Ringing in 2014

Well apparently it has been a year and a half since I last blogged. Wow. 
Today we are saying good-bye to 2013 and ringing in 2014.  I can't believe how fast time flies!  This past year has had good and bad, as any year does.  The best parts of 2013 was the fact that I successfully lost 30 lbs and so far have kept it off and our family vacation to Disneyland in September with my mom & dad and my sister and her family.  Fun times.  The worst parts was my grandma falling and breaking her hip in February and having to move in to assisted living as well as the fact that two of her sisters passed away.  She said it was like she lost her whole family in one year. 
I am hoping to keep up with my blog a bit more this year.  I don't generally make New Years Resolutions but I do hope to make a list of goals and plans for the new year.  Maybe I will even post them here!
But for now I have onion dip chilling and Lil' Smokies in the crock-pot - it's gonna be a big party here tonight!

Now Maybe I Can Enjoy Summer...

My final season on the Windsor Baseball Board of Directors is officially over!!  I still need to clean out the snack shack, find a home for a lot of left over candy and put some stuff in storage but more or less, it is over! The 12U Nor-Cal State Tournament went well.  I am exhausted but it went well.  The boys won 2 and lost 2 and were out of the tourney on Monday.  They played well, and the game that knocked us out of the tourney was tied 6-6 in the bottom of the 6th (the last inning) and a silly play by our pitcher ended their season.  It was a heart-breaker.
The kids have 5 1/2 weeks left of summer vacation.  I asked them today what they want to do to make it a good summer.  Here's what's on the list so far:
- The beach
- Camping
- The Sonoma County Fair
- sleepovers
I can probably handle those things.  I want to try to go hiking one day a week for the rest of the summer.  Of course that will mean everyone in the house will need to get up before noon so we shall see....
I hope we're able to get some fun into the summer. 
But of course Jaren starts practice for his new baseball team on Wednesday..................

Projects Galore

The kids have been off of school for a week.  There has been a lot of neighborhood playing, phone calls and sleepovers.  Pretty much my kids don't need me too much.  Sometimes they need me to drive them somewhere but so far not too much.  So maybe I will have time to do some projects, at least that is what I am hoping.  I have a list a mile long of projects I want to do.  And recently I decided on a new project.  I want to re-do a hutch for my dining room.  I don't currently own a hutch so I am hoping to find one at Salvation Army or on Craiglist or a yard sale. I am going to check out this one tomorrow:

It is on Craiglist and they want $85 for it.  It is BIG and will be quite the project.  It will also take up pretty much the whole wall in my dining room, but I think that is what I am looking for.  Not sure if this is "The One" since I just started looking but I hate to pass it up.  It's going to be white and I plan to take the doors off the top, not sure if that middle door looking thing will come off.  I will see tomorrow night. 

We have so many home improvement projects and what not that needs to be done, I have decided that I can't wait for anyone else to do them, 'cuz that ain't happening.  Calling a contractor next week to look at a dry rot problem and then it will go from there.  I also plan on purging everything in my house, if I don't love it or use it, it's going.  If I bought something with a project in mind then I will do the project or get rid of the crap I got for it. 

Here's to summer!

So today was the last day of the regular baseball season.  Jaren's team made it to the Championship but they lost.  I don't even know if I can say it was a good game, it wasn't, we lost.  Jaren did pitch well, he did well every game he pitched during the playoff tournament, and let me tell you he reminds us of it often!  Nalani's softball ended a few weeks ago, I guess she enjoyed her season but she is VERY ready to move on to the next level, very ready.  Yesterday was also the last day of school.  So here is to summer and maybe having a little time to do things.  Of course Jaren still has his travel team and All-Star team, I wish he would suck at something and not have all these teams and sports. Our league is also hosting the 12U All-Star State Tournament so in a few weeks I will be back to the snack shack but I get a little break.
I want to be able to waste time on Pinterest, catch up on 3 months of magazines, hit the Salvation Army store for treasures, hang out at my friends pool, sleep-in, maybe exercise and get back to drinking water and taking care of myself.  And I really need to go to the grocery store, really need to.  And clean the bathroom, I would really like to clean the bathroom.

I am DONE....

I so wish I could just walk away from all of my baseball responsibilites.  I don't want to care if we have blue Gatorade or if Costco back-ordered my sunflower seeds.  Don't blame me if your son lost his mitt, yes if someone found it they will turn it in to the snack shack, but if no one turned it in I can't give it to you.  Write your name on it next time, or check to make sure you have everything before you leave.  And if one more person says to me "You're at the field all of the time, don't you go home?" I am going to slap them.  Yes, I would love to go home but that would require for your lazy *ss to help out.  When I send out an e-mail looking for help and no one responds what am I supposed to do??  So yes, thank you for that observation that I do the work of 5 people, I am aware of it...painfully aware.  So I am done, or really wish I could be.  The regular season ends at the end of the month, then I can enjoy baseball for a month when all I have to do is travel to tournaments and watch.  Just watch.  Not miss my son striking out 3 batters in an inning 3 up/3 down because someone can't find the hot dogs buns or missing my son making an unassisted double play because an umpire needs to be paid.  No, in June I just get to watch.  And then in July someone had the bright idea of hosting the 12 year old All-Star tournament.  Yes someone who has ideas but never does the work.  So from June 30-July 7 I will have my worker bee hat back on, and I will miss my son playing his last All-Star tournament of his Majors career, all because of someone else's idea.  Yep, just a little bitter and exhausted today.  But I did get a beautiful bouquet of roses last Sunday for all of my hard work and $50 to Olive Garden, too bad it will be August before I can use it.

How did it get to be the middle of April??

Ok so I set the goal of a layout per week back in mid-March.  All I have posted is one layout and that was about 4 weeks ago!  Well I have done more scrapbook pages than I have posted but I just haven't had time to put the final touches on them and take pictures.  I hosted a fundraiser crop back on March 24th and got quite a bit done, I just haven't had a chance to share them.  You see it is baseball season and for many that means practices and games, shuttling kids to and fro.  Well for me it means a lot more.  When I tell people that I just don't have time because it is baseball season, and they nod their head like they understand.  I can bet a million dollars they don't understand one bit!  I like to say I am the League Mom not the Team Mom.  I joined the Board of Directors 7 years ago because I felt like the league wasn't being ran right, I am not a person to just sit back and complain, I am going to step up and help make it right.  I don't know if it is ran any better now but I sure work my tail off!  I am the Administrative Vice-President, Travel Ball Administrator, Snack Shack Coordinator, the team mom for two teams as well as on the committee for Opening Day and All-Star tournaments.  So when someone nods their head like they feel my pain because they have two kids they have to drive to games I just chuckle and think they have no idea.......

Did You Doubt Me?

So on Monday I set the goal of completing a layout a week.  I am sure you all shook your head and thought, "Ya, right!" Well guess what!?  I did it this week; and I still have the weekend ahead of me so I might even do two, but I won't get ahead of myself!

It isn't anything fancy, but it is done!  And since that little guy in the pictures is now 12, it is about time that I got it done.
The journaling: "I'm not sure if it was the best idea to let a 4 year old carve pumpkins by himself, but you took your job very seriously and your pumpkin turned out great.  October 2004

Where Have I Been!?!

OK - so I haven't been here in over 2 months! Geez!  I had planned to start the new year off with a blogging bang, but obviously that didn't happen. I have been doing pretty good with some of my other plans for the new year like Moving More and Eating Well, but blogging about not so much.

Right now I am making a lofty goal of completing a scrapbook layout every week.  And I am making this goal right as baseball season starts so it will be extra hard to find time to scrapbook since I pretty much live at the baseball field this time of year.
If you see me posting a layout every week you will know I was successful.  If my blog starts to fill up with pictures of baseball games you will know it isn't working out so well!

I really hope to be here more often!

Quick Check In

Just a quick check in - I found a great new blog: http://www.scrapbookladypages.com/.  She is a digital scrapbooker but has some great ideas for capturing your memories and documenting life.  She is teaching a class at BPS - it is a Monthly Round-Up themed class and I think it is just the approach I am looking for in my Project Life Album for 2012.  I haven't signed up for the class yet but probably will.  I am already doing Ali's One Little Word class, as well as Cathy's Move More, Eat Well.  Those are both year long classes and I haven't started them yet because I have decided that my "new year" isn't going to start until the kids go back to school next week!  Look for a post soon about my One Little Word for 2012 and my journey to Move More and Eat Well!

Final Installment of Craft Day - Glitter Ornaments

With the Christmas rush I forgot to post the 3rd craft from my Craft Day earlier in December.  We also made glitter ornaments, they were super easy and I found them here via Pinterest.  I don't know who was sitting around one day and thought "I wonder what happens if you swirl Mop n' Glo in an ornament and then put in some glitter?" But I do know it makes a very pretty ornament!

These aren't the best pictures but they are as good as it is gonna get this year since they are already packed away in the Christmas bins!

I have been toying with the idea of doing a craft day every month or every other month, Valentine's, Easter/Spring etc.  but in order to get everything crafted in time to display it for the holiday I would have to start thinking about Valentine's Day crafts now.  I always want to decorate my home for each holiday with cute handmade decorations but I always think about them too close to the holiday!  Maybe this is the year I will get my act together and get it done!

Today is the last day of 2011, there were times that I didn't think I would make it here!  I am hoping to post a Christmas re-cap and maybe a little about my hopes/plans/ideas for the new year, but that will have to wait until tomorrow!

Christmas Craft Day - Part 2

Yesterday I mentioned two other crafts we did at Craft Day, one of them was the beadboard candy cane.  Well here it is:

These aren't the best pictures because I can't seem to get the one I want to post to rotate and I gave up.  I got the idea from this blog. I don't know what I am going to do with the candy canes, I was going to hang one on the door but then I went and bought a very mis-shapen wreath at Costco.  Tomorrow if you are lucky I will share the glitter ornaments if Nalani and I get our bows tied on them.

Christmas Craft Day

I had a few friends over this past Sunday for a Christmas Craft Day.  We made 3 different projects.  Today I am going to share the sock snowmen with you.  They were super easy, I got the idea off of Pinterest and it was from this blog.  So simple and cute!  I made a little family of 4 and then I also made 10 more for gifts for teachers, neighbors and friends.

I went with a bright color theme for my snowmen and then used more traditional red & green for the gift ones.

Trevor felt sad for all of the leftover parts of socks so he got crafty also, he made a hobo snowball with the castoffs.

You can't see that the back of the hat (the heel of a sock) is all cut up and he plans to add a burlap sack to the stick!  Next up are the beadboard candy canes and glitter ornaments, it will probably be February before I blog about those!

Confessions of a Bad Blogger

OK I have to admit this - I suck at blogging!  Actually I just haven't done anything "bloggable" lately.  We had baseball and soccer games until the end of October and now we have two basketball teams for one kid going on right now.  I haven't been couponing too much, though I am really looking forward to the deals at CVS on Thanksgiving.  Yes, I will be at CVS and RiteAid Thanksgiving morning!  I have been crafting a little for my friend Jenny's baby shower, which is tomorrow.  I am also putting together some Christmas craft ideas.  Oh and exciting news - I shampooed the carpet in my living room!!  Oh, yes exciting life!  I am hoping to get back in to the blogging world and hopefully do better at my picture of the day which has also been sorely lacking.

Rocked it at RiteAid!

Today was a major score at RiteAid!  I started out with $4 in Up Rewards.  I spent $13.16 out of my pocket.  So I spent a total of $17.16 (between cash and Ups and including tax) and I now have $20 in Up Rewards to spend next time!  So they pretty much PAID ME $2.84 to buy:

6) bags of Halloween candy (good chocolate kinds - Snickers, Butterfinger etc)
4) Jergens 10oz lotions
4) Conair Hairbrushes
1) Blistex Lip Balm
1) bag of cough drops
1) Reese's (this was a filler so I could use Ups)

Now my success was very dependent on a glitch in the RiteAid computer system.  For some reason the Jergens lotion is ringing up as free, but when you buy 2 (both free) they give you a $5 Up Reward!  So I got four lotions and they paid me $2.50 per bottle to buy them!

I read up on all of the deals/coupon match-ups at places like this and this - they are some hard core couponers!  But I never would have know about better than free lotion if I didn't follow those message boards!

A Funny Little Something

 

So maybe I am behind the times but since when does Chuck Norris approve laundry soap?  Is he now a big stain fighter of some sort?!  It was good for quite the chuckle (to myself) in the laundry aisle of Walmart that is for sure!  And let me tell you it was a major selling factor too - WHO would pass up laundry soap approved by Chuck Norris?  Well not me!  I threw that Era soap in to my cart and chuckled my way to the register.  Maybe it is some big ad campaign, I don't know and I guess it did its job because it got me to buy it even if it was for the sheer ridiculousness of it!  So check your soap and make sure that you too are Chuck Norris Approved!

Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

I haven't been couponing lately.  At least not getting super great deals like I had been.  I have used a coupon here and there at the grocery store but it has been quite some time since I snagged a free tube of toothpaste.  The Extreme Couponing show on TLC has really effected the couponing world.  All of the stores are changing their policies and making it really hard for the average person to score a good deal.  The show is really disappointing, they show people doing ridiculous things, many of them fraudulent and then it makes it hard for the normal person to save a little money.  So that being said, I jumped back into the couponing world this week!
Here is what I got:

I paid $12.21 out of my pocket for two full size body washes, two children's cold medicine, two 8 ct. bottles of Excederin Migraine, a full size tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush.  And the stores gave me back $8.38 in rewards bucks to use next time so really I spent $3.83 on all of that!

I also got a huge tube of toothpaste, a 3 pack of Orbit gum and printed 20 pictures all for .91 cents at Target!

So I think I am off to a good start in diving back into couponing!

Butterfly Project - Finally!

This summer the kids and I started a project that I found here via Pinterest.  I re-purposed some thin art canvas that Nalani got in a painting set, primered over the pre-printed picture and then spraypainted them a nice aqua shade that I already had on hand.  I pretty much followed the instructions from the link other than we did 4 small canvases instead of one big one. And we didn't have fancy watercolors, just the Crayola set with 8 colors and I used hot glue not glue dots.  We have had the project done for quite sometime, it just took me forever to get it hung in Nalani's room.  And now that they are hung I think I better do 2 two more - it looks kind of small on her wall (the completed size is about 16"x20").

I took down a name sign that I had made for her when she was born, I didn't take a picture before I ripped it apart but I know I have one somewhere just not going to look for it now to post.  I cleaned 7 years of dust off of the letters and then hung her name on the side of her loft bed.  Hopefully the mega-Glue Dots I used will hold!

I can now at least say that I got something done this weekend - hung the butterfly project AND blogged about it!

Jaren's Big Day!

Jaren has been waiting for this day since June 2010 - he got his braces off !!

Here is a little before and after comparison shot:

 

A pretty drastic change, I think!  They moved teeth that were behind his top front teeth growing through the roof of his mouth to their correct spot, corrected his underbite so he won't have a Jay Leno bottom jaw, and lined everything else up all pretty.  Of course he will have to have a 2nd phase once all of his adult teeth come in but we are headed in the right direction.

He got to pick his retainer colors and design.  He, of course, went with the Windsor Jaguar black and gold with a Nike swoosh.

The kid just won't stop smiling!

Now I have to think of something to make for a celebratory dinner!!



A Quick Anecdote

I was checking out the new Oriental Trading Company Halloween catalog looking for ideas for "Boo-ing" treats (more on Boo-ing later) and I came across what I believe to be a hilarious customer testimonial on these items:

They are the ever popular Glow-In-The-Dark Bouncing Eyeball. 
And an OTC customer had this to say: "These bouncing eyeballs are so useful." And then they go on to tell about putting them in a skull, their bookcase and even floating them in their punch.
While I may find them cool, and maybe even describe them as handy for Halloween decorating how can anyone say a glow-in-the-dark bouncing eyeball is useful!?!?
Seam ripper while I am sewing = useful
Clorox Wipes for quick bathroom cleanup = useful
Even a long sleeve sweatshirt when you have a runny nose = useful
But a glow-in-the-dark bouncing eyeball!?!?

Tuesday Ten...4 Days Late and Definitely a Dollar Short

I thought I would have more time for things like blogging and crafts once the kids went back to school. That hasn't been the case!  Not quite sure what I have been doing with my time but hopefully I will be able to get back to blogging regularly and make some time for my scrapbooking and crafts.

Here is a quick little Tuesday Ten on Saturday to keep you entertained until I stop by again!

1. I need gray flip-flops.  I have a million gray shirts and no flip-flops to match.

2. How do you spell gray/grey - I think I flip-flop between the two. And I don't care if I get grey or gray flip-flops either will do.

3. KFC's current ad campaign says that chicken shouldn't come in "nuggets" - I am not sure why they think "popcorn" chicken is better than a chicken "nugget" I am pretty sure neither are real chicken.

4. I am a little disturbed with how large my sons new baseball pants are.  Very hard to order things like that online.  I will try to snap a picture of them and show you exactly what I mean!  Not very aerodynamic, a little parachute like and he really doesn't need anything to slow him down.

5. Our current toothpaste tastes exactly like how our toilet bowl cleaner smells.  But we keep using it.  Even though we have about 20 other tubes in the cabinet.

6. I really am not a fan of TV.  I used to have a few shows that I enjoyed watching every week.  And there are still a few things I don't mind watching, however some of my family members think it has to be on 24 hours a day!  A lot more would get done around here if the TV wasn't on!

7.  I put myself on a literary break - no more reading books until I get some scrapbooking and page planning done. But then I bought 2 new books today at the Borders going out of business sale.  I couldn't say no to .80 paperbacks!  Now if I can just ignore them for awhile.  I have a tendancy to not do anything else until my book is done.  I guess it is a little like the TV situation above.

8. Today was a great day for the Thunderbirds soccer and Ironbird baseball.  10-0 victory for the Thunderbirds and 11-4 for the Ironbirds.  Way to go kids!

9. Sitting outside exhausts me, I did nothing today but watch soccer and baseball, yet I am drained.

10.  I haven't been crafting, couponing or even hitting the thrift stores.........I need to get back on track!