all i want for christmas is you....

us on Christmas!

he got a new bone!


the box from the family, and skyping!



brunch! a tradition!




being crazy at the movie! (I love this pic!)


dec 26 and we're grilling!

some baby X love

Here are some pages I've created for my nephew's book....just in case you don't click over to the scrappy side of the blog :)

Dec. 25

time

DH has been so busy with this rotation. I miss him!

here's what he left when the hospital called:

I'm thankful he "gives" me time during dinner and time in the mornings before the hustle of the day (and evening) takes over!

I can't wait til March. this craziness will be done.

only to be replaced by yet-to-be-known craziness of another 4 month rotation.

but, somewhere in there we go on vacation!!

when JR came to visit!

my girl JR came for Thanksgiving and although our weekend was pretty low key, I had a blast with her (and I hope she had fun too!)

so, hey, hi, hellooooooo

well, blogging has not been high on my list of to do.

neither has much of anything else.

you could say this girl's depression has set in hard. and i'm not even embarassed to say that.

i was so blah last weekend that i just wanted to give away all my srapbooking supplies and just sleep. luckily, snapped out of it late sunday.

i'm just hoping to be in better spirits soon.

so, we'll see what i get posted on here....

back

blog is back..i just panicked for a min.

and i've been not so much in the blogging mood lately.

that is about to change too, i hope.

so check back, and check out my scrapping blog, that's been updated more regularly.

and just to keep you interested....here's a cute lil face you've prolly been missing:


or maybe this one

private

this part of the blog is going private for a short time. i don't want to get into it...but it will open in a few weeks :)

i love hockey

yup, spoken like a true minnesotan, eh?

i love the action, the nailbiting of "did it gooooo in??", and really, i love the fighting. seriously. i cheer loud, i tell those players what i think they need to be doing, and i booo when needed. i even love the fan-tastic crazy kid fans that decided to take their jerseys off and twirl them above their heads...and their OH-IO spells OHIO cheer!

i just love it.

here we are enjoying the OSU game against Northern Michigan. The night before this, OSU lost 1:0....the goal scored in the first :45 of the game. So, we weren't too hopeful for something 180degree different.

this game was exciting. MI up 2, we score 2, they score, we score....until WE WIN 4:5!

it's etsy time!

This week features all things thankful...i think so often we forget what we have that others do not, here in america and around the world.

here are some cuties from etsy in celebration of Thanksgiving! (click on pictures to head to etsy!)


cute wine glass charms


what a beautiful way to welcome your guests!


loooove these letters!!!


whipped pumpkin pie soap that looks good enough to eat!


blessing pears, perfect for decor or gift giving!

i have a feeling....

that this little guy:



will be making quite a few appearances on this blog.

our NEPHEW is here!

Congrats M and B on cute lil X! i already love him so much!!! Give him extra hugs from auntie and uncle in Ohio!

fall 07

fall 07: us at a bonfire put on by my scrapping group. full of nature, bonfire, s'mores, and homemade chili! It was cancelled this year because everyone's kids are sick....so I'm hoping for a big event next spring!!!

fall 08

fall 2008: short sleeves and sunglasses at the zoo. MIL and FIL were in town. This week is similar: frost in the morning yesterday....and 75 this afternoon! i heart this about Ohio!

us.

just us, from earlier this year. i'm totally rocking the blue eyeshadow. but, unless you've been blinded by that (fair, enough) you already see that. hehe.

truths

updating my FB "about me section" soon so I figured i'd put this here, you know, for safe keeping....hehe.

i live in c-bus with my best friend
i have the cutest puppy ever
i don't get home to MN enough
i celebrate 10 years of friendship with 2 great friends this year
i can't stand it when the AC doesn't work
i frequently set goals that are too high for me to reach and then fail
i am picky about pens
i only wear fun socks, no plain ones for me
i frequently wake up early on sundays and nap for the afternoon
we do meal planning and coupon clipping at our house
i'm going to be an aunt in october!
diet coke is my crack
i never go anywhere without my camera
i can watch america's next top model marathons for hours on end, over and over
i give myself a shot every day
i miss something from mn at least 1x per day
i love something about c-bus at least 1x per day
i love the cell phone i have now so it better not ever stop working well, shucks, i did get a new one...
i heart bath and body works
i really need to get back into sending snail mail to my friends
i dream of going to nyc, soon
i think that is enough for now ;)

weekly plan

we do menu planning. we do grocery shopping. we do coupon clipping. and, these all happen on sundays.

here we are, returning from grocery shopping on a sunny fall day!

sports

this fall, i've become an avid sports fan. maybe it's because the vikes and twins are / were winning. maybe its because they've both put on some great, nailbiting, games the last couple weeks. whatever it is, it's weird that i watch games and look forward to the next win!

here we are out to a sports bar watching like 20 tvs featuring 5 games!

home.

[i found this minnesota map paper at a local scrapbook store....and just had to do an impromptu layout with a snapshot of us in DC at the WWII memorial.]

you know you're tired when:

soup

Sometimes for dinner, soup is all you need. We bought this great mix from a cheese
factory (I know, right) in Wisconsin. It was potato chowder. I sliced up some carrots, about ½ cup and diced some ham. Let it simmer for about 50 min…..top with some cheese and enjoy! I even loved having the leftovers!

We have about 3 mixes left, WI ones and tastefully simple. I think we’ll be enjoying some “semi-homemade” soups this winter!

Btw: the cheese was very good from the factory too!

What is your favorite soup? Do you have a recipe you’d like to share??

fall

I love fall. I love wearing jeans and sweatshirts and sweaters. I love the crinkly leaves. I love the cool weather and fresh air. I love bonfires, corn mazes, and pumpkin patches. I love the colors of fall, the deep reds, oranges, and browns. I love the flavors of fall, rich spices and juicy honeycrisp apples. I love making chili for the first time of the season and enjoying homemade soup in our cute crocks. I even love the crisp grass of the first frost.

But.

I don’t love the shorter days and how fast the sun sets. I don’t love seeing my breath in the morning air. I don’t love needing mittens in October. I don’t love feeling sleepy all the time and feeling my motivation slipping away. I don’t love the realization that snow is coming and it is time to pull out the jackets.

So, for these few weeks that I love, I will enjoy my favorite season, fall, and savor every wonderful moment.

whoopie pies

When I went on a scrapping retreat to Amish country, a couple of my friends purchased whoopee pies. These filled cookie sandwiches looked delicious! About a month later, DH and I were watching the food network, and they had a story on how to make those cookies! A couple nights after that, DH stopped at the grocery store on his way home and found a package of them! So, we enjoyed our yellow cake like cookie with tasty frosting in the middle with a handful of raspberries on top! Now, these processed ones were good, but I bet the real deal from northwest ohio are just so much better! Well, pretty much everything tastes better from Amish country!!! Next summer I’ll have to get a pack and bring them home to share with DH!

spaz

If our dog doesn’t get enough attention during the evening, he is a wild child at bedtime! Last night, I helped our friends move and didn’t get home until 9. This is usually okay, but before I left, I didn’t really play with bear. It was a quick outside, then back in and I left! Well, from 930 – 1130, he begged and begged to go out 4 times. It was so intense I didn’t know if he was faking or not, and upon taking him out for the 3rd, and final, time…he because a spaz!
1. The tree in our front yard is dropping its berries onto our sidewalk. Well, bear thought they all were for him so he scurried around, eating up the berries as fast as he could. I kept telling him no and tried to get him to go further into the yard. He then proceeded to
2. run around and around in circles stopping to excitedly look in 100 different directions at “sounds” that he alone was hearing.
3. did NOT go potty, yet, begged for treats upon going inside.

Like I said, 3 times of this, and I had had enough. It was cold, dark, and man, I was tired. I played with him briefly upstairs before demanding he go to bed.

Of course, for as annoyed as I was with him last night, he was especially cute and lovey this morning. I just laughed. He sure is one spoiled, cute, yet sometimes rotten pup!

tales from the jail: creepy crawly edition

Tales from the Jail-creepy crawly edition

1. a client, (who last week admitted to drinking a 40oz before coming for her office visit and at that time was so upset about her sucky life, admitted to peeing herself, while in the office), stated she was now happy in life because the roaches were dying. Yes, roaches. She had an exterminator come and spray and the roaches are now falling. Except for the baby ones that must have been born in between the spraying and the dying taking place. She vacuums them up. I couldn’t make this stuff up.

2. a client states he has to clean out his apartment and get new everything because of bed bugs. He then proceeds to show me his back. All bit up. I asked how long that had been happening, he says he’s had these bite marks for several months.

3. In one week I met with clients with strep, lice, mrsa, bronchitis, AIDS, swollen gums from infected teeth, scabies, nasty post nasal drip that was audible when he would sniff it up his nose, eye gunkies, bad breath, and numerous sexually transmitted diseases (I know because they tell me these things). And, I’m not the doctor in the family.

Yes, my clientele likes to talk about, inform me of, and show me their illness, creepy-crawly dwellers, and battle wounds. I don’t know why, and since I have absolutely no poker face, I’m sure my disgust is evident. Yet, they keep. On. Doing. It.

do-dads

Do-Dads

Last weekend was fun and productive! Friday, DH operated until 9ish and I went to the movies with M and R. We saw Fame….it was good! The singing and dancing were great and although I haven’t seen the original, it was an interesting storyline. I’ll have to check out the original and no doubt, wish that I would have seen that first. We went to movie tavern and I enjoyed my cheeseburger wrap (ooooh soo good!)

Saturday, DH had rounds and I went to scrapbook at a friend’s house. It was nice spending the afternoon with her and getting a few things done! Then, sat eve DH and just chilled, then got an organizing bug so that is what we did! Bedroom, kitchen, basement…..it was organized, stuff put where it belongs, and things cleaned up! It was nice to get so much done.

Sunday, we had a big list of errands to do: half priced books drop off, petco for a new bed for bear (he likes to dig home, to China, and thus, puts holes in his bed, both sides!) and target so I could get new workout clothes. Then, grocery shopping. By the time we go home I needed a rest! Made dinner (ham and cheese mini calzones) and then watched a bit of football and scrapped. I think I’ll become a Colts fan…they play some good ball!

Back at it again this week…the weather has been so grey, dreary, and rainy that fall is definitely settling into Ohio! DH is on call tonight and I’m going to help a couple friends move and hopefully get to bed early. I just haven’t been able to shake being exhausted; I think the season change is messing with me again!

Hope you’re all having a good week!

have you?

check out my scrappy blog this week!?

I've added a few new layouts...all created within the last few days!


so, what are you waiting for??

check them out: right here

and leave some looooove.

geek layout

all in fun :)

etsy finds on friday!

so, i've been neglecting etsy for awhile now...i just haven't been there. haven't updated my store (or sold anything for that matter...) but, today, i'm going there, diving in, and finding some good household things to share with you. (click on photos to go to the site)

Here's a cute countertop catchall!


Love cute potholders! check out this fabric: little whisks!


dress up your fridge with these great pop culture magnets!


these would be great for coffee with friends! adorable!



and last this week is a fun mousepad, reminds me of a couple pieces of scrapbook paper i've seen :)


so, which pick this week is your fave?? have you found anything on etsy recently you'd like to share with me?!