Yep, I'm Still Thirty-Something

Today is my birthday. I feel older. I noticed that I have two distinct wrinkles beneath each eye in addition to a double chin and aching knees. Yep, I feel older.

I've Been Tagged!

The OtherBecky tagged me, so here goes:

Five things I was doing 10 years ago:
1. Student Teaching (That required driving from Parkersburg to Calhoun County everyday)
2. Dating a Heinous Man!
3. Buying my first real furniture
4. Later that year (1998) I moved to Martinsburg, and
5. Started my first year teaching


Five things on my to do list today:
1. Grocery shop
2. Laundry
3. Clean
4. Hug My Husband and tell him how much I love him
5. Address and mail homemade Valentine's Day cards


Five things I will do when I'm a millionaire:
1. Tithe 10% to my church
2. Buy a cabin in the tranquil woods of Wyoming as our "second home"
3. Travel to Paris to watch the Paris Opera Ballet Company
4. Buy Brian another Africa hunting trip
5. Put an addition on the back of the house just for fun (we don't really need one)


Five things I'll never wear again:
1. A bikini
2. Big plastic hoop earrings
3. Spandex of any kind, sort, or shape
4. Acid wash jeans
5. Big, fluffy bows in my hair


Five of my favorite toys:
1. Strawberry Shortcake (duh)
2. The Curvy Cutter
3. Pampered Chef gadgets (especially the chopper!)
4. Stampin' Up Punches
5. Stickles


Five banes of my existence:
1. People who barely know me and ask me why I don't have kids
2. People who do know me and try to convince me that I really DO want kids
3. The constant struggle with my weight
4. Telemarketers
5. Children's birthday parties


Ok, that was pretty fun for my first tag! I am going to tag...
1. Tracy http://tracylancaster.blogspot.com/
2. The Metelko Family http://metelko.blogspot.com/
3. Anne Marie: http://annemariez.blogspot.com/

I am only tagging 3 people because I don't really have a lot of people to tag! I'm still sort of new at this blog stuff!

"First Time" Cards

These are examples of card techniques that I tried for the first time. A circle card, stmaping on black cardstock, and using neopolitan ice cream colors together. All of the cards were inspired by SplitCoastStampers Virtual Stamp Night this weekend.

My Birthday Wishlist

1. My brother to be healthy in every way.
2. To have a snow day
3. Orange and green Stickles
4. The paisley Cuttlebug Folder
5. Stampin Up ticket punch
6. Stampin Up Garden Whimsy Stamp Set
7. No telemarketing calls
8. A good hair day
9. Dinner out with Brian
10. Pizza with Cindy

Couple of Layouts

Eventually, I want to make a modified A-B-C Scrapbook album of my closest friends. Instead of doing the album in ABC order, I've decided to just work on it page by page and put everything in order later. So, last night I did finish two layouts. The first one is a layout I did with some pictures from a surprise party I had for my friend, and fairy Godmother, Cindy. The second one chronicles how I met and became great "real life" friends with an online friend, Veronica.

Snow Day Fun

I didn't have to work today. Woot! Woot! So what did I do with that extra eight hours, you ask? Well, I scrapbooked, made cards, cleaned the house, and listed things on Ebay. What else? And what did I do this evening? I made a snowman and a snow angel in my front yard. Yep, that's right - I made a snowman. Who cares that I'm thirty-two years old and don't have children to use as an excuse?! I love to act like a kid without cares. Here are pics from my snow adventures today. I'm doing the whole "Superstar" thing in the first picture. The last picture is of me and my deerlightful snowman. Brian didn't help with the snowman because he was busy shoveling the driveway.

Congratulations to the OtherBecky (Aaron's Mama)!

A good friend and member of HappyScrappers announced Saturday that she has another little one on the way! I'm sprinkling baby GIRL dust her way. *sprinkle, sprinkle* Watch my blog for a photo of the card that I made for her. Congratulations, Becky!!!!!!!!

A Cure For Scrappers Block

Feeling uninspired? Bad case of scrappers block? Are all of your pages looking the same? I found an awesome blog this morning with tons of innovative sketches. Check it out:

http://www.gotsketch.blogspot.com/

Dinners For the Frugal

Yes, I am frugal and PROUD OF IT, baby!

When my friends find out how little I spend at the grocery store they always ask me, "How do you do it?" It's easy, really. I have several meals in my stash that we eat on a rotating basis that cost less than $1 per serving.

1) Grilled Cheese and Veggie Soup
2) Chili and Cornbread
3) Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes (my meatloaf has just four ingredients)
4) Breakfast for Dinner (i.e. scrambled eggs, toast, and fried potatoes)
5) Spaghetti
6) Pot Pie and Country Rolls
7) Potato Soup
8) Chef Salad
9) Ham and Cheesy Potatoes Casserole
10) Hot Dogs and Baked Beans
11) Tacos (always buy a kit with a doubled coupon)
12) Hot Turkey Sandwiches
13) Chipped Beef Gravy over Toast
....... and it goes on ......
I also use coupons on items that are also on sale. For example, this week, butter was on sale 10/$10 and I had a coupon for 50 cents off. When the store doubled my coupon, I got the butter for free. I can't remember the last time I paid for catsup, mustard, butter, Rice-A-Roni, or cookie mix. I get all of those things free using doubled coupons.
...........
I spend very little money on snack food. Snack food makes your grocery bill big and your patootie even bigger. I do buy microwave popcorn, raisins, and "Ritz like" crackers at Dollar General.
.............
Are you interested in more posts about frugal living? If so, let me know and I'll post some more about reducing waste, lowering your electric bill, and so on.

Happy Anniversary, HappyScrappers!

Today's HappyScrappers Anniversary Celebration was a huge success. We celebrated two years of HappyScrappers with a card contest, pizza, and FUN!

Our card contest winners included:

Best Anniversary Card: Bethany Miller
Best All Blue Card: Me!
Best Children's Card: Carrie Ross
Best Card NOT Using A Rubber Stamp: (tie) Bethany Miller and Shannon Stephens
Best Card Using Decorative Scissors: Me!
Wild Card Category (tie): Carolyn Catlett and Shannon Stephens

I managed to finish 12 cards and four 12x12 pages today. Woo Hoo!

I'll try to post more pictures over the weekend.

Everything is Breaking Down? What's Up With That?

Since Monday, our clothes dryer has needed repaired, a switch in the living room needed replaced, and now my computer has went biserk. Currently, I'm logged in at work (after hours, of course). I'm afraid to go home for fear that my dishwasher might bite my butt. :)

HappyScrapper Notes

* HappyScrappers is meeting this Saturday, 10-??? We will have a group of ten ladies! Woo Hoo! If you are willing to sit in the dining room, please let me know. Although the table space is smaller, the lighting is 1000% better. We can't fit all ten of us in the living room.

* God's Memory Catchers, a free scrapbooking/cardmaking group that meets at my church will be meeting on Saturday, January 19th, from 10:00 - 2:00 p.m. There is a link to Faith Christian Fellowship in the list on the left. I plan to go and if anyone would like to go with me we can carpool.

* HappyScrappers will NOT meet in February.

* The HappyScrappers March meeting will be Saturday, March 15th. Our theme will be "Trash to Treasure." ...... more details to come.

* SAVE THE DATE: The Great American Scrapbooking Convention is scheduled for June 20-21 in Chantilly, VA. A group of us are planning a road trip for Saturday, the 21st. If you are interested in going and carpooling, please let me know.

Will Power vs. Curly Fries

I walked into Curves this week and was greeted by a huge poster emblazoned with the words, Will Power vs. Curly Fries. I had to laugh out loud, as I felt that the designer of that poster must be secretly watching me and recording my most private thoughts.

I struggle with food every single day.

Every year, I make a resolution to lose weight. Every year, I lose weight. Every year, I gain it all back and then some. This year I am not going to resolve to lose weight. Instead, I resolve to get to whatever emotional issue it is that drives me to eat..... and eat ...... and eat. If I can determine WHY I eat the way that I do then I can get to root cause of this awful roller coaster ride I've been on for about six years now.

In the meantime, I have a sticky note on my dashboard that says Will Power vs. Curly Fries. I'm hoping it will trigger my senses the next time I want to go through the Arby's drive thru.

May your will power win this week!