A lesson in pay it forward...

Something nice happened to me unexpectedly Thursday that still has me smiling. John and I took DJ out to eat yesterday (no school for P/T conferences and he was with me for the day). The restaurant had one of those "games" where you try to pick up your prize and drop it in the slot. DJ loves it and is really good at it so I gave him a few quarters and 75 cents later he comes back to the table with a cute stuffed lion. There was a couple with their small son (6 mos. old we learned) and a grandpa nearby and I suggested to DJ that maybe he might like to give the lion to the little boy since we didn't need it and his fun is just winning it. He thought it was a great idea and trotted over and gave the baby the toy. The family waved and we watched the little one play with his grandpa and the lion....lots of shaking, kissing and then eventually throwing it on the floor to see who picked it up. LOL! When the family left, the mother came over with the baby (clutching the lion) to thank DJ again for giving it to him. They left and a few minutes later our food arrived. When she put the food down the waitress said "The man at table 17 picked up your bill"! The family had repaid DJ's kindness by buying out lunch! We were all so touched by this. We had a great talk with DJ about how being nice and doing nice things without expecting anything can sometimes bring wonderful surprises. Put out good and good will come back to you. Pay it forward in action.

Wish me luck...

I'm in need of some serious scrapping intervention and inspiration. I need to get going on the pile of pictures I've had developed and keep shuffling through hoping for a break in my scrapper's block. So in an effort to get myself motivated and in some kind of routine, I joined the Spring Survival Program at Homegrown Scrapbooks. Six weeks of classes, projects and general scrapping camraderie, fun and games. The Design Team they put together for this project is just amazing and I've already run into a couple friends there that I've met through this wonderful addiction. It should be fun...now if only April 1 would get here so we could get started!

How fun is this...

Only 201 more days to go! I can't wait. It'll be my 19th trip and John's second. We're staying at Disney’s Beach Club Villas in a cute little studio and within walking distance to MGM/Hollywood Studios and Epcot. I'm loving all the planning that goes into a Disney trip. This is my first time buying the Disney Dining Plan and I've been spending time picking out my favorite restaurants and trying to figure out how to fit them all in!

In other news...John's birthday was this past Monday. And in honor of the special occasion I took the day off and got a facial at Elizabeth Grady! LOL! My very first one and I'm hooked! My skin felt fantastic and looked amazing. Then it was off to babysit the cuties and wash my hair (had NO idea how bad it would be after the facial). John got out of work around 2:30 and went home to get ready for his big dinner out. I took Gillian and Emily, shopped for birthday cards (I know, I know...last minute me!) and we picked him up and went to everyone's favorite Mexican restaurant for a dinner filled with lots of laughs. We had such a fun time. We all shared three desserts that John picked and the girls were good and tried everything. Because we're doing the Disney trip this year, we set a $25 budget for birthday gifts...John got a $25 Lowe's card to add to the one from Christmas. He's going to have a nice little shopping spree for tools soon!

More news...my favorite kids are getting a new sibling this fall! My cousin is pregnant again...and she's letting me come along for the ride this time. I'm going to get to go to a few appointments and the ultrasounds! I'm not going to be having one myself, so this way I'll at least get to experience some of what happens. She also made me promise that if she has twins (which run in our family and we are overdue for them!) that I would take one of them. ;) No problem!

Last Saturday I got to spend the day with some friends from NY and CT scrapping away at a retreat! They all came up for the weekend and I joined them for the day. It was so good to see them all: Tracy, Kendra, Chrissy and Fran. I met them all at a retreat several years ago and we've kept in touch and try to get together when we can. Love spending time with them!

And last but not least...the new toy has arrived:

I finally broke my phone and no more flip phones for me. I'm just too hard on them. So we'll see how this works for me.

Let's see...I think that brings me up to date. I've got to upload my recent photos and share a few...I'll try to do that soon. Hope everyone is getting ready for spring!

TGIF...even it is snowing!

It's a beautiful snowy winter day...and I'm totally wasting it at work! I'd love to be home with the man and the dog and some paper to play with. Throw in something warm to drink and I'd be in heaven. I loved my 4 day weekend last weekend (lots of fun with John, scrapping with Dawn and Barbara, a little shopping, doing my taxes and lots of sleep!) and wish I could have more of those. It's enough time to really relax and have enough time to get things done without being rushed. Someday...

I wanted to share the new addition to my newest addiction:

John got me the big backpack for Valentine's Day. Love it and can't wait to use it. These colors are so very me and so fun. Makes me feel like it's spring just looking at it.

And to continue with the boring update...I'm getting my first facial next week. My skin is out of control and can't make up it's mind if its dry, oily or both and there are some of those lovely "age spots" appearing now. I have to try something to make things pretty again! LOL! So it's off to the Elizabeth Grady salon to see if they can help. Wish me luck!

Check this out...

I just won a prize from MM on their blog! I won a very cool Desktop Organizer that I've been dying for! This company is amazing - they are running contests for prizes for the people who didn't get to go to CHA and go to their booth. They've been giving away prizes for the past couple days all day long! So much fun!

Now maybe I'll actually be able to get some work done! LOL!

p.s. Did I mention the 5" of snow and 1/2" of ice we got here in Massachusetts today? Fun, fun, fun commute! Thank goodness I have the best man ever and he got up and cleaned my car off for me. Love him!!!

Yes...two days in a row!

Don't fall over (like anyone is actually reading this boring and unused blog!), but I'm here 2 days in a row. Today I wanted to share some very cool inspiration. I just joined Studio Calico and have been spending a bit of time in their gallery. There are some amazing artists on the Design Team and the members create some pretty cool stuff too! Check out this blog. I am totally in awe of her style. Love, love, love her pages! Enjoy!!!

Step One: Admission

Ok...I admit it...I am a horrible blogger! Despite all good intentions, depsite hours spent on the internet each week, despite access to the internet at home and at work and despite a sincere desire to document my life...I am a horrible blogger. There is just no excuse for it. So there. I've admitted it now. I'm on to Step Two in my special program. I just have to figure out exactly what that should be! There's lots of catching up for me to do here...photos to upload, stories to tell, resolutions to share. I'm going to try and do some of that this week. And I'm off to a good start just by typing this entry! I've got to get back to work, but I'll leave you with some of my favorite pictures from the end of last year.

Nerf Gun Fight Extravaganza with Gillian, Emily, DJ and John (hiding!)
Anthony just trying to stay out of the way!
Our first tree...love this shot.
Enzo trying to be helpful while decorating...those lights aren't going anywhere!
New decorations and ornaments. Found the cool glitter words at Kohl's!

Spread a little cheer this season...

I just wanted to share this link for Toys for Tots and ask everyone (ok...all 3-4 of you who read this silly thing) to make a small donation to a worthy cause. It's all about the kids this time of year and this is a great charity that's all about making sure no kid goes without a little something. I made my donations today to Toys for Tots and my local newspaper Santa. I know that if money is tight for me this year with heating and gas prices going crazy, it must be so much worse for those already struggling financially. So I juggled the budget a bit and found a little money and gave it away. And you know what...it made ME smile to do it. And that's a good thing.

A few little changes...

Feeling a bit bored with the "old" look, so I did a little playing around this morning and settled on this one...for now. Someday I will learn how to personalize my banner and general design, but for now I'm happy that there are people out there who make fun templates for me to play with.

It was a great weekend - some good football, a Christmas tree, some quality time with John and lots of good food. I have some pictures to share that I remembered to download from the camera, but forgot to upload to Flickr so that I could easily post them here. I'll try to get to that tonight in between decorating the tree (can we talk about the 2 adorable little mice that had decided to finagle their way into my Christmas stuff in the shed? What? You didn't actually hear the screams? LOL!) and doing some general cleaning that didn't get done this weekend.

Here's to finding my Christmas spirit and enjoying the season...and finding a new home for those critters in the shed! ;)

Baby steps and clutter...

I am a pack-rat...not nearly as bad as some, but more than I can stand. I've been trying to take baby steps to simplify my life and neaten things up. This past week it's been cleaning out my email accounts. Sounds simple enough doesn't it? But I keep things "just in case" waaaayyyy too often and for far too long. But I'm proud of myself. I've been purging and filing emails and I think I've done a fantastic job of it! And for the past week, I've been keeping up with reading them as they come and deciding what to do with them right then. I've been really good about resisting the impulse to save it "just in case" and hitting the delete button. Small steps I know, but it's making me feel more able to tackle the next step...my scrapbook supplies! But maybe I'll wait until after the new year to start that project...(did I mention that I'm a horrible procrastinator too??? LOL!).

It's a quiet day at work and I had a chance to play on Flickr a bit. Here's today's mosaic from the new favorites I found:


1. the road, 2. Red Berries in the Snow, 3. After the snow, 4. Snow tunnel, 5. First Snow, 6. Picture 040, 7. Tobias, 8. Holiday Cards, 9. Love Me Ephemera Album, 10. Got Snow?, 11. Solitude, 12. My throne, 13. Cosmos lady, 14. lily girl, 15. rosehips wreath, 16. porch, 17. morning, 18. On the Bed, 19. Tree at work, 20. peek, 21. Fall Colors, 22. primizie a siena, 23. HIEDRA // IVY, 24. Tulip on Slate, 25. winter wonderland

Now I'm totally inspired to do something creative and colorful! I promise next time I'll upload some of my own photos. I've been taking one each day for December so I can create a little book (check out Ali Edwards' blog for this idea). Maybe I'll get a chance to upload them this weekend and share.

Can I go home now? Happy weekend all!

Time...

There isn't enough of it. Another month has gone by since my last post and although it was eventful and busy, I feel a bit of a failure because I neglect to keep up with this blog. I live with all the best of intentions and yet I still have not mastered the ability to follow through on all of them.

Here's the quick update...

• My grandfather passed away on November 12. He was 84. And while I'm terribly sad that he's not here with us anymore, I am so glad that his pain has ended and that he's been reunited with my grandmother and mother. There is a hole in my life now...and I can only wait for time to heal it.
• I spent a lot of time with family last month and it was good. Very good.
• Thanksgiving was a wonderful day...great food, lots of laughs and memories made.
• John and I have started working on the house. We've done some insulation that was needed in the basement and we've been wandering HD and Lowe's making plans, plotting budgets and wishing to win the lottery!
• Snow season is here and I am happy!
• John and I went to a Festival of Trees at a local church this past weekend and got totally inspired for the season.

This weekend we're taking a little road trip to see the lights at LaSalette Shrine in Attleboro, Mass. and we're getting our first Christmas tree. I'm really making an effort to embrace the holidays this year instead of thinking that "next year I'll go see all the lights and do all the things I've been planning". Life is short and the moments should be embraced as they come. And it's up to me to make sure that I live and see and do as much as I can.