Studio Calico Challenge

a reFRESHing Easter

Todays service at church was about starting FRESH experiences - whatever we are experiencing today - bad or great - we can make FRESH. We all have a past that needs forgiveness, or challenges that we can make better.

Happy Easter!

my minds eye card

My mind's eye card challenge - my version for mother's day.

MME product: stella rose paper, bohemian paper for base, lost and found button, bohemian transparency border and bird, adorn it letters and american crafts rub on letters.

easter showers - mme challenge

MY VERSION:

Easter egg hunts in Oregon can never be predictable. .. our biggest challenge is the weather!! And as much as i wish Jadeline could be wearing a pretty dress during easter, we resort to jackets and rain boots for an easter egg hunt. sigh...

my mind's eye products: "just the girls" garden party paper - 2009, never enough alpha paper for frame and title-2010, bohemia all boy frame, scroll and butterfly -2006, stella rose "fancy" paper-2011 for flowers, lost and found buttons-2010 for flower center, little one label stickers -2011. OTHER: stickles on title and acrylic paint brown and black for title, maya road chipboard swirls.

scrapbooking

My HONEY

an understood lingo between my husband and I. .. "my honey".

We almost never call each other by our first names.. and when we do, it still shocks me because it doesn't sound right. In fact, when we do, we giggle, and we repeat ourselves and smile.

I personally haven't been able to call Bobby anything else. I never call him 'babe' because he's not a pig (i think of babe of that pink pig i grew up reading about - remember charlotte's web?), I don't use 'sweetheart' because i refer sweetheart to Troy, and 'sweetie' - i often refer to the kids.

Bobby is my honey. And its never just 'honey' but "my honey" - understood by both of us because in return I'm not just his honey, I'm also referred to as "my honey." I know its silly, even a bit crazy.. but I love it.

2011

New year full of hope and changes...

I realized that last year, I spent more time writing about how busy i was than anything else. Boring if you ask me.. yeah, yeah... we are all busy. And nothing new right? This year, I am making more time. Having the quality time with my family. Quality as in enjoying every single minute rather than just running thru them to get things done.

Last year was the fastest year yet! And I can't remember the details until i look back at my pictures. I need this year to be different. I want to remember the details. I want this year to be different...

Vegas

I'm someone who doesn't like to gamble - so its odd for me to be in Vegas. But for the life of me, its a mutual place to meet family and friends. Its odd to meet my mother here, when she's never flown to Oregon. . . . and it's okay. She's just one of those that will travel to 2 places in this world. 1) Las Vegas and 2) Philippines

It's been a pleasure hanging out with my mom. We are both older. She knows me. She gets me. She sees what I heart. And maybe i have to speak a little louder and sometimes be her eyes to see things. I love this moment.

giving thanks...

Because for the first time, i really didn't take pictures on Thanksgiving - well, i took this one and i actually love it!!. I enjoyed the moment. I lived the minutes. I sat back and appreciated what Thanksgiving is about...I was very thankful on that day . . .

• More than appreciate technology!! We were able to talk to Marie and Erna through Facetime!! It was heartwarming to just not hear them thru the phone, but to actually visualize the conversations.
• That my children are "getting it." . . .this year has been so much easier. The routines are being accomplished, and the expectations are being embraced.
• That I have a honey who meets me half way. . . . the meals, the chores, the few quality time we have with each other, the short and quick laughter.
• For my patience. I've learned to let things go. Its not really worth it to get worked up over the little stuff.
• For holidays - it brings me back to family time with my sister in Oregon. She lives so close, yet are lives seem so busy!!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

its my favorite time of year . .

Dear Santa....

Wish me some magic!!!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

TodaysMama (link to: http://bit.ly/tmwishlist) and GameStop (link to:http://bit.ly/gamestop10) are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What is your holiday wish for your family? . . to appreciate what is being given. ;)

2. What is your Christmas morning tradition? . . getting up before the kids, waking each one of them up with a "Merry Christmas!", followed by a home cooked breakfast... then opening gifts.

3. If you could ask Santa for one, completely decadent wish for yourself, what would it be? it would have to be cosmetic surgery to the area between my clavicles and waist...and i am serious!!

4. How do you make the holidays special without spending any money? reminding my children by reflecting on the memories and reactions (its not about the gift - its about how that gift came about). .. remember our white christmas when it snowed - we dropped everything we were doing, dressed up, and played in the snow??.. or the year that "dad had to hunt for his xmas present with clues?"

5. What games did you play with your family growing up? hands down. SCRABBLE!! - all the time!

6. What holiday tradition have you carried on from your own childhood? i still play board games with my children.

7. Where would you go for a Christmas-away-from-home trip? disney cruise, because it is magical!!

8. Check out GameStop (link to: http://bit.ly/gamestop10) and tell us, what are the three top items on your GameStop Wish List this year? MY WISH LIST would be the 1) Kinect 2) PS3 3) my own pink dsi that i don't have to share with my kids. ;)

SERIOUSLY!!!

is it November already?! Seriously!! Gee, time went by fast! It never seems to end, that as soon as school starts, we are busy! Boys are older and they have that endless amount of homework! And as much as Jade wants to be independent, she's still my baby who needs her hand held.

But around this house, we have a new member in our family - Koa. Bobby wanted him at 6 months old, and I am glad to have him part of us. Its nice to have a dog, who actually is a dog - plays outside, plays and chews on his toys, and yet at 3 months old, he literally is still like a baby.

Creating hasn't been at my peak... Been making gifts - the caterpillar quilt is always a hit and i enjoy making it. I am just dying to scrapbook - and that part of my creating is pushed to the bottom of my list . .

For November, i have a few things to accomplish:

1. Create Christmas cards
2. Take a family photo
3. Decorate house for the holidays
4. Finish up xmas gifts

sewing..and making stuff

now that the kids are in school, i'm finding some time to make stuff... some for birthday gifts.. and some for just because.... Found a class on Dear Lizzy's site. And am very impressed that i have completed this project... already working on a second one.

allowance

how much do you give your children? what is fair? how do i teach them the value of the $$??

Right now, I'm trying $20 for the boys and $10 for Jade. ...every 2 weeks

$20=$5 for their phone + $5 to save + $10 for whatever they want.

$10= $5 to save + $5 to whatever she wants.

what do you think? is it too much?

scrapbooking...

short fast summer!

Our summer is close to an end, and it feels like it just got started! I finished reading my book - the girl with the dragon tattoo and managed to scrapbook a few pages. But entertaining the children sure is a lot of effort without breaking the bank!.. parks, pools, bike rides, bbqs, and hanging out with friends. Cheaper but seriously, i like it. Its more quality time. Moments i want to remember... that it will become, "summer of 2010 was the time you...."...

mid 30s

I turned 36 this year, and yet i still had to figure how old I am! you know.. the i was born in 1974 and what year is it right now?? And sometimes i do wonder...

• I am in the greatest shape in my life right now! I have 3 kids, but gave birth to 2. I don't believe in the excuse of, "well, i did have kids!" There is no reason to blame your children for your weight.
• I do think having a social life is important. But nothing beats having dinner or watching movies in 3D with your kids...
• I use to look forward to having drinks with the girl-friends and having a little hangover. My best drinking moments have been with my honey during happy hour and I do look forward to our date nights. Even better when its just to have a drink at starbucks.
• I hope that I am raising my kids right. I am afraid that if I've said something or shown them a wrong example, it will affect their future.
• As much as i do enjoy my job in respiratory, I often wonder if I could have made a better doctor.... and i wonder if should go back to school.. but the thought of having to go to school ... the clinicals... oh boy and the homework!

i wonder...

...not creating

Not permanently. Its just that I haven't really been making anything. No motivation to sew. Not thinking twice about beading... and have turned to digital scrapbooking. I've been forcing myself to not buy any paper and any fabric.. and it doesn't keep me motivated. I am enjoying playing with my lens... and now my photos sit on facebook, my phone, and computer.

My routine has changed. Spending more time with family and new friends. Lately my life revolves the gym, and i think it takes every piece of energy from me. I've found sitting on the couch reading a book.. (and hence i've finished reading the lost symbol, and heart of the matter) my current book: the girl with the the dragon tattoo. . . .and watching more movies than usual: Sex and the City 2 and Eclipse. . . . How on earth can I fit in some creating time? But its part of me, and one way or another, I have to find it in me to make the time...

new lens

got a new lens for my birthday this year. nikons 35mm f/1.8 NOT expensive at all but this will be my prime lens and it will remain on my camera body...Been taking some portraits, so far so good. we'll see how this goes.