Ringing it in

Since I spent most of the week keeping the kids out of Dan's hair and then had what will heretofore be called "The Snoqualmie Pass Fiasco" or TSPF (psa: as much as kids like snow, some kids melt down if any part of their body gets cold...do not take such kids to a crowded snow park 2 hours away from home and then park half an hour away), it is a relief having a quiet night at home, even though it's New Year's Eve, which makes me officially boring. In my defense, we did have plans to have friends over this evening, but their week was as crazy as ours and needed to cancel. Such is life.

On the flip side, I've made my goals, we've had a nice break from school, I've had some recent scrap victories and I should get a chunk of time away from the family tomorrow. In short, I'm recommitting to following Christ, loving my family, and pursuing the truly important things in life.

Happy New Year!

It's 5:40am.

I can't sleep.
I'm freezing.
My living room is filled with 3 rooms worth of stuff.
I'm going on day 2 of keeping the kids occupied so Dan can work.
As much as I'd like to, I can't say no to the chocolate cheesecake sitting in my fridge.
The bathtub faucet has been trickling for a full day now, in an attempt to drain the hot water heater.
No warm showers for me until tonight, unless I shower at the gym.

Ok, gripefest over. I'm sure it'll all be worth it once the floor is in and everything is back to normal, but right now I'm tired, and ready to get on with this vacation I'm told we're having!

Where's Jesus?

As I was driving home last night from a last-minute Christmas shopping marathon (and not the last one, either) , I found myself feeling empty. I'd given little (if any) thought to the birth of Christ this month. I'd gotten lost in the busyness, in checking things off the list, in making an adequate Christmas Eve dinner, and so on.

It's one of the challenges I think we all face every Christmas season. So many necessary and wonderful things to do, and none of them directly lead us back to Christ by themselves.

The conclusion I came to for myself, though, lies in the twofold commandment of the New Testament--Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. The Christmas season brings opportunities to love our neighbors that we don't find the rest of the year...and that's part of loving God. So my challenge for myself is to use all these opportunities to the fullest. To take a minute and chat with the neighbors when I bring them some cookies. To show love to my family when we have our Christmas dinner, not just hurry through all the preparations so we can eat. To thank God for an evening of shopping with my husband, for the opportunity to participate together in our giving, even if it wasn't as efficient as it could have been. And to keep the plans for the rest of Dan's week off from encroaching on our celebrations.

Jesus came to earth for me. That is worth celebrating. Next year I plan to get an advent wreath and do the readings and all that....but for this year, Christmas is what it is--a time of loving God, loving each other, and being grateful for the sacrifice made by Christ for all of us.

Home again, home again

There's DEFINITELY no place like home! We were only gone for about 20 hours but it felt like days...probably because it's been days since we've been fully functioning in our home. And we had the sense to clean yesterday before we left--mostly because I didn't like the idea of coming home to a full trash can, crumbs on the counter, food in the sink after what could have been way longer than 20 hours! They were quoting up to a week on the radio. And the people who live on the street adjacent to ours still don't have power.

Now that I've been cutting out bad carbs, when I do have them it makes me feel yucky. I had a piece of pizza at Costco tonight, and I have this weird headachey-headrush thing going on. I guess that'll teach me not to eat Costco pizza! I'm down 12 lbs. as of today...definitely noticing my jeans fitting more consistently.

Nothing of importance to share, so I'll post a layout (that I'm really hoping I haven't posted on my blog before, because that would be embarrassing.):

On to round 1!

Remember the Memory Creators Super Bowl of Scrapbooking contest I told you about? I'm one of 20 who just made it through the 2nd round--go me! Now we have 10 days to complete our next set of layouts...yes, I think they know it's the Christmas season! Actually, I shouldn't have any problem since I'm still in denial about Christmas and am planning to start my shopping when Dan gets his year-end bonus next week. Anyway, here are this round's layouts:

















We're having some friends over for dinner tonight. They just got married 2 months ago, and she was in a Bible study I led when she was in Jr. High/High School and I was single. I figure if nothing else we'll be able to provide them with a compelling reason to delay starting their family! We're pretty good at that. ;)

14 hours and counting...

...until my eBay auctions close. If you're a fan of Stampin' Up! stamps, you can get some terrific sets for as low as $.99!! ;)

When I lived in Port Angeles, all the ladies at church were either scrapbookers or rubber stampers, and Stampin' Up! parties were huge. For some reason, home parties were a big thing there (really big). Fast forward to now, where I have (or had!) an entire drawerful of stamp sets, most of which I'd only used one of the entire set, and that only a couple times. Fortunately for me, the cash outlay wasn't huge, since I hosted a couple parties and got most of the sets cheap.

Anyway, a few of them sold within minutes of being posted, so guess what I bought with my newly replenished PayPal account??? MORE STAMPS!!! This time it's different though. REALLY! I have a much better sense of my style as a scrapbooker and the FontWerks stamps I just spent a fortune on (dang that exchange rate!) are perfect. How can you resist these?

Well, I'm off to stalk my e-mail for more closed auctions, and fill up that new empty drawer!

Rule-breaking

I think I've mentioned my rule about buying scrapbook supplies. I try to only buy things that can be used proportionally to their cost. $1 or less per layout is my rule of thumb. It keeps me from going overboard on stamps that I love but might only use 2 or 3 times.

Anyway, I broke my rule with a vengence for Around the Block Soft Charms (aren't they cute???). And at Fred Meyer, so I didn't even get my 30% discount (buying anything full price drives me crazy now, I've gotten so spoiled!). I did get them on sale, but I think they were $12, and I'll be lucky to get 3 or 4 layouts out of them, and that would be using very short words with few vowels. :) But the occasional splurge is good for the soul, in my humble opinion.

I got to use them on one of my contest layouts at Memory Creators...should be up in the gallery there in the next couple days.

Happy Thursday everyone!

p.s. Check it out! I'm on the Fiskateer blog!!

You'll be seeing a bit less of me soon...

because there'll be less of me to see! ;)

So far I've lost 6 lbs and have been working out for a solid month. The weight loss didn't come until I started dieting last week, but so far so good!

Once we made the decision not to have any more kids, I felt that as soon as I was back on my feet after having Esther, that I should lose my extra weight. I'm 50 lbs heavier than I was when Dan and I got together, and even then I was more than I wanted to be. However, some major dental issues got in the way...and then it just seemed too hard. I had so much on my plate, I didn't think I could handle the stress of dieting and exercising until after the New Year, and then after vacation, and then after all the birthdays, and then after summer, and then after we settled into our school routine....I was all set to get back on, AFTER the holidays (and then my birthday), and then was out shopping one day and got totally disgusted after trying on some clothes. I just couldn't live like this anymore.

That was 9 days ago. Yes, I have to raise my kids feeling less than great. Yes, I am lacking a coping mechanism (an unhealthy one, of course) that made my life more tolerable. Yes, I'm going to a party tomorrow night and one Thursday night at which I probably won't be able to stick to my diet. But it's ok! It's been easier than I thought it would be, I have the best cheerleader in the world, and progress is being made.

The most important thing, though, is that God wants me to do this. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and it's the vessel by which I carry out His plan for my life. And even more, He wants me to turn to Him when things get hard, not grab a handful of M&Ms. So now I'm seeing other areas of life get straightened out because I'm learning that self-indulgence doesn't solve my problems.

Speaking of which, it's time to get off the computer. ;)

What? Little ol' me???

You have NO idea how excited I was when Kah-Mei asked me if she could include my layout in the FontWerks newsletter. To some people this probably wouldn't be a big deal, but FW is one of my absolute favorite manufacturers of scrapbooking products. And Kah-Mei runs the company with integrity and humility, giving credit to God for its success.

So I got a mention in the newsletter, and my layout is on the website?

Wanna see?

Have a great day, and if you're in Western WA, be warm and filled. :)

Bullet points + 3

• Thanksgiving dinner was fabulous. Pumpkin cheesecake is 100x better than pumpkin pie any day. And the stuffing...well, I hope to duplicate it next year, but cooking anything the same twice is a virtual impossibility for me, so I'll have to live with the knowledge that at one point in time I did consume the world's best stuffing.
• And now, I think I'm finally ready to get serious about losing my extra weight. Trying on clothes today was the last straw.
• I thought I'd hate having the big dinner at home with just our family, but it went well. We all dressed up and everyone was nice to each other.
  
• I'm also thinking seriously about learning web design to add to the amount of business Dan is able to take on and do all of his dirty work (programming, resizing photos, etc.). Even just doing 5 hours a week would add significantly to our income, which could make it so one way or another we're not living in a 1100 sq. ft. house.
  
• I'm not feeling very Christmas-y yet. We've had the music on, but I'm just not feelin' it. Even doing some Christmas shopping didn't put me fully there. Which wouldn't be that much of a problem, except that I have gifts to make that could take a few weeks, and I need to order photos, etc.
• Maybe getting a tree will help.
• I remember the last time Dan had a significant amount of time, I came to the conclusion that family life works for us if we're both home full-time and without any responsiblities other than the care and feeding of our children. I'm feeling that now, with our weekend 75% over and we're both feeling moderately rested but haven't had any time together since Thanksgiving.
• They should put at least 6 episodes on the Gilmore Girls DVDs. 8 would be even better. 4 just isn't enough.
  
• If you've read this far, I'm compelling you to add 3 bullet points.
  

Are you ready to rumble???

I supposed I had better be--I've just finished training camp for the Super Bowl of Scrapbooking! We're on to the draft now. If you're interested in watching, stop by Memory Creators between now and Super Bowl Sunday. I know they'll have a few rounds where MC members will be voting.

Also, I have to brag on Mariah--she hasn't worn a diaper since Saturday, and other than waking up wet, has not had any accidents!! Woo-hoo! :)

Ain't it the truth.

Found the link to "what's on your epitaph" a few clicks away from Elsie's blog. (though, of course, this is a tombstone, not an epitaph.)

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

On that happy note, have a great Monday!

If you've seen LOTR...

and especially if you've watched the appendices...

Don't I look like Gandalf with the hobbits? I knew as soon as the photo was shot I'd look like I was about 2x the size of the other girls. Really, my head is roughly the same size as everyone else's.

So I'm pretty excited about electricity today. Heat, electric light, computer, movies, the microwave, you name it. Reading a scrapbooking idea book by flashlight and taking a nap in the middle of the afternoon is nice and all, but I'm a slave to modern convenience and I'm not afraid to admit it!

Have a great, light-filled, warm-mealed, internet-connected day!

My little climber

I have to say I'm pretty proud of myself for using orange (coral? apricot?) for a background color. The cardstock was one of those this-is-gorgeous-so-I'm-buying-it-even-though-I'll-probably-never-use-it purchases. I'm also glad to be past the my-paper-has-to-match-my-photos phase, as I sure wasn't going to use dark burgundy OR pale green for a background!

A blustery day

Ever since February 17, 2006, I've been somewhat ancraophobic. That was the day that crazy windstorm knocked out the power in Bonney Lake for 15 hours (give or take). The only reason I remember the exact date is because I was in full-on birthday party planning mode, and had to stop cleaning, baking, decorating, assembling when I didn't have the necessary electricity to complete the tasks, and ended up spending the night an hour away at my mom's house, so I could come home the next day and do in 3 hours what normally would have taken me a day and a half.

FYI -- ancraophobia = fear of wind. Don't worry, I'm not one of those people who knows all the phobia names, I just looked it up on The Indexed Phobia List for the amusement of my faithful blog readers. If you check this list and realize you have one of these phobias (or a pseudo-phobia like mine), you have to let me know what it is! By the way, Spermatophobia or Spermophobia- Fear of germs. I guess I'm not spermophobic after all. ;)

Anyway, ALL that to say I get a little spooked when it's windy now after that fateful day. I'm not a huge fan of disruptions, and Lord knows I already have plenty of them with all these kids. So here's hoping for electrical stability, and safety for all of us who live near large trees.

On my happy list...

(because Sara did it)

*Having comfortably tired abs after working out in the morning.
*A friend from church who wants to have the kids over.
*And thus, the hope of two hours in a quiet, clean house.
*My morning cup(s) of coffee.
*My new vertical file storage that hangs on the wall and holds my letter stickers. I just like to look at them. :)
*George Outline stamps by FontWerks.
*Bottled water.
*Precept upon Precept Bible studies.
*Bamboo flooring--we just got some for the dining room and kitchen.
*My husband coming home from work on time. ;)

and most importantly

*A God whose mercies are new every morning, who faithfully loves me, forgives me, and provides for me in every way.

Happy Tuesday!

7 lovely years

7 years ago at this moment, I was sitting in the hairdressers chair, surrounded by 4 of my best friends, just having seen my fiance for the last time, wondering how on earth I would squeeze into the beautiful dress that had fit perfectly 3 months prior. At that point I was so sure that we were invincible.

I had no idea how much marriage would change me.

I had no idea how much I needed to change.

Now, 7 years, 4 kids, 3 moves, & 2 jobs later, we both have grown closer to the Lord. We listen better, take offense less easily, think less highly of ourselves and more highly of each other. We've learned to give each other space to pursue our interests and to stay close when things are difficult. We deal with issues when they come up and don't go to bed mad.

I've learned to be more careful, less demanding, more understanding, cleaner, more organized, more accomodating, less last-minute. I would have had a much harder time learning these things without Dan. And learning through our relationship is much less painful than learning on my own.

In the next 7 years, I don't anticipate 4 more kids (actually, I don't anticipate any more kids!), 3 moves (1 maybe), or 2 more jobs (Dan couldn't be happier at his job, and I couldn't be happier at home). But I do hope for the growth that the Lord has brought through learning to live with someone who is like-minded but completely different than me, through loving and being loved, and through having to share all of my life's experiences with.

Single socks...

...make me want to slam my head against a brick wall.

Really hard.

That's all. :P

The view from my living room

Not really, but it's starting to feel like it.

Actually this is a photo from somewhere in Western WA. Crazy! Makes me thankful to live at the top of a big hill.

Wherever you are, o blog reader, I hope you're staying dry. :)

Hurray for clematis!

I won 2nd place in the Simple Scrapbooks layout contest! Thanks SS--I was so excited! The funny thing is, the other LO I submitted took most of the day Friday (and part of Thursday evening), I loved the original concept but it wasn't anything super special by dinnertime, and I had to stop so I could take it to Kinko's before they closed. That one didn't place. This one took less time, and I think is more honestly and expression of who I am. Which, in my opinion, is what scrapbooking is about.

(Mimi, I had hoped to run into you! I remember last year we tried to get together and weren't able to! Next year, maybe?)

Hope you all had a great weekend!