What am I doing this weekend?

I know you are asking this question....lol. Well, here is the list of what I would like to accomplish this weekend:
1. Laundry
2. empty dishwasher
3. watch DVR recorded episodes of Scrapbook Memories
4. set up craft closet so I can begin to unpack craft boxes
5. put clothes away on dresser
6. set moose collection on dresser
7. get several things ready to mail
8. clean out refrigerator
9. finish up some cards
10. post some cards
11. clean bathroom

Well, I think that covers it for this weekend. How much will I get done? As much as I can or feel like doing. Will I stress if I don't get everything done? I hope not.

I went to stamp club tonite and had a fun time. I enjoyed all the projects especially the make and take. I ordered some cool stamps.

We then went to Fuddruckers. I really like Fuddruckers normally but not tonite. I got a small order of chili fries and they tasted like the chili was burnt. I ate about 4 bites. James took it to the manager and he gave us our money back. But my milkshake was good.

At work: My assistant started on Tuesday and then she was off the rest of the week. She had a graduation to go to out of town. She is suppose to be back on Monday. YEAH!!!

Got some wonderful news: my car is totally paid off. YEAH!!! James's truck is very close to being paid off....probably about 2 or 3 more payments. Woo-Hoo. We have no credit card debt so we are just about debt free now. What a relief!

That's it for tonight. Heading to bed now.

What a surprise!!!!

While I was at work, James said he was doing something to surprise me. I came home only to find a BIG surprise. Let me first explain that one room in our apt. that was still unpacked was our room. There were bag of clothes, furniture wherever....you get the picture. I came home to find the room picked up and all the furniture set up. What a stress lifted off my shoulders. It is so wonderful!

Other things I have made

Left to right:
Picture 1: 2 ATC cards
Picture 2: 2 cards with "delight in life"
Picture 3: Stamp Up Club card I made
Picture 4: Made this card so long ago that I don't remember what stamp I used
Picture 5: Christmas card made at Techno group

Not busy but very productive today

I have been very productive today. Let's see, I:

1. did the laundry

2. made 3 cards....Father's Day card for my dad, a birthday card and a challenge card for stamp group

3. swept the kitchen and entry way

4. made chicken and dumplings in the crockpot

5. gave Thomas a bath

6. went to Wal-mart EARLY this morning. Purchased a few groceries and Father's Day gifts

7. cleaned up the dishes

8. took pictures of cards

9. downloaded pictures onto computer from camera

I cannot show you the Father's Day card until after that day so I will do that then but I can show the other ones I made today.

The bear one is for a birthday card. The other one is a challenge for my Techno stamp group. Last meeting, we made "faux tiles" using shrink plastic(remember shrinky dinks?). So the challenge was to make a card using some of the tiles.

An interesting thing about all 3 cards I did....no stamping was used. All I used was paper, stickers and rub-ons.

The chicken and dumplings were scrumptious. It was a good recipe and one I will make again. And the recipe is so easy....only 5 items and a crockpot. It takes a total of 6 hours to cook but it was well worth the wait. It even smelled so good. I was a little worried before adding the biscuits that the gravy part would be soupy but after adding the biscuits and letting it cook for another hour, the gravy was just right. The only bad comment was it tasted a little salty to me but that could also be because I don't really use salt anyways. I may try low sodium soups next time and see what happens.

While getting the stuff together to work on my cards, I found several ATC's(Artist Trading Cards) and other cards I made in the past. So, I took pics of them and am going to post them too.

Have a good evening.

Mmmm...an update

Okay....today is an update for the last week, a few other thoughts, what I want to accomplish this week and whatever else I think of while writing this. Will I babble on and on? Probably. Will you stay for the whole post? Don't know, that is up to you. Will that stop me from writing it? Nope! LOL

Today I went to the movies with my friend, C. We saw Sex and the City. I enjoyed the movie. I do want to own it when it comes out in video. I know you are reading this and if you know me, wondering why I went to the movie. Why, since I am a big Disney family and it is DEFINITELY not a Disney movie for kids! LOL. I like watching Sex and the City on TV. I watch the old episodes. I don't know why.....the show interests me and the characters interest me, too. So, if you want a movie to watch with your girlfriends, I suggest going to this movie.

I only had a 4 day week this week. That was nice because it was a hard week for me. My new assistant does not start until Tuesday. So all this past week I have been by myself in the classroom and of course I have been at my limit. For those that don't know, I have 13 month olds-21 month old. There is 7 on roll but I can have 5 by myself. If you have never worked with this age group, I can't explain what 5 of this age is like. I actually have 5 rough and tumble boys and 2 girls. Out of this group, I have 2 biters who also push, pinch and slap the other kids. I have 2 that whine all day. I have 5 with attitudes. So the mixture can be hard depending which kids are there that day. When I change diapers, I have to take the 2 biters and put 1 in the highchair and 1 sitting at my feet so I can protect all the other kids. But it looks like Monday will be a pretty easy day....3 out of the 7 will not be there because they are on vacation so that leaves 4 boys. 2 of them are only part-time....2 days a week...so maybe they won't be there either. I also have an intern starting Monday and will be there for 2 weeks. So that is my week at work.

Tuesday, I took the Intermediate Excel and loved it. Luckily, she gave us a pamphlet at both classes that is easy to read and understand. Right now I am so proud of myself that I conquered using Excel/spreadsheets. I would try and try to figure it out on my own before and got so frustrated and felt stupid. But I am now so proud of myself and I know I can conquer this computer. This week I have Intro to Word, and next week, I have Intermediate Word. I use Word and probably did not need Intro but I am self-taught and I might have missed teaching myself something important.

On another note, I have been working on my own Mission Statement. One of the items is to only be involved in things that have my heart. Get rid of things that stress me out. So, I made a hard decision....I have decided not to sell Avon anymore. I will keep my account open and order stuff every few campaigns. I will do this for awhile in case I change my mind later and want to start it back up. I realize I will lose my Unit Leader status. And, I hope I don't have a certain friend get mad at me for making this decision. Friend, don't be mad or disappointed in me, please.

I also realize I need to get my office/craft room unpacked. I have been here for 3 months. We can't even use the TV in there or the space. I can't be creative because I can't find anything. So, my goal is to do 1 box a night for the next couple weeks. By, next weekend, the boxes will be done in the closet and I will spend that time setting the closet up and organizing all the craft stuff. I also want to do this so I can get everything together for a yard sale. I also need to shred alot of stuff but I need to find the shredder.

Okay, I have babbled on long enough. I plan to get the stuff together tonight and tomorrow so I can get Father's Day cards done tomorrow. I am also running to Wal-mart in the morning to get a couple things. I am making homemade chicken and dumplings in the crock-pot tomorrow for dinner. It is a new recipe I want to try. I will let you know how it was.

Thanks for staying with me through this long entry. Have a blessed day!

Cool quote

Here is a cool quote I found in someone's signature line on one of my craft groups.

"The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protectyou."

I loved this quote. It just pierced my heart and made me realize that no matter where God takes me, He will also protect me. I may feel likeI am all alone or not safe but God will be there. This is a similar feeling as the poem "Footprints" gives me. That is my favorite poem. If you have never heard it, look it up because it is beautiful. Or let me know and I will print it out on this blog for you to read.

Whew! Busy, Busy week......

now over...well, sort of. This weekend will be busy more for my husband than me. He will spend the whole weekend working nights and sleeping days. So, it will basically be Thomas and I all weekend.



I am being lazy today even though I have so much I could be doing....dishes, clean the bathroom, finish clothes, etc., etc. I figure I am off Monday, too so I will spread it out over the whole weekend. I also want to work on some cards that need to be finished.

This week, I took a free computer class the hospital offered. I took Intro to Excel. It was an excellent class and I learned so much. This was something I tried to play with at home but could never get it. I got too frustrated. Now, I get it and I was so thrilled. Next Tuesday I have the Intermediate excel. I also signed up for Intro and Intermediate to Word. I probably know alot about Word but I jsut wanted to make sure. Now that I know Excel, my mind is whirling with all the things I can use it for.....all the organization I can get done. I can organize household expenses. I can organize my cross-stitch magazine patterns. The ideas are endless. I am going to take all these courses that the hospital offers.

They have changed Thomas's medicine. They have upped it a little so as his body adjusts, he has been sleeping alot. Or maybe it is because school is out, he is catching up on all his sleep. Actually, he fell asleep on the couch about 15 minutes ago so I guess he is going to take a nap today. I should use this time to clean the bathroom.....well, maybe in a little bit.

If I get the cards done in the next couple days then I will have something to show here on the blog. I know I have not shown any stamping pictures in a while. Sorry! When everything is not unpacked yet, I don't feel creative. I really need to get in there and take care of that. I guess with no help from my husband, it gets overwhelming.

Actually, I think I will go take a nap while watching TV for an hour or so. I went to bed at midnight and woke up at 6am. My body just did not want to sleep anymore.

Everyone have a wonderful day. A day filled with love and surprises from God.