Life is GOOD!

It amazes me how much life changes when you get a child in school. Even if school is just kindergarten, it seems to rocket your life into a whole new craziness! Long gone are the days of us choosing what to do each day. Now we are on a schedule created by a whole bunch of people, none of which live in this household. Even though life is crazy, it is still really good. I could not ask for anymore than I have (perhaps a little more time in a day). I am truly a blessed person and am thankful for all I have.

I recently had my one hundredth sale at my Etsy store! How exciting! I am really enjoying having my store and enjoying all the people I meet through Etsy. On Dec 5th my globe (which has since sold) was on a blog called "The Someday Blog" http://thesomedayblog.com/ it is a beautiful blog full of wonderful images and ideas. I am loving the shoes she has on the blog today!

I am also proud to have an item in this super sweet person's charity auction, Becca Sutton, http://randomthoughtsbybecca.blogspot.com/ going on over on Ebay. Here is the link to all the auction items including my hand stitched "Love" collage. Go bid!!
http://shop.ebay.com/scrappingbecca/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

Tomorrow I just might have pictures of the album I created at Donna Downey's class this weekend. I took it at Windy City Scrapbooking and I would definitely take a Donna Downey class again!

Christmas Here We Come!

I have this tradition with my best friend. Every year for more than ten years I have always called her (this year I texted, hello 21st century) and tell her I have seen my first Christmas commercial. I hadn't even been thinking to watch for it yet when BOOM, I saw the first Christmas commercial of the year! It was subtle, not a blatant Christmas commercial but it was there! Christmas tree and all! That was around Oct 5th! Craziness! At least there was not any Christmas music involved in that commercial! That might have put me over the edge. So, does the fact that people are starting to show Christmas commercials and shop for it mean that I can start saying "Happy Holidays" to everyone I see???

I worked on a project this month. It is a project using a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I really liked making it and want to make some more. I think it is such a good way to use those bits and pieces of fabric, trims, and vintage stuff I find. I like the fact that each one is totally different than any other one and no one will ever be created exactly like the other. I am working on getting the courage to list some of my handmade goods on Etsy.

Mornings with my son

I am a stay at home mom, something I count as one of the many blessings in my life. Since the end of August, my older son has been going to kindergarten allowing me to spend mornings with just my younger son. He and I have never had time together to do only things he wants to do. One of the favorite things on his things to do list is go to the farmer's market in our town. There are so many things about the farmer's market he loves but his favorite is pulling the wagon around and talking to people. He can only pull the wagon for a little while but it is still one of the little things he looks forward to doing on farmer's market day. He also loves to see the animals the local shelter brings. I have not told him yet that those animals are there because they hope someone will want to take them home. He would want all of them.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the pictures from our trip to the farmer's market last week. It was wonderful weather and the crops are becoming more abundant each week. This week I plan on picking up some apples to make a fresh apple pie for Sunday dinner.

This week marks the week that we get full swing into our school year schedule. We start piano, kindermusik, art class, and Sunday school. It will be my first year trying to keep track of everything so wish me luck! BTW, I just want to mention how thankful I am to have finally found a place of faith to take my family. We are so glad to have found a place that fits our family and our spiritual beliefs. I have been attending this church for over a year now and this year we are hoping to become members. Thank you Northshore Unitarian Church for being the place we can call our home of faith. It has been the most warm and welcoming church I have been to and I am happy and proud to become a part of it.

Tomorrow I think the little one and I will do some painting. He will jump for joy when he hears that. Painting is another of his favorite things to do. I will try to post some of his "art".

Thanks for reading!

Adios Summer, I'll miss you......

So, it is Labor Day weekend and the last hooray before summer starts to offically come to an end. It's been a cool summer and I've been loving it. The last time I remember it being this cool was in 2004. That summer was very memorable for me since it was the first summer I had with my new baby. That baby is now in kindergarten but we had a very active summer that year. We walked every single day. He is still an active kid and I have always felt it was because of how much time we spent outside in those first few months of his life.

I am back to scrapbooking and back with that is the obsession with pattern paper. I've been to the scrapbooking store and spent some $$$ on new paper. What is it about paper? I can't have enough. One of the things I have noticed lately is my lack of paper that is appropriate for boys. I am so obsessed with floral patterns. What the heck am I gonna do with loads and loads of flower paper when I have boys!

Well summer, good-bye, I will try not to cry. Now I will look forward to all the things along the way during our journey back to summertime. One of the big ones is our trip to Sanibel Island this winter. It is one of my favorite places ever.

Here are a few pictures from this weekend.

Scrapbook Design and YOU!

I am a certified Scrapbook Design and YOU instructor! I am so excited about this. I have been wanting to teach my passion for years and finally the opportunity has come up. Scrapbook Design and You is a program developed through EK Success. It is a very new program and I am lucky enough to be getting in on the ground floor. I actually had to train to become certified and I can sincerely say that I am very impressed with what EK Success has put together. The class book alone is filled with amazing amounts of information!

Here is the website for more information:

http://www.scrapbookdesignandyou.com/

If you live in the Chicago area, I'd love to have you in my class!

What else have I been up too? Well, my son turned three years old so we had a great cowboy party. The kids had a blast. I set up tee pees in the backyard and the kids drew pictures on the canvas part of it. We also had a pinata, and no one got hurt!

I have also been out to see my grandparents. I am so very fortunate to have both sets of grandparents still here on earth. Each of them is so special to me. I have not known life without having all my grandparents to call and talk to. This is one of the many great blessings in my life!

My store! I have really been working on my store and I have been loving it. I get so excited when I find great vintage items. Lately I have started purchasing vintage clothes for my store. I have been adding a lot of vintage to my own closet as well. My primary focus right now is plus size vintage. I am really happily surprised that I have been able to find a bit of it!

It's Monday, and I know it will be a great week! I hope yours is fantastic!

Adventures on a Summer Night........

This Thursday my husband, the boys and I all decided to go for a bike ride and pick some wild blackberries. We had such a great time and quite an adventure. The boys kept their eyes out for wild berries while we rode through the bike paths in our local forest preserve. We had a good amount of berries and then my five year old spilt part of a basket of them. He was pretty sad, but we convinced him a whole bunch of animals would be very happy when they found that special treat. By the time we were done picking all the berries we found, we had enough berries for a few desserts and that didn't include the spilt ones!
While we were riding along a women was on the road with her hazard lights on. She she started yelling down something to us. My husband ran up there to find out what was wrong. There was a turtle on the road that she was afraid was going to get run over. My husband saved the day and took the turtle back to it's watery home. I actually learned a few things about turtles.
1. The "fact" that they are slow, is actually a myth.
2. Their necks are grossly long and they give a whole new meaning to "oh snap!"
3. UGLY! U.G.L.Y. See picture below.

This is my husband carrying the turtle. He was acting all nonchalant about the whole thing. Then he gets (I have just decided the turtle needs a name, let's call him Mertle) Dear Hubs gets Mertle to the grass and sets him down. Problem is the grass is pretty close to where Mertle almost had a run in with afternoon rush hour. I say, "Uh, honey, why did you set it down there?" He says, are you ready for this, "The turtle saw the grass and got really excited so I thought I would put it here." Let me translate that for you. "This thing is freaking ugly and I wanna get as far away from it as possible but I need to look manly so I will come up with any excuse to put it down." The best part, he adds, "Didn't you see it's arms flapping, that means it was happy to see the grass." Uh sure honey!

Since I am telling you the stupid thing my Dear Husband says. I better tell you what I said too. My husband and the screaming to save the turtle lady are having a conversation way up on the bridge. I can only make out part of the conversation. From where I am I hear, "Look it has a leash on it." HUH? Ok, perhaps someone's pet turtle made a run for it while out on a walk. Possible? Sure. Crazier things have happened. What she actually said, "Look it has a leech on it."




See, I wasn't kidding. UGLY. And to add to the ug-factor That neck comes out about four inches. Ewww...................

We also had a tag-a-long bike riding guest. During one of our berry picking stops, my two year old says in a happy voice, "Daddy, you have a spider on you. It's big." Sure enough, my husband had made a friend of the eight legged variety while leaning into a berry bush. It was climbing up his head till he started dancing around and flicked it off (really my husband is not a wimp, he has jumped out of planes and everything). Here is a picture of his new arachnid friend, but it appears much smaller than it was in real life.

After quite a few mosquito bites, a basket full of berries, saving a life and making a new friend, we went home and had our berries with some whipped cream. It was a great night! The kind of night I plan to have more of.

Memories from growing up in the 70's & Thanks Bobbins and Bombshells!!!

These rings take me back to when I was a little girl. They are from the 70's. I adore the peace sign ring. Do you remember those little ones with the little gems in them? They came in packs with a bunch of them or in the bubble gum machines! I loved them! I always wanted to get them from the machine! It was so hard to choose between the gum and the rings!

This morning when I checked my email I got a message from Karen over at http://bobbinsandbombshells.blogspot.com/ .

She featured one of the vintage aprons I have listed on Etsy, on her blog. Her blog is the "bomb" too! I love the Etsy community. Everyone is so supportive of each other.

Thanks so much Karen!!!

Today I listed a few more things in my store. I have a lot more to list. I am soon going to start listing some fabrics and trims. Oh, and this weekend I found the most adorable owl pillow ever. Here are a few of the items I will be listing soon. I love the hippy headband! Now that is truly vintage!

More accesories from the 70's. I can totally picture the people at Woodstock wearing these!

Can you believe I found the ring with the original little book! I couldn't! It still works too!

Junk in the Trunk!!! Sewing for Peace!!

It was a junkin' day today. I got up early (not usual for me) and went out on my own, meaning no children. It was peaceful and full of a lot of Kid Rock music turned up high on the stereo.

I found this little rug. I think I am going to put it in my son's room when we get around to doing it over again. I am really excited because I keep picking up little things for it here and there. I know when it comes time to actually re-do his room he is gonna want Spiderman or something like that!

The lady that had this rug says that she remembers the woman who handmade this rug. She said it was a very long time ago. I could not believe how it was in such great condition! I am thinking if I took that much time to make something, I don't think I would let anyone walk on it either!!

More finds from today:

See the bookends? The ducks. I was going to order them this week from an online source. I didn't do it for some odd reason. Today at a sale, I spotted them out of the corner of my eye. I thought there was no way that I could possibly have found the exact same ones. Sure enough! Now my mom has her bookends! I also got a huge vintage chalkboard. I have been looking for a good size one for a while now. This thing has to be 3 feet x four feet! I love how used it looks.

One of my favorite finds today:

I love them. They are perfect too! It is probably hard to tell in the picture but they are smaller than the normal ornaments. These are probably only a few inches big.

Sewing for Peace!

The other day on Etsy I came across a woman who was selling handmade flag banners for free! I ordered one right away but I was very touched by the reason she was doing this. She decided to hold a "sew-in" as a protest against nuclear weapons and to plea for peace. She is very concerned about the North Korea situation, especially since she lives in Hawaii. Here is her Etsy store, if you get a chance, give her a visit!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6604480

Here is the beautiful banner she made. It is proudly hanging on my front door in honor of our country:

Call Me the Bag Lady!

I have been doing a lot of sewing lately, mostly bags. I don't use patterns. Usually as I am falling asleep at night I visualize how I want the bag to turn out and then I put it together in my head. After that I jump in with both feet, start cutting fabric, and hope it works out. Same with cooking. In cooking, I just make recipes up as I go. For some reason, patterns (and recipes) are more difficult for me to follow than visual directions. Case in point. I have made a few lined zippered pouches to match each bag. I don't ever use a pattern. Instead I use a video posted on SIS. I must have watched that video 20 times by now and still watch it step by step each time I make a pouch. I need to see each step rather than have them explained to me. Besides, when Rhi says, "I like to live on the edge." I crack up every time!

Here are two of the bags I just recently made. The pink one above is for my niece. She picked out the fabrics and I got to work. I think she picked a couple of great fabrics. I hope she likes how it turned out. The one below if for a friend. I made it out of some sheets from the 70's. I love the pattern and how summery it is.

I still have a couple more to make for other people (Yes Mom, yours is next) and I am excited to try out some new designs. My next design is going to be a bag with all ruffles (No Mom, yours will not have any ruffles).

I hope everyone is staying cool in this crazy heat!!!

I adore long summer days!

I am so very thankful it is summer. So far the weather has been stormy but beautiful. Today was our first real hot and humid day. I loved it. The boys played in the sprinkler and in the old galvanized tub I have. My three year old called it his "tub". It was a perfect fit for the two little ones.

Most of my day today was spent listing more items in my Etsy shop. I still have plenty more to list. Today I went to an estate sale and found some really adorable vintage invitations. It was a huge box full of them. Some had never been opened, all of them were perfectly wonderful finds. I also found some great vintage fabric and some very old children clothes that I am falling in love with!

Here are some pictures of some more items I have to get listed in my shop. There is a whole lot to list! I haven't even started on the fabric or trims!I hope everyone has a Happy Father's Day. We have a day planned full of games, bbq, and fun!

My New Ride!

Did you think I meant a new car? Don't I wish! I love the vintage look of this bike and the basket is so useful! We go on bike rides a lot these days and during the weekend, we try to take a picnic with us. I can fit the picnic and the blanket into my basket. My bike is super comfortable and easy to ride. I am so glad my husband and kids got it for me. It was actually my Mother's Day gift.

It is raining here again. So we won't be riding tonight. I am hoping to get started on a new sewing project. I have actually been getting requests for bags. Now I have to get started actually making them.

I hope all is good with you and yours!

Summertime Summertime Sum Sum Summertime!

It's here. Officially. I know, I know, the calendar does not say it is summertime yet but here in my house, it is Summertime! This is the last summer before my oldest goes off to kindergarten. I am going to enjoy each and every moment before he goes to the first day of school. I have big plans for this summer and one of them is I don't care how dirty the boys get! I am allowing them to dig in the dirt and roll in the grass. They can make as many mud pies as they please. The only rule. No mud paths through the house. Leave the mud at the front door please.

Last night we had a great meal. I thought I would share with you one of the dishes I made. My husband loves it and it is such a great warm weather salad. I must apologies because I don't use recipes.

Summer Tomato Salad

3 ripe tomatoes
1 ball fresh mozzarella cheese (note use the fresh packed in water or it won't be the same)
fresh basil
1 red onion
balsamic vinaigrette
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

1. Cut the tomatoes into about a quarter of an inch slices (place on the bottom of the plate)
2. Cut the onion into very thin slices (place on top of tomato)
3. Cut the mozzarella into quarter of an inch slices (use as much as you would like in your salad and place on top of tomato and onion)
4. Chop fresh basil and put on top
5. salt and pepper to taste
6. Pour vinaigrette on salad and allow to sit for a few hours to chill everything.

It's even better the next day. In my humble opinion.

Feel free to let me know if any of those directions don't make any sense!

This salad will be even better when I can use the tomatoes and onions from my garden.

Junking Season Started!!! HOLY Fabric Motherload!

The pillow I found this Saturday while out on a junk adventure! It is perfect for the couch!

Ever since I can remember I have been a huge fan of garage sales. When I was little, like say 6 or seven, the garage sale appealed more to me because there was always the possibility of finding a good toy or two. If a garage sale didn't have toys, then I would look for baby clothes for my dolls. At that age, I was not in love with flea markets or antique stores. I remember going to them with my grandma and mom. I specifically remember going to one called "Seven Mile Fair". Those afternoons were not fun. For a long time, I was very much anti-antique. I remember saying I would not have one antique in my house when I grew up. When I turned 19 years old I needed to buy some cheap dishes and the first place I looked was a thrift store. That's when the junk hunting bug bit me.









I went to a local (local at the time being Racine, WI) thrift store. My decor love at the time was southwestern. Ok, that just felt like a horrible confession. All I can say about that is it was a strange time in my life. Anyway, I went into this thrift store and on the floor, right inside the door, was a box of dishes that looked like brown stoneware. It was a huge set. They wanted around twenty bucks for all those dishes. I was sold. I brought them home and a friend of mine, who was really into antiques, saw them. She gasped and said it was a really nice set of McCoy dinnerware and they were a really good find. Seriously, that was it for me. I felt that surge of excitement and I wanted it again! I imagine it is what a drug high might feel like. LOL! Ever since, I have been on a never ending adventure for the next treasure.








Turtle sampler marked 1969 on the back. Not terribly old but I love it anyway. Anyone ever try to clean one of these samplers?

I am going to give it a try and see what happens.

This year I am even more excited to get to garage sales, flea markets and after this Saturday I will add estate sales to the list. Usually I don't do estate sales. In the past I have always found them very expensive. However, this past Saturday I had such good luck it convinced me to start looking at estate sales. Oh and by the way, I am certain this whole junk addiction is a trait passed onto me by my mother and was passed to my mother from her mother.

Some of the treasures I found this Saturday. There is more fabric where that came from!

These are the finds I got this weekend. It was a rather strange day. I woke up and decide NOT to go to any sales. Then I got an overwhelming desire to GO to a church sale that I knew was going on. Off I went. On the way there I saw a sign for an estate sale. Remember me mentioning not liking estate sales? Well, I did one of those screeching turns due to my last minute decision to break the no estate sales rule. Get this! The illegal screech the tires to get into the other lane turn was an awesome decision! There was TWO garage sales on the same street plus the estate sale. BONUS! You gotta love that! Park once and take your time.

The first garage sale was tiny. The guy had like maybe 20 things out in his driveway. I seriously think he saw the estate sale and the rummage sale across the street and ran inside grabbing stuff to put in his driveway! I did buy a vintage covered Pyrex dish. Hmm...I didn't put that in the picture. It's cute and teal and I love it. We started using Pyrex because of leeching chemicals in plastic. Love my Pyrex! I love that I can cook in them and store them in the fridge!

After the tiniest garage sale ever I headed over to the estate sale. Everything was 50% off. Bonus again! The first thing I did was wander through the garage. I am looking for huge pots to put some plants in. Nada. I asked about fabric. The lady lights up and says, "Yes in the front room." This is when people need to watch out and get out of my way! Bingo! Big box of fabric.

I also found the pillow in the picture. I love that pillow! After the fabric I headed down to the basement of the house. I found the stitched turtle in the frame. I just love it! Then I headed across the street to another house and found more fabric! It was a great day!!!

Yes, that is a medium garbage bag full. What am I going to do with all this fabric? Oh the possibilities!

Sunday I am going to a flea market. My favorite one. I haven't been to it in a few years. There was no way I was going to take my little boys to this place. They would totally drag me down! LOL! I am going with my mom. Isn't it funny how we have come full circle and now I am doing flea markets with my mom. Wow. Time sure did pass. Anyway, I'll take lots of pictures. Stay tuned. I am sure I will find a lot of great stuff! And since my mother is with me, I am sure I will have a funny story or two!

Spring has sprung! I mean seriously, I think it was jailed someplace!

I could not have taken another snow storm! UGH!









I have two things I would like to share. First, is this picture I took on Easter Sunday. I was at my mother's house in Wisconsin. She lives out in the country on a beautiful road. Only one shot from all the pictures I took. Clearly I have a lot of work ahead of me!

I wish I didn't have to crop off the far left but there was a bush that was in the shot. I think the far left cropping is awkward but it had to be done.

Here's the other thing I wanted to share. I made this messenger bag for my son. If anyone is interested in making one I am more than happy to share. I don't use patterns, I just make it up as I go, so I would be happy to do a tutorial on it.

I always try to use fabric I find at the thrift shops. When it comes to making "boy" looking stuff, this becomes a problem. Mainly because I am so drawn to the flowery shabby chic stuff. In order to keep this bag looking like a bag for a boy, I kept it very "deconstructed" looking. All my seams are showing on this bag and I think it adds to the boy look. Let me tell you, those diamond shapes were hard to get right!

Have a great weekend!!!

Rainbow at Dusk

Rainbow at Dusk
Originally uploaded by tracinicole

After a crazy late afternoon storm, this is what we were surprised to find. As soon as I saw it, I grabbed my camera and took some pictures. I haven't seen such a cool rainbow in a long time!

I wanted to share this story with you about a family I have never met but can't forget.

I know this is a long story.

Two years ago my husband, myself and the two boys were on a much needed vacation to our favorite place in Florida. While we were there we experienced a series of mishaps. Most very minor an no big deal, but things just kept happening. It started, actually, at 3pm in the afternoon the day before we left. On that day we got the news that our son was severely allergic to milk. Any milk. Ok, not a big deal, but he was 5 months old and at that age, it's pretty much a must have. This meant he needed a seriously hypoallergenic kind of formula. I had been breastfeeding him so this was just a shock all around. Especially since I was told repeatedly that breastfed babies don't have milk allergies. Uh huh. Anyway, this specific formula is very hard to find. I called practically every Walgreen's pharmacy (and a few others) for about an hour and a half before I actually found some in stock at a Walgreen about 35 minutes from my home. Whew! However, I also had to get some down in Florida. Thankfully the pharmacy called one of theirs down in Florida for us and they had enough time to order it for me so we would be supplied down there also.




We stayed at my father's place in Fort Myers Beach and used his car. First minor mishap was I went to turn the TV on and the thing started acting wacky. I was pretty sure I had broke it. Then we took his car out to an island and the thing would not start when we went to leave. UGH. We had to have a tow truck come get us. Thanks AAA! Then that night the ceiling fan literally fell out of the celling when I went to turn it on. I was pretty sure that after all of this he would never let me near anything of his again!!




The next evening we decided to go to Fort Myers Beach for dinner. It was amazing. An outdoor Greek restaurant with a fabulous Greek salad and an awe inspiring sunset. The kids were so well behaved and it felt like a true vacation. There was a really cool juggler on the beach who was juggling flaming torches. My three year old could not believe anyone could do that. It was getting later and the baby needed to eat so we headed back to my father's place.




All of us were happy, but the five month old was getting a little fussy. I had everything timed so he would eat when we got back from our dinner. On the way home, we see some commotion up ahead. Suddenly a police man jumps out of his vehicle and stops traffic. I am literally the next one to go past his car and he yells at me to turn around. I looked at him with confusion and said, "But I only have to go up to that turn RIGHT there." He said, "NO!" He then explained to me that I would have to turn around and make the trip around the island to get back into Fort Myers and into the entrance to the subdivision. I ask how low long that will take. He says forty minutes. HUH? Are you serious? Meanwhile I have hungry baby in the back seat. I explain to him that I am not from here. I have no idea how to go around the entire island on a 40 minute trip then go into the city to get myself back to the entrance that is literally 100 feet in front of me. We go back and forth about the directions and he is throwing all these roads out at me and I look like a deer in the headlights. Have no idea where he is telling me to go. Then I explain the formula situation. Told him he could call my pediatrician to verify I am not lying. He still says no. So, I go park in a parking lot and he sees this. He comes over and says it will be at least three to four hours, but I am more than welcome to wait. This is where it all changes. The officer starts to get that shaky voice, he then pulls me aside and says, "I didn't want to tell you this in front of your family but, two children just died right there and we need to keep people out of the accident scene." Then he starts to get teary eyed. I hugged him. That was my first response. I said I was sorry because I could tell this had really upset him and being that my father had been a sheriff for many years, I know these guys do get effected by what they see especially when it involves children. Then he says to me, "Go ahead and walk to the entrance and leave the car here, but I am telling you DO not, no matter what, look at the accident or let your child see it." I knew exactly what he was saying to me. He didn't want me or the kids to see the nightmare in the street. However, being that I walked RIGHT past it, I saw enough. As we were walking past the accident scene, the ambulance showed up (yes that is how close we were to witnessing the whole thing).


When we finally got home and the kids taken care of, I cried. And cried. At this point I had no details about what happened. All I could think about was the mom of these two children. My husband asked me why I was so upset and I tried to explain to him that a mom out there is experiencing her very worst nightmare and two little lives were gone (the boys who died were 6 and 1 year). Seeing the accident site made it feel so different. I wished my tears would take away some of the mom's tears. I knew that wouldn't happen but I couldn't NOT cry about it.

That is the shortest version I could come up with for this very long story. I always wished I could reach out to the mom of these little boys. I don't know what I would have said or done, I just wished I could do something. I think of her and her family from time to time and hope that she is doing as well as could be expected. Yesterday I thought of her again and looked up some information. I came across this article about the accident and the sentencing of the man who was driving the vehicle that struck this family that night. I was surprised at how much time he got in prison, but understand the reasoning behind it.

Jordy Martinez and Jesus Martinez, I hope wherever you are, you have found peace and love.

Maria Del Rosario Bustamante, I don't know you, but you have been in my thoughts since that night and still are.

Here's the article:

http://www.injury-lawyer-florida.com/2009/01/fort_myers_man_sentenced_to_15.html

Falling in Love with Scrapbooking Again!

It's been a while since I have been feeling inspired to scrapbook. Lately I get my stuff together and nothing comes to me. I have made a few cards for people but no pages. I think sometimes we just need a break.

During my scrapbooking hiatus, I kept thinking about why I didn't feel the urge to scrapbook. Finally I realized what it was. My old way of scrapbooking just doesn't appeal to me anymore. Many times I would make a page just to make something. Now I have stacks of pages that are basically decorated photos. Please, don't get me wrong, I am not knocking anyone else's scrapbooking. I am still a firm believer in people creating the way it works for them. I am just so glad I have found a way that works better for me now and makes me feel more fullfilled as a scrapbooker.

I think taking a break from the online scrapbooking community has helped me find this new way of scrapbooking (although I do miss the conversations and laughs!). I think being online and seeing other's work all the time was overload for me. I never did find a style that "fit" me because I was always overwhelmed by all the ideas I saw and wanted to work into my pages.

Also, before this I could tell you exactly what was the newest product and latest trend. If I saw a piece of paper I could tell you the company who makes it and the line it is from. Not today. Please understand part of this is because the nifty little pay cut from my husband's company (see a couple posts below) and part of it is because I just don't care about the latest and greatest anymore. It's freeing. I am using more found items and non-scrapbooking stuff than ever before. I am using actual items from restaurants we visit, tags from things, and other memento from our lives.

I am documenting our lives with real items from our lives! I think this has made my scrapbooking more meaningful to me, more inspiring and yes, less expensive. Each page I create now is a real story from our lives. Each page is a story that started with that little voice in my head saying, "Oh, I gotta write that down so I remember it." I don't ever feel behind anymore, or like I have to run out and buy something. Everything I need to create a page is right here in my ridiculously over stashed scrapbook room (ugh! the money I spent)! LOL! I am determined to use up what I have, BTW!

Budgets, Happiness, and Kindergarten!

As many people around the world worry about the global economy, we are also. This http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tues_pay_cuts0217feb17,0,3374713.story is my husband's company. He was one of the people affected by this temporary pay cut. So, we have decided to see how much we can stick in the bank despite the temporary pay cut rather than flush money down the toilet for things we really don't need. In many ways, this has become something that I am thankful for. In other ways, it is frustrating. Last week I put my mind to cutting the grocery bill as much as possible. I was able to cut the cost by $40 for one week. Percentage wise, it was about 40% of our grocery bill. When I realized I had saved that much, I was a little frustrated I had not been doing it all along. Just think of the vacations we could have gone on (my husband and I love to travel)! I have been doing all the cooking also. We use to be rather reliant on going out for a few meals a week. I am proud to say that in the last 21 days we have only eaten out 2 times and both times we did it on a budget. Thank you Steak and Shake!!! P.S. Steak and Shake has "Kids Eat Free on Weekends". It was very inexpensive for us to eat there! I'd be lying if I didn't say that being frugal takes a lot of planning and a lot more time, but honestly, I have been feeling happier lately. It feels like we have returned to a more simple time in our lives. Did I mention that right now we basically have no TV?? I have one TV that is working but the antenna is not very good. It seems silly to me to have TV we pay for when I can watch all the shows I want from my computer when it is convenient for me. It's only been about five days with no TV though, so ask me about in about a month. I might not say the same thing!

We went to kindergarten orientation last week! I have one five year old who is very excited to go to school! I can't believe it is almost time for him to start school. I remember when G was about 4 months old and I took him out for a walk one afternoon. He and I were strolling along when I saw a women outside with her little bitty baby. I asked her how old her baby was and it turns out she was born in the same month as G was. I distinctly remember saying to the mom "They will be in kindergarten together." When I was at the orientation I turned around and saw that mom and her little girl. I could not believe that much time had past since I said that to her.

My most recent passion has been photography. I have been following along with a new blog called http://sarahbowen.typepad.com/photography/ last week she asked us to find some pictures we were inspired by and go take a picture to recreate whatever it was that inspired us. Here are a few pictures I took:

This was my second photo outing shooting fully in manual. I had resisted for so long because I could not make sense of it. One day I walked out the door and decided that I was going to put the camera in the manual mode and figure it out. After that outing it finally all started to make sense. I am still very wet behind the ears as the saying goes but I am going to keep working and learning about photography and hopefully I will get good at it someday!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

It turns out, it is easy being "Green"

2009 is underway and one of my goals for this year was to learn more ways to be eco-friendly. The first thing I did was a little research and I came across this book Easy Green Living: The Ultimate Guide to Simple, Eco-Friendly Choices for You and Your Home (Paperback)by Renee Loux. It has been such a great source of information for my husband and myself. I think the thing that surprises me the most about this whole journey to greener living is that many times, it is cheaper! For example. Using baking soda with a couple of other ingredients is WAY cheaper than the Comet I use to use. I was also surprised that the baking soda (see recipe below) kept things cleaner and I had less residue than I did with the Comet and other products I had used in the past. Here is my first and most favorite discovery so far on this journey to greener living. Credit for this recipe goes to the Renee Loux. Thank Renee for such a great and easy source of green ideas!!

Recipe for cleaning almost everything:

3/4 cup baking soda

3 to 4 tablespoons eco-friendly organic liquid detergent

15-20 drops tea tree oil

Mix until it has the consistency of frosting. I promise you will love this!