Ahh...finally

I have a morning to catch up on the computer completely. We had a great Thanksgiving. The hubs and me went out in the chaos @ 4:30 am Black Friday. We are about 2/3rds of the way done with our christmas shopping. Yay! Found some really awesome deals!!! :o) And since we've been busy with decorating inside and outside for christmas. Finally late last night I got my house cleaned up from the chaos that it's been the past few days. Hubs got our room 1/2 painted last night. We're picking up our tv today. Uploading gobs of pictures that I'll be posting over the next few days. Hope everyone had a great long weekend!

12 Days Of Christmas Giveaway

Cinnamon Sticks Boutique is having a 12 days of christmas giveaway. Click on the button in this post or in my side bar or her link I have provided and go enter for your chance to win. Tell her you found out about it from me for an extra entry for yourself! Possible 18 entries - so go visit and enter away! Awesome Awesome goodies!

Awards

Awards are always so much fun to recieve and give!

Andrea shared this award with her commentors.

This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

I'm giving this award to Deann, Shauna, Ashley, and any of my fellow SITStah's who stop by during the week, feel free to grab and pass on!

And Shauna shared some of the awards she's gotten with her blog readers. Don't know the rules on this so am passing to my readers, grab and pass on the love! :o)

Weekend in Review

What a crazy weekend. Here's some pictures of it all. And we also jammed packed in the Twilight movie, 3 shopping trips, and wedding. Oh yes it was busy!

Fun times in the snow!



Hmmm...yum, snow tastes good!



Laughing when she fell over.



Flower blooming and there's snow.



Leftover material from her curtains, an apron for a christmas present. I actually did the majority of it, and the hubs finished it.



The hubs sewed the pillows in the middle (cream colored ones) and I did the closing stitches.



Added red glittery spikes and berries.



The far right color is the color we picked up to start our room this weekend!



The little one's finished room. The pretty pink painted stairs.



The curtains the hubs sewed and I spray painted the metal words above the windows.



Other side of the room.



Close up of the material for the curtains.


Pretty new lighting.

Manic Monday

Do you ever talk to yourself out loud? What do you talk about?

- Yes sometimes. More so when I'm really frustrated and I need to let it out.

What stresses you out?

- Being late. I don't know how but the majority of the time we barely make it to important events on time.

What are your secret talents?

- The hubs considers this a talent, that I can spread all of my toes apart. Lols, other than that I don't know?

Twilight Aftermath

**Warning!!!** - This is my opinion on the Twilight movie, if you don't want to know about it etc, then please stop reading now.

So, last night we arrived at the theater, redeemed our online tickets, got the popcorn and soda and headed into the packed theater. I was nervous about seating, but we snagged the last 3 seats in the upper section thank goodness. For all of you Harry Potter fans they show a trailer for the new one, it looks good, and says it's coming out in July. Ok, so for my take on the movie, overall I thought it was good. I loved some parts, others were really cheesy in my opionion, some disappoint with how they showed some things and left certain things out that I would have loved to see. Loved Edward, he was played very well by Rob P. Some of the other characters grew on me, not what I pictured at all for some of the characters so it was interesting to see their take. Was disappointed with the lack of roles Emmett and Jasper seemed to have in the movie. Anyone else feel like that? What are your thoughts?

I must go get the little one and myself dressed to run some errands. Have a wedding to go to this afternoon/evening so I'm hoping tonight or tomorrow can play catch up on here. I know I have lots of comment love to return everyone! :o)

Nothing Better

than walking down the stairs with the little one this morning and looking out the door to see it snowing! And it's laying. I had no clue we were even supposed to get snow. There's always something so special about that first snow fall. So, I grabbed my jacket and threw some shoes on to take a picture.

Looking at the back of the yard.



On the ornamental grass.

And officially 12 hours and 24 minutes until I will be sitting in the theater watching Twilight! What a great Friday! :o) Now to bundle us up and go out and play in the snow some before we have to go run errands.

Thursday Thirteen - Twilight

It's finally Thursday, which means one more nights sleep before the Twilight premiere. So, in honor of my obsession/love of Twilight, thirteen of my favorite quotes from the books.

1. And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.
2. Before you my life was like a moonless night. Very dark, but there were stars-points of light and reason. And then you shot across the sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything.
3. Time passes. Even when it seems impossible. Even when each tick of the second hand aches like the pulse of blood behind a bruise. It passes unevenly, in strange lurches and dragging lulls, but pass it does. Even for me.
4. You are exactly my brand of heroin.
5. “Aren’t you hungry?” he asked, distracted. “No.” I didn’t feel like mentioning that my stomach was already full - of butterflies.
6. So you see, Hell's not so bad if you get to keep an angel with you.
7. About three things I was certain. First, Edward Cullen was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him, and I don't know how dominant that part might be, that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
8. The right thing isn’t always real obvious. Sometimes the right thing for one person is the wrong thing for someone else.
9. It’s an off day when I don’t get someone telling me how edible I smell.
10. I am switzerland. I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures.
11. I don’t seem strong enough to stay away from you, so I suppose that you’ll get your way…whether it kills you or not.
12. But if you ever bring her back damaged again - and I don’t care whose fault it is; I don’t care if she merly trips, or if a meteor falls out of the sky and hits her in the head - if you return her to me in less that perfect condition that I left her in, you will be running with three legs. Do you understand that mongrel?
13. Edward’s like a drug for you, Bella. I see that you can’t live without him. It’s too late. But I would have been healthier for you. Not a drug; I would have been the air, the sun.

Happy Mail Day

Woo-hooo, who doesn't love taking the recyling out and finding a package at your doorstep! Makes the chore all that much sweeter. I signed up for Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap and was paired up with Jaime ( StampinMom ). (For some reason Mr. Linky isn't working, will check back later to add my link)

The Package in all of it's prettiness!



Look at the pretty wrapping paper!



Everything laid out before I dug into to unwrapping the goodies.



And the Aftermath. :o)


And in case you can't see everything here's the awesome goodies I got, can't wait to use them all. Snowman ornament, favorite coffee, sparkly confetti, lip balm, homemade cards and tags, mascara, tea towel, wooden spoon, margarita - shampoo/shower gel/bubble bath, pink sparkly ornament, taffy, chocolate & caramel (yum!), chai tea, scrappy goodies, Pampered Chef recipe booklet, and Home Companion magazine. For my first blog swap this was a blast. Thank you Jaime!


And two pics of the little one taken the other night.
"Look Mom, it's Daddy!"


"Baby, thirsty?"



And to top off my week, the printoff of my tickets to see TWILIGHT Friday night! Woo-HOOOOOOOOO!

I've got Nada.

So, I'm not feeling creative with anything to write. So, took this quiz that I saw on Adventures of a Reluctant Housewife. Here's my results. What are yours?

you are lightcyan #E0FFFF

Your dominant hues are green and blue. You're smart and you know it, and want to use your power to help people and relate to others. Even though you tend to battle with yourself, you solve other people's conflicts well. Your saturation level is very low - you have better things to do than jump headfirst into every little project. You make sure your actions are going to really accomplish something before you start because you hate wasting energy making everyone else think you're working. Your outlook on life is very bright. You are sunny and optimistic about life and others find it very encouraging, but remember to tone it down if you sense irritation.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Holiday Crafting Goodness & a Give-a-WAY!

So, on election day my sister and me swung into SalVal and I picked up a couple goodies to alter for the holidays. The beautiful candlestick holders for $1.49 and this glass bowl for $1.49 to name two. And here's my finished product, with my new crafting addictions, my hot glud gun, and spray paint.

Before:



After:





And a new great blog that I've started following Jamie at StampinMom, my swap partner in the Mamarazzi Favorite Things Swap I was just in, is having a great giveaway for the issue "Christmas Ideas" from Better, Home & Gardens. I know I would love it to help my creativity grow, go on over to her blog here and enter for your chance.

Ahhh, the memories...

that will always be in her first room. The moments spent there rocking her, playing, the decor, getting the nursery all ready and set up. Well, here are the before pictures of Miss Emma's nursery room and some after's on her almost finished painted big girls room. Granted there is much to do yet until it's finished, but I want to search for just the perfect items so my goal is to have it all done by January. See what kinds of things she gets for christmas before going out to get it all.

Before:














Helping Out:




And the After Product So Far:

Mish-Mash Monday

Do you believe people are basically good?

- Yes I do.

If you could change the custom of shaking hands, what would you replace it with? - I wouldn't change it. I like shaking hands, you can tell a lot about someone with how they shake your hand.

What is something that you enjoy that is a chore for most other people? - Hmmm...this would be a toss between vacuuming and washing dishes (althought hate cleaning the kitchen and putting away clean dishes). Both of them are pretty mindless tasks, where I can just blast some music and think about stuff.

In other news, we got ambitious yesterday with the hubs painting Emma's new room/our old, and decided to invite over the IL's and have them help move all of her furtinure up and ours down. He has three more coats of paint to do on the ceilings before her room is finished completely with just the paint. Then it comes to time of unpacking and getting some nice organization things for her toys and books. Our new room will not be painted for another 2 weeks probably. Will just definitely be happy when I don't have to look at zoo animals. I took some before pictures and will head up there this afternoon to take some afters of the paint. Just keep in mind these are not finished products! :o)

Ok, well I really must wrap this up because I need to get ready to head to the visitation before little C.J.D's funeral @ 11. And to the post office to mail my favorite things swap. Pictures will be following this afternoon during nap.

Ultimate Twilight Fan Giveaway

Ok, so anyone who has read one page of the Twilight Saga knows how awesome it is and if you haven't yet, stop delaying and pick up these fantastic books!!! Kat from Sunshine & Lemonade is having weekend giveaways and this weekends' is the Ultimate Twilight Fan Giveaway. Head over there now and enter your chance to win! Good luck everyone!

Oh, How I love me some

shopping sale goodness and crafting goodness. My mom gave me a 30% off coupon for Old Navy this week which was good for this weekend. So, we went to get little one her winter coat and see what other goodies we could find. We ending up finding a whole snow suit, winter coat, snow pants, some boots, and then we each got some tops. Saved $65 between the coupon and in store deals. I love finding deals!!! Here's my little snow bunny all ready for Jack Frost to come a-knocking.

Daddy putting on all of the attire.



Big smiles for mommy, while sitting down to get her new boots on.


Running around, being goofy!


And the holiday bug has hit even though I won't allow myself to pull stuff out for decorating yet. I saw these ornaments last year and really wanted to do some this year. My mom found two 4 packs at a yardsale for $1, so she parted with them and gave them to me. My tip though to anyone wanting to do them, I used a pencil at first, but then I couldn't get them rolled small enough with the thicker paper to fit through the opening, so switched to a toothpick, and they stay more tightly wrapped this way also.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Come back several days later please! Ugh, I'm so sick and tired of the rain, makes the house all gloomy and totally doesn't make me want to be motivated in the cleaning department! Lols, well wait a second what am I saying, I'll take any excuse to not be motivated to clean latley. But the rain fits my gloomy mood the past few days. A girl I went to high school with had her 2nd little boy October 31st and I got news this week that on Tuesday, November 11th he passed away. He was diagnosed with Hirschsprung's Disease which occurs when some of the nerve cells that are normally present in the intestine do not form properly while a baby is developing during pregnancy. My heart breaks and goes out to her and her family. I know the process I have to go through with miscarriages, I can't even imagine everything she's going through right now. Please say a prayer for the D family.

I was pretty productive yesterday in getting ready for Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap. I went shopping for all of my goodies Thursday night and spent yesterday afternoon wrapping it all. I hope my partner loves some of the stuff that I love. Here's a picture of all of the goodies.




And almost two years ago after Christmas I bought two big wreaths and all of the trimmings to decorate them. The crafting bug has hit me for holiday goodness so called my mom up at work last night and said that when I get off I'd be picking them up to do this weekend. Instead she offered to help so went there when I got off and here are the end results. Of course the picture doesn't really do them justice, but the colors are burgandy and gold and I'm very pleased wih my first time doing a wreath. Here's a picture taken last night when I got home.




Ok, I must wrap this up so that I can get some cleaning done around here so when the hubs gets home from work this afternoon he won't think I just bummed around the whole day. Happy Saturday everyone!

Friday Fill-In

1. Please feel free to leave a comment whenever you visit.

2. When I'm cooking I can't help sniffing it occasionally.

3. My favorite thing to cook is chicken corn soup.

4. Watching Emma grow and talk more is something I can't get enough of.

5. That's the thing I love most about my life.

6. Grown people acting like 2 year olds always makes me think to myself, what the heck?

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting off work, tomorrow my plans include shopping, cleaning, being with my family and Sunday, I want to help the hubs start painting our room for Shortie's and our switch-a-roo of rooms!

Passing on the Award Love

I was awarded this great award from Mamarazzi. And I'm passing it on to my reader's who leave me comment love and shoutouts! Here's the award that I am passing on to Deann, Moe, Mandie and Marina/Rayna. Ladies please make sure to pass on the Award love.

Testing, Testing, TESTING!!!

I try and change my layout and blog just gets all screwed up. I think I have the comment problem fixed. Can you please test it for me? Thank you so much!!!

I'm here

just have been really sick with a really crappy cold. Have been on the computer very little. I'm hoping in the next couple days to catch up on some blogging and to comment back everyone. Thanks for all of the comment love!

Thursday Thirteen

Todays Theme is outdated/dumb laws in Pennsylvania.

1. No singing in the bathtub.
2. Housewives should clean properly law.
3. 16 Women per house limit!
4. No nap on the fridge law.
5. No getting married drunk!
6. No public woodys allowed in Allentown.
7. Illegal to wear cosmetics.
8. Fire hydrant check-up law.
9. No horses on parking meters.
10. The anti backwards eating peanut law.
11. No donkeys on the trolley cars.
12. Don't shoot stray dogs.
13. Motorists, light off a rocket every 10 miles.

Myriad of my Thoughts

First off want to wish the roomie a Happy 24th Birthday! I hope it's a great day for you!!!

Second want to say a BIG congrats to J & C, women from my mommy group who found out they are expecting.

Thirdly, Emma had her first big fall last night and I wasn't even hear. The hubs said she was 1/3 of the way up the stairs and she started to turn around basically did a cartwheel down the stairs, landing on her back. She seemed more shocked then anything, but he said she cried for a while. This morning her left eye around her eyebrow is swollen and she has two marks around that eye. But otherwise she seems in good spirits.

Fourthly, I'm glad to have today off from work. Woke up with a sore throat, so hope that it doesn't turn into more and just goes away.

Fifthly, I had to fill my tire again yesterday, so there is some kind of leak. It's going in the shop for other work Monday so they are going to check it out. Here's hoping it can just be a patch instead of a new tire.

Rant & Rave

Rant - First off among all of things I am so glad that this Election is over with. I'm so tired of the commercials. The phone calls from each candidates offices. The phone calls at 9pm finding out who we are voting for. Listening to people discuss the election and getting just down right nasty. And reading people who are ignorant enough to call people with a different view crazy, traitors, horrible names. I'm so sick and tired of people like this on their high horse.

Rave - Go Obama. Yes I voted for him. I do not need to defend my reason. Most of all this has been such a historical moment for our country. I'm proud to have been a part of it. There was such a high from just getting out to vote. And knowing that my voice counted for something. I personally am glad to see a new perspective in office.

I Just want to Shout from the rooftops

That I VOTED! Woo-hoo! It's really just an awesome feeling being able to go out and vote. This is technically my second presidential vote, but the first time for actually going to a polling place and voting on a machine. The first time I did an absentee ballot because I was away at college. Although I was a little disappointed because I wanted a sticker that said I voted. Emma went along, Kristina took her to her booth with her. I'm glad that I'm taking her along to these things so she can see first hand. As she gets older she'll appreciate it more. If you haven't yet, go look up your polling place if you are unsure and vote! There are several hours left yet.

And when I got in my van to go pick up my sister, I noticed that my tire pressure sensor was on, so had to go fill that with air. Another first, since the hubs always takes care of that kind of stuff for me. After voting we headed to Salval and I got some pieces that need some TLC and makeover. I'm excited to delve into those projects in the next couple weeks! Still thinking and tossing around ideas though. Will post some before's and after's when I have them done.

Manic Monday

How many hours of TV do you watch per week? Do you feel that's too much, not enough or just right?

-Hmmm...this is a toughy, the tv is on all the time at our house, but really I only actually sit there and watch my shows and occasionally a movie if it catches my interest. And of course some weekends are spent so busy no tv watching and others are spent being a couch potato watching movie after movie. I'm going to average myself 4 hours a day which comes to a total of 28 hours. Wow, that's a lot...more than a day is wasted watching tv.
Which of the 5 senses do you feel is your strongest sense?

- Touch. Because I always have to touch things. Walking through a store, I'm the person touching items as I walk by them to feel their textures.
What's the wackiest belief you held as a child?

- This is a fun question. That I could make the "monster" in my room disappear. I remember in our first apt sometimes this big blue fuzzy thing would appear in my room, I would have to shut my eyes really hard a few times in a row and then he would be gone.

Trading Spaces 101

So, thought I'd write up an entry about changing rooms with our daughter who is 2 years old. Yes, everyone I pretty much bring this up to thinks we are crazy to do it. But there is a reason for the madness I tell you. We live in an older house. You go up the stairs to the second floor and you either take a left into our spare room, which has the half bath, our clothes, and our hobby room, or you take a right into Emma's room. Then you have to go through her room to get to the stairs to our room in the finished attic. I hate having to walk through her room every night, during the night, and in the mornings. Especially since she has a 6th sense where I'm concerned and knows when it's me vs her daddy. Our room honestly only has our bed, a tv, and chair. Otherwise much wasted space. So, I was thinking one day, I want to take back my living room from the toys, but there isn't room in her current room. Why not switch rooms? It's a win win situation. She has more room, with the angled ceiling it's more for her height anyways, she can even have a nice play area. And for us no more having to go through her room to get to ours, the hubs will not have to be super super quiet in the mornings when getting ready for work either. So, that is the reason for my madness in it all. I know most people wouldn't consider switching rooms. But it's going to work for us.

Show & Tell Saturday

So, this is my first time doing this. I found this great blog called Fruitville Thoughts. She does vinyl clings. We are about to delve into switching rooms with our daughter so she'll have more space for her toys and re-decorating. So, she designed this beautiful cling for me that I can't wait to put up on the wall above our bed. It's going to be a chocolate brown, my new obsession of color.




ETA: ok, so with my background you can't really appreciate the beauty of it, but if you highlight it it's a little better.