Keep it simple

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated" ~ Confucius

While DH and DS were gone for 3 days and I had all these grand plans of the things I was going to get done....didn't happen. I did get a lot done, but I really think my list was a little over ambitious, so I am re thinking....

My goal this holiday is to keep things simple so I can enjoy the holiday. I always go overboard with decoration, parties, presents, cards, etc. This year I am going to try to keep everything on the simper side.

I scaled my gift list back and I am almost done with it. I have a few gifts left to get for family, but basically I am done. I ordered quite a bit online to avoid the shopping in the store experience...people & overspending avoided. I even have some of the gifts being wrapped and directly delivered:)

Cards...going to refine the list and use the cards I have in my stash. I mean really, i do swaps all the time & have dozens of holiday and winter themed cards so, why make a whole new set? to stress myself out? I will do the newsletter like I did last yer....a year in pictures. So much easier than trying to write something on each of us and make it interesting.

Parties...well I can't move Jarek's birthday so we will have two parties in December...his sleepover and our Annual Open House. John WILL be helping with the sleepover. he suggested they needed homemade french fries with their hot dogs, so guess who will manning the fryer? You got it - John!

Housewarming...well I have learned a couple of things after doing these for several years.
First, anything tastes good covered in chocolate...bring on the chocolate fountain! Simple prep and easy to watch during the party.
Second, if you only have one non-alcoholic beverage the children will drink it and be happy. Where's the punch bowl?
Finally, it does not really matter if the treats are homemade or store bought, people are just not that observant when it comes to sugar, so....why work for days making beautiful desserts? Cookies, brownies and mini cupcakes are perfect...no utensils required and easy to bake ahead of time.
If I follow these thins I can then focus on my guests and supervising the gingerbread house building. Anyone know an easy way to remove dried royal frosting from table tops? That stuff is like cement when it dries!

Decorating...I am going to actually go through my decorations as I unpack them and only put out the ones I love. I may be giving some away, because as I sit here I can think of several things in the boxes that we never put out. They need a new home.

Hopefully this simpler way will give me a chance to enjoy the holiday instead of stressing and running around like a chicken right up to Christmas day.

Now for swaps...did these last night...














These are for a Cricut Cut swap....

I really like the "Key to my Heart" set, I already have a layout in mind. the cuts are from the Sentiments cartridge. I left them a little plain so the recipient can alter them to their layout....ink, glitter, etc.

The fleur de lis are from the home Accents cartridge...this is one of my favorite shapes. I really love the glitter paper I used, it is a champagne color.

Can't wait to see what the others do.

Rainy day, silly dogs & a lot of crafting!

It rained all day yesterday...made for a very damp & chilly day. My silly dogs would not even go outside unless I accompanied them with an umbrella. Are we just a little spoiled? The funny thing is that they both have such thick fur that would not even feel the wetness, it is their paws...they do not liek to ge ttheir paws wet. Silly dogs!

With my boys gone and the weather outside, I was very productive....I completes two sets of cards for swaps, two sets of tags for swaps and did all the cuts for two Cricut swaps. I will finish the Cricut swaps tomorrow & hopefully get my Thanksgiving pictures scrapbooked...more pictures:0) So, here is what I did today....

Items from an Element Swap. I made the title block for this one. I am excited to do a layout using the elements, they all turned out beautiful!

A Thanksgiving Toast...

"Reflect on your present blessings,
of which every man has many,
Not on your past misfortunes,
Of Whish all men have some."

~Charles Dickens







Well, we are not spending a traditional Thanksgiving today, we did celebrate earlier with my parents. We had a wonderful day, with all helping to make our meal fantastic. Dad used his creativity to come up with a pumpkin mousse pie - yummy! Mom helped with the turkey - delicous! John cleaned everything up, washing the dishes & putting them away. Jarek did whatever he was asked. It was a yummy meal with family....and it was our first without Mom-Mom. While we didn't speak of her, I think she was on all our minds.









Today while everyone else is eating turkey with their family, I am trying to catch up on things before the holidays hit. Swaps to finish, invitations to mail, packages to mail, fall decorations to put up, birthday party to prepare for, gifts to buy.....the holiday season is in full force!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day....I am off to my scrap book room to creates...pictures later.

Thankful Thoughts

" He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." ~ Epictetus

As the holidays approach it is so easy to get caught up in all the craziness...shopping, parties, spending, visiting, etc...So today, before the holidays are on top of me I want to take a minute to reflect on the things I am thankful for...and hopefully I will refer back to this blog entry when things just get too out of hand.

I am thankful for....
1. My husband, even though we have our ups & downs, go head to head a lot of the times (because we are so much alike) I know he loves me & will be there for me. He is my other half, no one else could complete me like he does.

2. My son, he is my sunshine....even if it gets covered over with stormy clouds sometimes. He is a caring, loving young man and I am proud to be his mother.

3. My parents, without them I would not be the person I am today...strong, independent, caring, self sufficient woman. They have always been there for me to support and guide me along the way.

4. My sister, who is one of my best friends. As we have grown older, we have grown closer.

5. My step children, even though they have brought a lot of heartache to my life, they have also brought joy. I only wish we could be closer now.

6. My mom-mom, who is no longer with us, she taught me a lot of things ...some good, some not so good :) I am glad my son got to know her and that we had her as long as we did.

7. My friends, who give me the support I need when I need, who know my likes & dislikes, share in laughter and tears, know me for me.

8. For having enough....enough food, money to pay bills, shelter, etc. We may not be rich but we have enough for ourselves and to share a little with others in need.

9. My fur babies, Thor & Colonel, they are my best friends most days...their unconditional love just can't be beat.

These are in no particular order, just as they came to mind...this is not all of the list, but just the beginning...I will think on this some more today and might have to adjust the list....

So, as the holiday approaches, what are you thankful for?

Iris Folding Fun....and other crafty things.

Yesterday I spent time working on swaps...and playing with Iris folding...



These are cards I made with the stamped images I received from a swap.


This a title block I made for an Elements Swap...I really like the grapic look of it. I used Storybook to cut the bracketed boxthen added the holly from another cartridge. Then I added crystal effects to the berries.



These are the cards I did with Iris Folding...I experimented with different layering of the ribbons... oh, I used ribbon instead of folded paper.

Crafty Friday

Today I decided to get all my swaps done & work on a few layouts....

These are all for swaps on my facebook group...I really like the Pilgrims' hat, it is from "Celebrate with Flourish" Cricut Cartridge. The card is a combination of two elements for a swap...I used an embossed background and a stamped image to make the card.

These are my Halloween layouts, one for the family book & one for Jarek's album. I used items from an Element Swap...I still have to complete the title block on the one...can't decide on the title though.

This is the layout I did for our trip to New Orleans last year...better late than never:) I did a double flip layout so I could get all the pics in. I still need to journal....hence the empty spaces.

Finally, I did the corn maze pictures. I had this idea in my head and I actually managed to get it to look the way I wanted. I free handed the corn...I started tearing 7 inking strips, then I layered them until I got the look I wanted. For the corn cob I tore an oval of yellow & then embossed it with the Cuttlebug folder, bubbles. I inked everything. I think it came out great.

Tomorrow I am going to try to finish the corn maze page (journaling) and do the bon fire page. Then I have few more swaps to work on.

Halloween Happenings....



Me & Teri by the fire



We had a busy, fun, and a little exciting Halloween weekend. Our friends, the Freeman's, came up for the weekend and we had a lot of things planned.

On Friday we had a bonfire and made s'mores. The kids were excited and could have stayed up later, but we had them settle down early because we had a full day ahead of us.

Saturday we started the day with a big breakfast.  After cleaning up we separated with the boys going to visit the Air Force Museum and the girls going shopping.  The plan was to meet back at the house at noon. 

At 12:30 the boys arrived home with lunch...only 30 minutes late:)  After lunch we loaded up and headed to the corn maze.  We spent a couple of hours exploring the maze, shooting the corn cob cannons, and taking a hayride. 



Ethan & Jarek  in the corn maze



Once home we had  just a few minutes to rest before we had to carve our pumpkins & finish getting ready for our pre-trick-or-treating party.  The kids were rather creative with their pumpkins...the boys made 'puking pumpkins' which were quite a hit with several trick-or-treaters taking pictures! 



puking pumpkins



While the children were getting into costumes, Teri & I finished getting the food together.  Unfortunately, we both had accidents int he kitchen...she sliced her fingers and I managed to actually cut my tip off....OUCH!  Fortunately, we somehow managed to not get blood on any of the food or work areas.    David, Teri's husband, jumped in and finished chopping while we were bandaging up.  Never a dull moment!



Goodies for the party...candy apples, my favorite!

The kids plowed through their food and then hit the streets...the boys went off on their own and the girls went with the dads.  They all were back in the house by 8 and we ended up with an extra child for the night...oh, well...what is one more?



The kids...all dressed & ready to hit the streets.

The next morning brought an end to our wonderful weekend, well mostly wonderful....but not before Teri made biscuits and gravy for John.    After the Freemans left we spent the day relaxing and watching silly Halloween movies.