to you!!! In the mean time, here are some ADORABLE pics of my BEAUTIFUL nephew!

Wait, did I say the porch was 'done'?

. . .I guess I should rephrase that. MOST of the work is done. Aside from needing screens in the spring (and doors--I forgot to mention doors), under the eves is being repainted as I type this. Ken found the (practicly new) gallon of paint the previous owners used to paint the inside ceiling of the porch. He's going over the greyish facia/eve (whatever you wanna call it) so it'll match the ceiling.


Here are the 'babies'! Turns out they're both boys. And, sorry fellas, they're going in to take the bullets out of the guns at the end of this month!

I suggested we change the names, or at least change Cupcake's name. Ken said don't bother, but I think I have the kids on my side.
Eric and abby (and 3 or 4 of their friends) love to climb this tree! How 'hallmark'!

Ok. I'm off to weed out the kids' summer clothes and clothes they've outgrown. Gotta get those rooms ready for painting. ;)

The porch is done!

What a great big huge job. As Ken and I were staining the many many creaves and nooks of our porch, he said to me "Painting the kids' rooms after this will be a piece of cake!" Unenthused, I replied, "Painting ANYTHING after this--for the rest of my life--will be a piece of cake!"

Here is the porch before we started. The greyish/blueish color is the color stain it was. (16 years old, fyi.)

Here it is after Ken stripped it. (He didn't strip the lattice, though. You can tell the differance in color.)

And here it is, newly stained in the color called "Cedar"! You can tell in the lower picture that Ken needs to stain the top of the eve. He needs to get a taller ladder.
Here is the inside, finished. (Except for the screens. We're going to buy new screens in the spring.)
Here is that same shot with the wood 'naked'.

It looks fresh, clean, even, . . .we are very happy!

Took a walk today, feelin' great!

I'd like to give a shout out to my newest friend, Denise! That talk we had on the porch of the house in Grand Rapids is still with me. I got out this morning and walked for 20 minutes, and it felt great. I cleared my mind, thought of 'nothingness' and just took in the sights I overlook everyday. I feel renewed! I feel fresh and content! And you know what else? I now WANT to do the best I can as far as eating today! Denise told me that she *had* to start walking for health reasons, and at first she HATED and DREADED it. Now it's second nature and if she misses her after dinner walk she feels 'off'. I will get to that point. It's my goal. xoxoxo