My Crazy Life...

A Challenge...

I just posted a new challenge over at the Melissa Frances Blog...I would love it if you joined me!!!

And...Jamie sent this to me today and I just couldn't help but laugh out loud:

Dear Tech Support,

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and noticed a distinct slow down in overall system performance -- particularly in the flower and jewelry applications, which operated flawlessly under Boyfriend 5.0.

In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.5 and Personal Attention 6.5 and then installed undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0, NBA 3.0, and Golf Clubs 4.1.

Conversation 8.0 no longer runs, and Housecleaning 2.6 simply crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3 to fix these problems, but to no avail. What can I do?

Signed, Desperate

-------------------------------------

Dear Desperate:

First keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an Entertainment Package, while Husband 1.0 is an Operating System.

Please enter the command: 'I Thought You Loved Me.exe', try to download Tears 6.2 and don't forget to install the Guilt 3.0 update. If that application works as designed, Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications Jewelry 2.0 and Flowers 3.5. But remember, overuse of the above application can cause Husband 1.0 to default to Grumpy Silence 2.5, Happy Hour 7.0 or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will download the Snoring Loudly Beta.

Whatever you do, DO NOT install Mother-in-law 1.0 It runs a virus in the background that will eventually seize control of all your system resources. Also, do not attempt to reinstall the Boyfriend 5.0 program. These are unsupported applications and will crash Husband 1.0

In summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly. You might consider buying additional software to improve memory and performance. We recommend Food 3.0 and Hot Lingerie 7.7.

Good Luck, Tech Support

Designer Digitals has some really fun new things...like this Wynken Blynken and Nod stuff...it is so adorable!!! Check it out!

 

More Photos to Share...

I did a couple of mini photo shoots yesterday...and I just have to share!!!

First...my SWEET little niece Addilyn. We did some fun little pics in her Easter Dress...

And since it's been a long time since I got some good portraits of Grace...we decided to do a "springy" shoot...even though we had to do it indoors, because outisde, it still screams winter...

         

   

Favorites from this week...

  Grace had Violin and Fiddle Festival today...and she performed beautifully!!!

   

    

A Few Fun Things...

First off...I have had lots of emails asking what font I used on my new banner. It is a really fun font because all of the letters are different...it is called Pass The Chex.

And...I came across another really cute handwritten font the other day called Wendy Sue. You can find it on her blog here.

And...here is a project I made a while back. It is an activity blanket that I made for Kate. We hook toys to the ribbon on the right using the baby links. I used the clear table cloth stuff (you can buy it in the fabric section at Wal-Mart) to cover the photos. You can sew right through the clear plastic.

New Heidi Grace & My Kitchen...

  I just wanted to thank you all for your comments and emails...I can understand that it takes a lot of time to comment, and I too am guilty of not commenting on blogs enough. I was just a little freaked out by my number of visitors, and I just want to make sure that there aren't a bunch of freaks reading my blog! Thanks to all of you for making me feel a little more at ease!

A lot of you asked about the headbands. You can find the pattern and instructions here. As for the Valentines outfits...I am sorry to say that I didn't use a pattern. My mom and I just sewed ruffles and then sewed them onto t-shirts. I have a real problem with using patterns...I would rather just make it up. I have a real problem with following directions ;0) Maybe I have ADD, because I just can't stay focused long enough to follow directions!

I wanted to share a few of my projects from the Fiskars booth at CHA. Heidi Grace has some really fun new collections coming soon...

    

I have gotten a lot of comments and emails with questions about my kitchen. The cabinets are Knotty Alder, with medium distressing and a Santa Fe Glaze... and they are by Ryan Precision in Idaho Falls (Kim Ryan). I couldn't be happier with them. My old kitchen was very small...and when we added onto our house this summer, the kitchen was the room that got the majority of our budget...because it seems that we spend so much time in there. Plus, I love to cook. The area that is now my kitchen, used to be my kitchen, laundry room and dining room. I love the way it looks out into the living and dining room now...it is just one big open room, and it is where we spend the majority of our time. I wanted cabinets that went to the ceiling...because my old kitchen had variable heighths and I hated cleaning all the dust bunnies and trying to find "junk" to decorate the tops with. I only did a few fun things (like shelves etc) because I wanted it to be as functional as possible. We did built in bar stools and that has been one of the nicest things ever. No more kids knocking my stools over...no moving the chairs to sweep and mop underneath. it is just so convenient with a family. There are so many fun bar stools out there that look so much cuter...and I was worried about it at first, but I am so glad now that I went with the suspended chairs.  And plus, you have to make the counters way bigger to fit all of the chair hardware underneath, so I am also loving the fact that my bar is so deep. One of my favorite parts of the kitchen is the farm house sink. I have always wanted one of these...and I am loving it!

Happy Valentines Day

Well...yesterday anyways. Did you have a good holiday? My kids had a wonderful day! Grace and Russell were really excited about their school parties. Lily and I made some yummy treats for Grace and Russell when they got home from school. Lily loves to help in the kitchen...she can't stand not to be on the cupboard. When Grace got home from school, she had special plans to make her dad's favorite dessert (no bake strawberry cheesecake). I let her make it all by herself, and she was so proud! I don't get caught up in the whole commercial part of Valentines Day. We like to make our own Valentines, and give each other homemade goodies. I used to give the kids stuffed animals etc, but it just seems like a bunch of unnecessary junk. We made David one of his favorite meals...Hamburgers and White Gravy. The recipes for the cheescake and dinner are below...I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday! (oh...and Happy 30th Anniversary Mom & Dad...I love You)

No-Bake Strawberry Cheescake

1 graham cracker pie crust

-1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

-1 small can sweetened condensed milk

-juice from 1 lemon

-1 tsp. vanilla

-1 can strawberry pie filling

Whip cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla till smooth. Pour into pie crust. Refrigerate ovenight. Top with strawberry pie filling.

And...I was catching up on some blogs yesterday...and I saw that RANAY TAGGED ME...and yes Ranay, I do read your blog!

10 years ago?
I was a student at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho. I was studying Elementary Education.

Things on my to-do list today?
Clean house, lots of laundry, scrapbooking project for Melissa Frances, scrapbooking project for Designer Digitals, post on my blog and Melissa Frances blog, breathing treatments & medicine for the two little girls, Clean fridge, finish up taxes/books, make homemade mini pizzas for the kids for dinner. Keep things under control...

What would I do if I were suddenly made a billionaire?
Share a little with family and friends, and then I would build a huge house in the middle of nowhere...and dissapear. I would want to live somewhere that is beautiful and as far away from civilization as possible, and then get out to travel every now and then (to very exotic locations of course). 

Three of my bad habits?
Perfectionist...if I can't make it perfect, then I won't do it all. I spend too much time on the computer and I eat at night...bad habit I know...I just have the snacking urge when I finally relax to watch TV at night.

Five jobs I've had?
1-Idaho National Engineering Laboratories (it was actually a paid academic internship...I was in a cool program with them during the summers when I was in high school and college) 2-Jamba Juice (well...it was Zuka Juice when I worked there...during college. And a funny thing...I know that Terry Oler reads my blog, and I actually remember you Terry from when I worked at Zuka!) 3- Dance Teacher. I owned my own dance studio for several years and taught about 250 students! I mostly taught Irish Step Dancing. I still love to dance, but my heck...I had to quit, because it was just too much with my kiddos! 4-I owned a scrapbook store- The Scrap Coop- in Idaho Falls, but once again, my plate was too full with my kids, so I decided to sell the business 5- I currently work from home for some AMAZING scrapbooking companies...I love what I do, and I am so thankful to be able to work from home doing something that I love!

Five things people don't know about me?
1-I am really not that social...I just like to stay at home and be with my family. I don't make very much time for friends, so I don't think I am a very good friend. I hate ward parties, get-togethers...I especially hate things like parades, egg hunts, the fair, busy places...public campgrounds that have lots of people, busy waterparks. I hate all of these things. I would rather do something in the mountains or at home with my kids. I go to Wal-Mart early in the morning just to avoid people! It's not that I don't like people, I have many wonderful friends and family, it is just that I don't enjoy being social. I am more of a one on one person.

2-I think I can do anything. Seriously...if something looks interesting...then I will try it and do it. I like so many things...and I always want to learn and do more. It makes me happy!

3-I am a walking database of children's music and stories, poems and nursery rhymes. My husband teases me all of the time, because I have a kids song for everything...the kids talk about anything and I can whip out a memorized song. My mom spent so much time with me when I was a kid (I was an only child until I was 7), and she would teach me songs and read to me all of the time. I am so thankful for this, because I think that because of her, I have a very good memory today.

4-I am so sentimental. I always think about my grandparents, my parents, my sisters...the fun memories of growing up. I can get very emotional. I want to make so many memories for my kids.

5-I love blogging...but there have been days when I have really thought about shutting this thing down. I post faithfully, and I know and love lots of my readers, but it kind of freaks me out that on some days, I get 900 readers and only 10 comments. It makes me wonder who is reading this thing...and why they are being so silent and discreet. It kind of scares me.

NOW...if you read this, and you have a blog...I TAG YOU!

Valentine Stuff...

  So...I always have these big ideas for sewing projects, but it's really hard to get them done with all my kids. Thank goodness for my mom...she helped me get the girls' valentines outfits done. We were both sewing like mad women to get them done in a day. They were able to wear them to grandma Christensen's Valentines Party last night...and they looked so sweet! I tried to snap some photos of their outfits (using the new Moda Flirtacious line) before we went...and a few at the party...

 

And...if your in need of some ideas for handmade Valentines, I have a few ideas to share. Grace and I put together these cute little Matchbook Valentines by Mindy Teresawa from Designer Digitals. You can buy them here. They are super simple and oh so cute! I printed them using my new printer, the Epson RX680...which has AMAZING print quality! You can print any of your own valentines and have them look even better than those bought at a store!

And...here are the Valentines we made last year...

   

Announcing the New Melissa Frances Blog...

I am so exc ited to annouce that Melissa Frances Scrapbooking company has started a blog! I am so excited to be the blog moderator, and I can tell you there is lots to come! There is going to be tons of fun stuff, so please check it out! Don't forget to leave a comment on our very first post, because we are giving away all of the brand new stamp sets debuting at CHA! Check it out!

And...I had the opportunity to play with a fun new digital scrapbooking kit by Beth Summers. You can find the kit here or here.

ETA: I forgot to tell you to run over to Designer Digitals and snag up these cute elements for only 25cents!!!

 

Another Snow Day...

lechhhhh! I know we need the moisture, but I am tired of this weather. The kids have missed a lot of school! And to top it off, Russell has pnumonia and Lily has the Croop so bad that she throws up when she coughs. I have cleaned her bedding so many times in the past few days...the laundry feels like it will never end! We made some of these

today. Partly because we wanted a warm snack on a cold day, but more because the kids are bored out of their minds.

I made these

   

for dinner last night. I got the recipe from my cousin Heather. They were super yummy! Of course, I was missing peas, and I added the green onions and butter to the recipe.. and I had to cook a little longer than the original recipe recommended. So basically the recipe was a little different, but good...here is the recipe:

Scalloped Potatoes

-1 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

-1/2 cup sour cream

-1 cup chicken broth

-1/2 stick butter, melted

-3 Tbs. sliced green onions

-3 lbs. potatoes, sliced thinly (the recipe calls for red potatoes, but I just used Russets, and peeled them of course)

-1 pkg. smoked ham, chopped

- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, chicken broth, butter, green onions, ham and 1 cup of cheese. Toss with potatoes and arrange in large baking dish. Bake for 1 hour on 350degrees. Top with remaining cheese and bake another 30 minutes.

And...I leave you with some photos of our wintery wonderland (ha!) in the front yard...