Day 3

Cupcakes, Cupcakes!

For Christmas this year, Mom gave me both a mini muffin pan and a jumbo muffin pan, with some liners. And Billie (shoot, actually Molly...she's such a good shopper) got me a cute little cupcake party set with festive liners and and picks.

I can't wait to get started and try out my new pans. This too is something I want to get back to doing again...not that anyone needs the added calories...but it is a creative outlet, and I love making cupcakes...and they are so delicious. And now thanks to Pinterest, I have lots of new and interesting recipes to try out!!

Day 2

Meet Lucy the Pug. She's a sweet little 4 year old, full of spunk. She's a little bitty runt of a dog, but makes monstrous noises - you would think a St. Bernard was sleeping with us at night! Rob says she's a humble little dog, and I guess she is...doesn't want, or need, or 'ask' for much at all. She's pretty content to just be in your presence, and maybe play with a toy or chew a bone from time to time.

So, for today's Project 365, it's all about our little Lu...

Day 1

So, here it is. Day 1 of {2012} Project 365 + 1. I'm guessing that like last year, I will struggle with what to photograph each day. But that's part of the fun and challenge...looking at life through different eyes, and trying to capture the beauty in the simple or seemingly mundane.

Today is New Year's Day, and Christmas is officially over. Yesterday all of the Christmas decorations were put away, with the exception of the tree...and today the tree came down. These few items are all that remain of Christmas 2011.

Happy New Year

Happy 2012! It's another year, and not to sound cliché, or even like a broken record (see New Year's 2011 Post), it is in fact a clean slate and a fresh start and I plan to make the most of it. With the holidays now in the rearview mirror, I have discovered that I have that yearning again...that yearning to be creative. I wouldn't call them resolutions, but with this fresh start of the new year, there are some things I would like to do, to rediscover, or to put more effort into.

I want to...

♥ Try my hand at Project 365 again for 2012...a picture every day for the entire year. And this year, because it is leap year is actually dubbed Project 365 + 1!

♥ Organize my scrapbooking clutter in order to return to the land of creativity, finishing some outstanding projects, making some cards and scrapbooking new memories.

♥ Blog more often...maybe even every day. This medium puts it all together; the ability to share the pictures that I take, chronicle life for myself as a diary of sorts, as well as for others, and not to mention taking advantage of another outlet for creativity.

♥ Take better care of myself, which means physically, mentally and spiritually. I started down this path at the beginning of 2011, and some pretty amazing things happened. Hopefully 2012 will be a continuation of that journey, but with even more promising results!!

Sadly, I have not blogged in almost an entire year, and so much has happened in my life since then. But there is really no point in looking back, only forward...

So...Welcome 2012...I look forward to all 366 days of you!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Yesterday wasn't just President's Day, it was Mom's birthday! Because we had the day off, Billie and I made an afternoon of it to celebrate her special day.

First, the three of us had lunch at Olive Garden. All of us tried very hard to be good, and make some healthy, alternative food choices, (like soup instead of salad - who knew?, and only one breadstick - without dipping sauce!). But good heavens, after almost six weeks on WeightWatchers, was that meal a delicious treat!!

Then, after filling up on lunch, we went to a matinee of Just Go With It, and laughed a whole lot. Is it true what they say, laughter aids in digestion??

I think when all was said and done, Mom had a pretty good day. She got a bouquet of tulips from Craig and Wendy, received a Happy Birthday serenade from Rachel and Kendra, was sent a lovely bouquet of flowers from our Ms. Kennedy, got a couple gift cards from Billie and I, and even got a pedicure from Baylee so she could get her paws done. All this, and lots of cards, and many, many birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Valentine's Day

So today is Valentine's Day...again. I laughingly refer to this day as another holiday I don't celebrate, along with Hanukkah and Kwanza...just not my thing.

I do however, enjoy the symbolism of the day in spite of myself. I mean who doesn't love pink and red, roses and hearts, and of course, chocolate? It's also the first holiday after 'the Holidays', so it always feels like a fresh start and enjoyably carries a hint of spring just around the corner.

So to all those I love, Happy Valentine's Day! Whether today marks a day of celebration for you, or just another Monday...I hope you enjoy the day.

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is coming up quickly, and so far I only have two cards done. These are the two cards I made for my nieces Rachel and Kendra. I needed to get them done because they have the farthest to travel...all the way to Texas.

There are a couple other Valentine's pending in my head - I just have to get them made before I loose the ideas! So, hopefully there are more pics to come...

Thanksgiving Layout

Camping Layouts

Another day of trying to clear the deck of unfinished layouts. These are three layouts from a camping trip well over a year ago. They really are better than the photos show...not the greatest quality. Glad to get the wrapped up and in my album anyhow.

Yet Another Layout...

Now that I look back, it seems I was really into 'squares' at this particular crop when I was putting these together. Oh well...they are still pretty cute, even as basic as they are.

More Layouts

Still cleaning up those loose ends. More layouts to follow...

Happy New Year!

It is that time of year again. Time to wipe the slate clean and make a fresh start. Lots of resolutions of starting and stopping...stop spending, stop eating, start exercising, etc., etc.

One of my resolutions is to spend more time doing what I love...scrapbooking. In an effort to organize my craft room and get that clean slate we are always chasing, I am starting with unfinished projects. I have many, many pages I have put together at crops, but have never added the journaling or put the 'finishing touches' on, and therefore they have not been added to albums. So...here I go, no more 'loose leaf' pages. Day One; Layout One.

Fireman Frosty

This is a card I made for a young man in our community named Trey. He is 16 years old, and has a terminal illness. This year for the holidays, his mother asked that individuals fill their mailbox with holiday greetings.

I made and sent this card on behalf of the entire Fire Department. I hope he liked it.

Merry Christmas

Last night was a first. Our group got together out at Jodi and Rob's, in their beautiful new home for a Christmas Party. But it wasn't just any old Christmas Party. This was our first Ugly Christmas Sweater Party.

Everyone found an odd, old, or pretty funny sweatshirt, tee shirt or sweater. But hands-down, the winner of the ugliest sweater had to be Billie...and she didn't even break a sweat putting it together. She just reached into her closet and pulled out one from the 'archives'.

It was a lot of fun to get together...it seems like a long time since we have a holiday get together with the gang. We had tons of food, lots of good drink, and a great time with friends.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Happy Birthday Kim!

Today is Kim's birthday, and to celebrate her special day Billie had a small dinner party last night. Jodi, Katie and I joined Kim at Billie's for a few cocktails, a delicious manicotti dinner, a few games of cards, and cheesecake for dessert.

It was great to get together with the girls...it has been too long. I can't remember the last time I laughed that much.

Happy Birthday Kim...I hope you have a great day, and a great year ahead!