My Weblog

today...

Sitting amidst yet another snow dump, I'm reminded of how much I love warm weather. I could use some about now. It's been sort of a blah day. We couldn't get out of the driveway, so Sophia is home in spite of the fact that hers was one of the only schools open this morning. Truth be told, the roads are fine, but when you're buried and the snow is blowing, well, there's only so much you can do.

This leaves me with a trying day. Sometimes the kids play wonderfully together and I am in awe of their friendship. Other times they are on the verge of strangling each other and I am in awe of my lack of patience. Today is one of those lack of patience days. I am just tired I think, and giving up coffee creamer means giving up coffee which means CRABBY mommy. Does anyone else think it's perfectly sane for me to drive 20 minutes to the nearest Starbucks in spite of the snow?

Right now, Sophia is emptying her piggy bank, marveling at the fact that she has quarters from New York, Georgia AND Florida! She was, however, completely unimpressed with the French coin that found its way in the little pig. (This just in... we now have RHODE ISLAND too... and I have to tell you I'm completely disgusted by how dirty her fingers are just from going through change. ew.)

Sam is finally snoozing after putting up a good long fight. I realized he has to fuss at least a little bit before he's good and tired... which is REALLY hard for me to listen to.

Ethan is following Sophia around wearing inside-out sweatpants and I'm sure - nothing underneath. He is a master of leaving his underwear on the floor somewhere and throwing all caution to the wind. He's - at present - my easiest one.

Then there's mommy. A list of things to do as long as my arm, and I don't WANT to do any of it. I want to curl up with my latest Karen Kingsbury book (This one is called "Remember" - I LOVE it.) and read. I have officially turned into a reader. I swear. Adam thinks I'm reading trashy romance novels, but there is substance to these stories. This one (OH WAIT - BREAKING NEWS... WE NOW HAVE A QUARTER FROM CONNECTICUT TOO. IT HAS A TREE ON THE BACK.) - this novel deals with September 11th, which truthfully, I really don't like. I hate even thinking about that day, but I remember it so well. I'd just gotten to work, baby carrier in tow (Sophia was born in March of that year) and everyone was gathered outside our office watching tv. It reminded me of being in the newsroom watching the Columbine tragedy unfold.

My thoughts aren't any different, I'm sure, than anyone else's on the subject. It was sheer, utter terror. I think more than anything, I felt afraid. I remember seeing that second plane crash into the World Trade Center. I remember the building when it slammed to the ground. I remember looking at this little baby and wondering how in the world I'd managed to bring someone else into this kind of a world. Of course, now that she is older and telling me "I JUST GOT A QUARTER FROM CAL-I-FORNIA." (all syllables punctuated.) the fear of that day has waned... unless I think about it. Which is why reading about it is difficult. Even so, I love the way Karen Kingsbury's books draw me in.

A few things occurred to me after I posted my book cover. First of all, I had nothing to do with how cool this turned out - which is why I feel it's okay for me to rave about it in large decibles and for many minutes at a time. A designer at F&W named Kelly (I hope I'm right that it was Kelly) designed it. I think she is amazing because this cover rocks.

Also, if you happen to do a search for my name at Amazon, you'll find my other book and then one called "Lipstick and Thongs in the Loony Bin." This is not my book. It's written by a wonderfully talented writer who happens to have the same name as me - different middle initial. I guess in some ways I'm nervous people will confuse us because I don't think in my current position at the church I could get away with writing a book with that title without a little flack. I'm wondering if I should follow her lead and use my middle initial too.

Anyway, it was just on my mind...

and you'll be pleased to know we've secured quarters from Virginia and Illinois as well.

Isn't my life exciting?? :) 

guess what?

My editor sent me THIS link the other day.

The cover of my new book:

oh my gosh, I totally love it! It looks so amazing - like a book I would pick up and buy! I was so excited when I saw it, I had to share it!!

I have just finished a major project that I decided to tackle - mostly just to see if I could do it... so now I guess I can't avoid the housework any longer. SIGH. It's definitely daunting, I have to be honest. I'm struggling not to pity myself and give in to the girl scout cookies in my cupboard.

Today was a good day - really a great day. I went to church and just felt so in tune with everything. I'm feeling so normal again after having Sam, and though he's really incredibly heavy to lug around in the car seat, we've gotten into a pretty good routine. After church, Adam came home and i ran to Barnes and Noble to pick up a few Karen Kingsbury books. I have to be honest, I'm really not a reader - at least I've never thought of myself as a reader, but I've already read four books this year and it's only February. I think soemthing's come over me.

I enjoy these books. They're wholesome and that's always a huge plus for me because I blush at the thought of reading - you know - non-wholesome books. (Can we say Prude? It's okay - I've embraced it.) and I love the characters. I'd recommend them. And I'd also recommend HIGHLY - Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers which I believe will forever be my favorite book of all time. Also really enjoy Ted Dekker, who Adam loves.

Anyway, I got a Starbucks while I was out and came home to my house - warm and quiet, my family inside reading and drawing. Ethan had drawn pictures of Sam. There was "Baby Sam" - "Big Sam" - "Headless Sam" and "Dot to Dot Sam". We thought they were pretty clever little drawings, actually. I bought Ethan a couple of 'my first reader books' which he promptly opened with Sophia at his side and read out loud. I honestly can't believe how much he already knows.

Then it was back to church tonight for Kent Henry - a worship leader who was visiting our church this weekend. It was a good service - the fuel I needed as I feel God pulling me in. I feel like I'm sitting on the edge of something new, and while I"m still praying to find out what it is, it's exciting. It's exciting to know that God is moving and that I might be part of what he uses to make that move.

On a sad note, my grandma was admitted to the hospital this weekend. She really is doing so much better now. She has pneumonia and another infection, but these things are treatable, unlike what we all feared it might be. she's recovering, but it's just an unwelcome reminder that life is so short. I'm concentrating on grabbing onto every moment... even with all this laundry staring me in the face.

here's to another week. Thank God for another week!

Dana Nichols! I have a prize for you! (and some scrappy stuff)

I have all of my giveaway stuff boxed up here waiting to go out to my lucky winners. If anyone knows Dana Nichols, please tell her to email me! If I don't get her address this week, I'm going to have to draw another name for the big fat blog giveaway - otherwise, I'm afraid this stuff will just stay here on my desk! And I really want to send it to her!!

I got my most recent issue of Memory Makers a couple of days ago. My address is switched officially which makes me happy because it means my issue comes on time! I loved working on the 'green' issue - it was a fun challenge, and something I really enjoyed because I love taking junk mail and making stuff out of it. (I save everything. That's why my house is so messy right now!!)

One of the projects I really liked doing was the tri-fold mailer dealie. It was an advertisment for diapers. Of course, the magazine only has so much room, so they could only publish the cover of it, but here's the rest:

Someone really needs to learn how to take photos indoors. That would be me. Sorry about the weird color, but you get the point. I am going to put this on a shelf in Ethan's room when I get it back from the magazine.

The other thing I wanted to post was my Scarlet Lime layouts. I have so much fun with Christy's kits. I have them all in a basket by my desk, fully intact because I love how she puts things together. I'm not good at mixing and matching different lines, so having someone with such a great eye do it for me is awesome! I use the kits long after I've done my layouts for her website. Some of the kits I've gotten an additional five or six pages out of. It's awesome. Anyway, here are some of my pages from last month:

That's my niece, Emery. Skinny Sister's little girl.

That's my nephew, Eli. Skinny sister's little boy. They're twins. I love those circle things along the side of the photo mat. Seriously - how fun. I think they're from an Etsy shop.

Speaking of Etsy... check out THIS shop. Jeanne has some SUPER cool stuff. LOVE the fabric flowers.

Okay, one thing I'm really into right now is not completely adhering things down on my page. No clue why, but I love the messiness of it. I tried to do that a little on this page:

The journaling on that page is about Sophia's hair. God help me with Sophia's hair. I always swore my daughter would have hair that looked, you know, fixed. But nothing stays in her hair, or should I say... she won't keep anything in her hair. So this is what we get. We've since cut it, but there's still this random strand that is always in her face (or her mouth - yeah, talk about annoying.)

Love that KI Memories laser cut paper stuff. I can't remember what it's really called, but don't you think "Laser cut paper stuff" is a catchy name?

Okay, that's our first family of five photo. From Thanksgiving. Notice I have completely buried myself behind small children. Yeah, mama's always thinking!

Okay, those are my Scarlet Lime pages. I love that kit club. Highly recommend it, though you need to preorder - everything sells out fast, but it's so worth it!!

Oh, Here's a link - duh! Scarlet Lime

One more thing. American Idol. SWORE I wasn't going to watch this year. But then, the David Archeletta. I know I am not spelling his name right, but seriously. Could this kid be any cuter?? I totally want to keep him away from Hollywood though - he seems so innocent and pure. I also loved Joey Castro and Michael Johns (who, my mom has just informed me has a recording contract already?)

anyhoo... this morning, I am please to say... I boxed up all of the layouts for my book and am shipping them to Memory Makers this afternoon. (Kristin! I'm early!) :) Kristin is my fablous-o editor who is seriously awesome and I love her. I am really excited to have this book finished - mostly because crunching over my computer screen has given me a horrible neck problem. (Brought on by childbirth at the age of 31. Apparently, not wise... the body is deteriorating.)

SO. I'm finished!! And I'm excited!

And now, I need to go find a low point meal for myself because my stomach is about to turn inside out and ingest itself. I hope you're all doing well this fine Wednesday!

:)

WINNER!

Oh! Sorry I didn't post it yesterday. I got side-tracked with some fun stuff I'm working on right now. I have once again relied on my random number generator and I am happy to report that this is the winner:

Oh My...I WOULD LOVE ONE OF YOUR BOOKS! You are one of my very favorite designers in this industry and I would love to read your book. Have a duper day!

Posted by: Jennifer Haywood | February 11, 2008 at 03:22 PM

So... Jennifer Haywood... drop me an email and get me your address so I can get this book in the mail! The pile of bills is really wanting to get to the post office, so I am certain I will make it there at some point this week! :)

Thanks to everyone for playing!! That was fun! We're going to be doing some scrapbook room building in our basement, so I'm sure there will be more purging going on, which means more giveaways! yay! I love giveaways!!

I am exhausted, so I'm going to wake Sam and feed him and get to bed! Have a good week!

One more day to win...

This is the last day to put your name in the book drawing. I'll draw tomorrow. :) (Just a friendly reminder.)

DANA NICHOLS AND GINA - WINNERS OF MY LAST DRAWING - PLEASE EMAIL ME YOUR ADDRESSES!! I WANT TO SEND YOU THIS STUFF!!

I've been keeping so busy this week, but I've mostly been sitting here at the computer making my way through the nuts and bolts of writing this book. I am soooo close to being done (Dare I imagine finishing EARLY??) - but my back sure is paying the price for it. I tense up when I sit here, so all through my neck and back is shooting pain. Lovely. The mattress isn't helping either. My chiropractor said mattresses last about 7-10 years. We're right in the middle of that... and the thought of spending money on a mattress isn't appealing, but it might be necessity.

This has made me so sad. I remember years ago, sitting in the newsroom at the paper I was working for when the news about Columbine hit. We all stopped what we were doing and sat, glued to the television for the rest of the day. Completely in awe that something so gruesome - so sad - had really happened. It seems since then there's been a school shooting - maybe two - every year. This one hit really close to home.

I imagine myself sitting in Bradley Hall, listening to a professor drone on about Economics or Western Civ - one of those classes we all had to take to graduate. Never once in my time at Bradley did I worry about being shot while attending classes. It had never crossed my mind. The only things that worried me back then was whether or not my group in Communications 103 would consist of people I liked or I'd end up with people who refused to work.

I cannot stand that this kind of fear can grip our society in this kind of way. It's not fair that we, as parents, can't send our kids off to school without saying knuckle-whitening prayers every morning for their safety. I understand there have always been risks, but we're talking about senseless violence - out of everyone's control - and there's no way to stop it.

I'm so sad for the families involved in this shooting - especially for the parents of the gunman. So often it seems these parents are good, loving people - at least that's how it seems. Of course, I suppose you never really know.

I don't mean to be depressing this morning, I guess it just took me back - I never thought I'd refer to my college years as 'simpler times,' but they really were... even 10 years ago - simpler.

Anyway, we spent the better part of Wednesday making Valentine's. I made all the pieces and let Sophia cut and glue.

We had a lot of fun making them. The pencils were furry. lol Gotta love a furry pencil. Sophia picked just the right color for each classmate. I noticed the boys all got stuck with green or yellow. Not the most attractive colors in the mix.

This week, Adam called for a fast in our house. I was so glad when he came downstairs last Friday and said he felt like God really wanted us to give up video games. That meant computer games, the WII, the Leapsters - everything. This was especially important for Ethan, who, I've realized could easily become addicted. Maybe it was Sophia's dream that the Wii turned into a tornado and sucked her in that made Adam realize it was getting a little out of hand. This week has been awesome.

Ethan has rediscovered his cars, his trains and his Legos. I love hearing, "Hey Mom! Look what I built" so much more than "Hey, that guy just killed me and now I gotta start over."

Not sure what's going on with his expression there - or the pink tint to the photo, but such is life.

Tonight we are babysitting children so our church parents can go out on dates. I think it's going to be fun - we just need to go shopping and make sure we've got all of our bases covered. I'll likely leave a little early just to get the kids to bed - staying up til 10 isn't really an option around here, but I am thinking it'll be a good time. We're going to watch Underdog the last two hours to hopefully get the kids to wind down before they go home. We'll see how that goes over.

Okay, off to start my day. Sam is starting to stir - and oh, just an update... he has been sleeping in his crib! A friend of mine gave me a swaddling blanket, and while it bears a remarkable resemblance to a straight jacket, Sam loves this thing, and it almost seems like the car seat is getting uncomfortable. I am so happy. Yesterday he took a two hour nap in his crib!

So, we're off! Have a great weekend! :) 

Since I'm heading to the post office anyway...

I think I will go ahead and give away one of my books.

That's what it looks like. I've got an extra one here in my hot little hand.

Does anyone want it? Because I really like to give stuff away! :)

Just leave me a comment by Friday, February 15th. It'll be a little Valentine's Day thing! (A day late)

:) Good luck!

WINNER!!

I assigned numbers to the posts and used a random number generator to pick out my winner. Kinda fun! :) And the winner is....

What a generous girl you are!! Those goodies are awesome. Someone is going to be very happy! P.S. I have really enjoyed your contributions to Memory Makers lately--you inspire me!

Posted by: Dana Nichols | February 06, 2008 at 12:58 PM 

So... Dana from 12:58, will you email me your address? These goodies are coming your way! :)

Just for fun, I'm going to put together another package like this one and send it to another lucky winner:

How sweet of you! I think I've only commented once on your blog, but like to stop by and read it occasionally. I'm pulling for you on your weight loss!

Posted by: Gina | February 07, 2008 at 10:21 AM

Okay So, Gina and Dana... email me addresses and I promise to get to the post office sometime soon! :) I have a pile waiting to go here, so I need to do this!!

Margo, I haven't forgotten about your win before I moved either. I am putting together something for you too!

Yay! I love giveaways! I think I might do a book giveaway here pretty soon too. :) I doubt that will get 128 comments, but I'd love to give one away for free!

Thanks for playing! :) 

Dreamin'

At this moment, I am in my usual evening position, sitting next to Sam, (who is sleeping) sipping my jug 'o water.

Tonight, though, I'm a little bit of a ball of nerves because for the first time ever, I've given away a part of myself that I've never given away before... a project I've been working on is, at present, in the hands of my husband, who I am quite sure will give me an honest opinion. I write all the time. I write articles for one awesomely great scrapbooking magazine. I even got to write a book or two. (no link on that 'two' because I'm still writing... :) ) but the STORIES I write are different.

Earlier this year, one of our pastors preached a message. As is usual, I clung to a bit of it. He said, "be careful who you share your dreams with."

I think sometimes we think we have to shout it from the rooftops what we hope to accomplish - like maybe that will make happen quicker or something... but this sort of resonated with me. And it made sense. I mean, you can't tell just anyone your BIG dreams. Sure you can tell them things like, "Gosh, I'd really love to feel comfortable in a bathing suit..." (who wouldn't?) But to say something like, "Gosh, I sure would like to be a size six..." could warrant a slanted glance back in your direction, a raised eyebrow, some little gesture as if to say, "YEAH RIGHT..." that will send you reeling back to grade school where you got picked on... and inevitably this will throw you off course and probably make you GAIN weight instead of lose.

It's the same with career-oriented goals, don't you think? If I say to just anyone "I really want to be in television" (a seemingly unattainable goal for most of us) and that person doesn't receive my declaration with the excitement I'm hoping for, it can crush the dream. Instantly. Even if God had it in the cards for me to be on TV... I won't even try for fear of failure. You can't tell just anyone your biggest, most important dreams. God gives them to us for a reason, and if it's something he really wants us to do... well, no person's doubting should stand in our way.

All that to say, I started thinking about it. There are very few people I TRUST with this sort of raw showcase of my dreams... my mom (who I think would tell me she loved it no matter what... really, Mom, could you honestly tell me if you hated something I wrote??) and my sister (who is just waaaay too busy right now to deal with anything extra... and my sweet husband, who is by far one of the best teachers I've ever met.

So right now, I'm letting him in on this dream God's placed in my heart. I won't go into all the details except to say... I'm kind of a ball of nerves. A sleepy ball, but a ball just the same. Oddly, though, it feels really good... to know that this person upstairs really wants to help me and he loves me enough to share in my dreams.

I think that's pretty cool.

In other news: I am EXHAUSTED. Not a lot of sleep last night.

I chopped my hair off. I posted a picture on my other blog. I think I like it - it's definitely not as heavy... so that's a good thing!  I'm a little sad I'm not going to CHA this time, though I have to say when I'm away from my family I get incredibly homesick. The summer show is an hour away, and I still get homesick, so it's probably a good thing that I"m staying home.. plus, I could never leave Sam this young.

Tomorrow, a bunch of us from church are heading up to a steak place in Wisconsin where you cook your own steak. It's a Valentine's Day thing, sort of... I think it'll be fun. HOpe you have a fun weekend too!

:)

True [unintentional] randomness.

I'm on the laptop, so I have no access to my photos, but Sam and I have officially started our date of the night. I think he needs me here, sitting beside him while he rests in the car seat, swaddled as tightly as humanly possible... he doesn't seem to sleep unless we're sitting right here. And you know something? I could be making a huge mistake. I rocked Sophia to sleep and she never really got the whole 'lay down and cry it out thing' because I never let her cry.

Same kinda thing going on with Sam. Ethan cried. And you know what, he was an AWESOME sleeper. But looking back, and knowing this is my last baby... I just don't WANT to let him 'cry it out.' I want him to be peaceful - and if that means - for now - that he sleeps in his car seat right by my side... I guess that's what it means. And if I regret it later, I hope I go back and read this... and I remember that these are some of the sweetest moments of my life. I absolutely love this drifting off to sleep as he checks to see if I'm here. I love being his safety net. I love being his mommy.

Anyway, wow. I had no idea my big fat blog giveaway would get so many comments... even with the post on 2peas. I might have to put together a 'runner-up' prize! I'm working on it.

(Interruption of thought:) Oh my gosh! did you know Charlize Theron is in "That Thing you Do"? I had no idea. So is Ethan Embry - that cutie from "Sweet Home Alabama!" I love watching older movies and seeing who is in them that is famous now. lol

Random thought, I know, but I am just kind of random when I'm running on four hours of sleep.

OH my gosh! Giovanni Ribisi is in this movie too. lol I obviously haven't seen it in a really long time.

Okay. I should go before you run away from my blog scared of all my randomness!

I am still going to draw a name Sunday, but I realized that's actually February 10th, so post below if you haven't to win the goodies! And check out my weight loss blog if you're interested. I had my weigh-in this morning.

Big Fat Giveaway

Okay. Here it is. The big fat giveaway. Note: None of these products are intended to 'go together' - this is not a "kit" - this is a collection of some duplicate products I have and have LOVED using, so I thought someone else might benefit from them as well.

Just leave me a comment on this post by Sunday, February 11th. :) I'll draw on Monday.

Good luck!