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Hello 2010!!

  I was going to give up blogging in 2010, but seeing the movie, Julie and Julia inspired me to keep going.  No, I'm not going to blog my way through Julia Child's cookbook, but it did spark an interest in Julia.  So much so that I am currently reading her book, My Life in France, the story about her time in Paris when she attended the Cordon Bleu cooking school.  It's a good read with lots of photos taken by her husband.  He was photographer.  :)

This year I will continue to scrapbook, but I've joined the ranks of digital scrapbookers.  I swore that was something I'd never do.  But...since my good friend, Libby is such an amazing digital scrapbook designer, she lured me in with her inspiring digital scrapbook products.  I must say, it IS much less messy than paper scrapbooking.  But I still have a fondness for beautiful papers, ribbons and letter stickers.

I'm still working on making my home a warm, comfortable place to be.  I love love love browsing all of the wonderful DIY home design blogs out there....SO many talented ladies!

And of course, I am still trying to find that balance between balancing home life, work and time for myself.

Since I hate to blog without photos, I'm including my most recent favorite of the girls. 

 

Summer school

No, it's not what you think.  It's voluntary, really.  I signed up for a free online Photoshop class and I am loving it!  I realize now just how much there is to know about this program.  I am in awe of anyone who is Photoshop Savvy and can navigate through the dang thing.  I have CS3 and it's WAY more than what I am capable of doing. 

I am taking the class through www.jessicasprague.com.  She's a wonderful teacher who explains things that I am able to comprehend.  As I teacher myself, I am truly inspired by anyone who can do that.  It's a basic starter class, but I am learning so many little things along the way.  The class is called "Photo Editing:  Frame Ups and Special Effects".  Here is what I've done so far:

Lesson 1: PNG frames and Word Art

 

Lesson 2:  Brushes

Lesson 3:  Create a vintage, hand-tinted look

Lesson 4:  Clipping Masks

Go ahead, admit it.  You're impressed with my mad Photoshop skills.  I can see it all over your face.  What I want to know is where are my girls who were supposed to be by my side taking this class with me?  Are you in the bathroom smoking?  Or perhaps you're behind the bleachers with a special someone...

Around the house...

So, I've been doing some little things around the house that I keep putting off.  Why?  I'm not sure.  First thing I did was to get my scrapbook room better organized.  I didn't love my ribbon organization, so I decided to go with the jar system.  I love how it looks on my ladder shelf.  I actually got ten jars.  Blue, violet, brown, black and white are on the next shelf down.

The next thing I did was finally put pictures in a frame that I've had hanging in my room for like, say, ummm, six years...

 Then I put my adorable pillow that I got from here, on my favorite chair...also in my bedroom.

And finally, I found a spot for my beloved elephant that we bought in the Bahamas.  He is sitting on a shelf in our built-ins in our family room.  I talked the poor shop owner down from $40 to a measly $22 for this baby.  BTW, I hate trying to get a lower price for things.  It's so embarrassing.  But when I saw him, I just had to have him.  My mom told me that elephants are supposed to be good luck.  Have you ever heard that?

 

I was so surprised and happy to find the deocrative scissors that I have been eyeing at Pottery Barn a year or so ago.  I saw them at Joann a couple of weeks ago.  At $14.99 and 40% off, I couldn't let they pass me by.  How do they look?  I hung them on the door to my office because I saw someone else online had done that...and I liked how it looked.  I just can't remember who it was. ?!?

 

Oh, and speaking of my office (scrap room), I managed to actually do a layout the other day.  I have spent lots of time in here re-organizing my stash.  I'm still working on it and hope to have it done by Sunday. 

Please tell me that I'm not the only paper scrapper left.  Please???

Happy birthday Kenadie!!

Today our baby turns five.  And by baby, I mean that's exactly how she acted today.  That girl should be glad that she had that going for her.  I don't know what got into her.  From her tantrum at the mall to spilling her milk twice at dinner, she was a mess today.  Anyway, she had a party with her friends on Saturday and spent the afternoon in the pool today with Kayleigh.  All-in-all, it was a pretty good day.  I can't believe she'll be off to kindergarten in the fall. :(

The party:

 

 

 

The birthday:

 

 

I heart Target

What is it about that place?  Why can't I ever just leave there without purchasing an item or two that I just cannot live without???  This weekend I hit Target and found some adorable little things.  Look at these fabulous magazine files.  I bought a couple more matching items for my office...and I may go back for more.  I'm hoping to have my armoire all neat and tidy by the end of the week.

And looky at these darling birdie salt and pepper shakers.  A steal at $4.99.  They match perfectly with the porcelin pitcher I have displayed on my dining room table.  Not that we sit there for dinner to need the salt and pepper shakers, but what does that matter?  :)  What have YOU found lately at Target?

Cruisin'...Part One

Last week we went on our first (but hopefully, not last) Disney Cruise courtesy of my wonderful mother-in-law.  We had a fabulous time and cannot say enough about the quality and cleanliness of the ship and it's crew.  It really made it difficult to come back home and be the one to cook and clean and plan the day's events.  For some reason, my daily activities are much more boring than Disney's.  Go figure.  Here are some favorite photos of our trip:

We took a limo to Port Canaveral.  I felt like Miley Cyrus riding as we rode down the highway.

 

The view from inside the limo...see me in the back?

 

Our spacious bathroom in our room:

  

Look at the cute rope holding back the shower curtain.  I really wanted to take this home with me.

 

Our room:  The couch turned into a twin bed and there was a bunk above it.  The girls fought over who got the top bunk.  Guess what they both want in their bedrooms now?

 

Look at how big our porthole is!  That's my sassy window model posing for you.

 

The TV which had about 6 Disney channels for your viewing pleasure.

 

I totally loved our clock, too.  They sold them in the gift shop for $40. 

 

Getting ready for the madatory safety drill. 

 

Modeling the latest in cruisewear...

 

The welcome show...the guy clapping in the white was Christiaan, our cruise director.

 

They love to stop you and take photos of you on the ship.  Our first photo as we boarded.

Anyway, this takes you through our first few hours on the ship.  I'm sure you get the idea.  I'll post more photos soon.

With all this talk of how happy we are that summer is here I almost forgot to post about the end of school.  Both girls did great this year!  I love love loved having Kenadie at school with me everyday.  I cannot believe that in the fall I'll have one entering Kindergarten and one in 5th grade.  I panic every time I think about not seeing Kayleigh every day at school.  It's silly, I know.  But my face lights up every single time I see her in the halls or in the cafeteria.  I am not even going to start obsessing over middle school until after Christmas.  That's a promise I am making to myself.  At least I'll have little Ken Ken to dote over for the next six years. 

I am just so proud of these two!!

Before and After

Ugh!  All of a sudden I am hating every room in my house.  I hate having sliders and regret not putting in french doors when we built our house...but that's another story.  I needed a change and was so excited to get new drapes for my sliders with the giftcard my students got me for an end-of-the-year gift.  My current ones are just not my style and seemed dark and heavy.  I ran to Pottery Barn for some light and bright ones, but I still don't love them.  First of all, they are too short and secondly I just don't like the look of them, so it's off to Lowe's tomorrow to see if I can work some drop-cloth magic again. 

Before:

After:

 

Oh, and while I was at Joann this morning choosing fabric to recover my kitchen table I found these!  I've been wanting these big scissors for some time now.  I am going to hang them on my office door.  Yay!  Another project!!