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!