Memorial Day 2011

We spent Memorial Day with Josh's family this year. The highlight (besides playing with the nephews) was feeding the baby lambs.

  

Josh moving the tractor with Preston's help.

This is Preston's lamb. His name is "Spot on his back." Not "Spot."

I think this was my FAVORITE picture. Its Tyler peeking through the lamb shelter.

Tyler found a marker and became an artist.

Preston being a ham.

20. Something you are looking forward to

Alaska Cruise 2012! We plan on going on a cruise next year with the ECC's. As in, probably a year from last week. We talked about going this year, but we didn't have quite enough money so we decided to save up the money this summer and then go next spring. It feels FOREVER away. I can't wait, I just now it will be the best time EVER!

New furniture. I'm still deciding exactly what that will be, but right now I'm planning on a new entertainment center. And maybe a new bedroom set. And maybe a new bookshelf. And a new TV for the new entertainment center. My list is long and I probably won't be able to get it all, but I can't wait to get a few new things. Oh, and also new blinds since we only did half of the windows last year.

Girls nights. I always look forward to them, whether they are days apart or weeks apart.

A horse for me and a horse trailer for Josh. We looked last year, but this year we are serious. We are looking at a few online, but we just need the time to go look at them. Josh has been kind of looking at trailers, but when we had to buy a new car, we decided to wait until the truck was paid off. I just paid it off this week. :)

Taking the nephews fishing. We never got to go last year and I'm not sure who was more heartbroken, me or the nephews. But I'm going to make sure we go this year. I was able to help Preston catch his first fish and I hope I can help Tyler do the same.

Camping. Another thing we didn't get to do last summer, but hopefully can this summer.

19. Something that stresses you out.

Being less then perfect. I know, "no one is perfect" but when I'm trying hard and I'm not, it really upsets me.

This is mostly likely to happen if I'm having guests over. I want my house to be perfectly clean. I want dinner to be perfectly presentable and perfectly delicious. I want every one to have a perfectly good time. When it was my turn to host book club, I took the ENTIRE day off work so I could clean. I KNOW my friends wouldn't really care if my house wasn't in perfect order, but I still cared.

A few years ago, I decided to try making a pie. A friend gave me her recipe for No Fail Pie Crust. It failed, and so did I. I told Josh I wasn't even going to go to Thanksgiving dinner, all because my pie didn't turn out.

Josh calls these little (and sometimes big) fits, my kitchen melt downs. But they do stress me out.

If people show up unexpected, I try to meet them on the porch, because there is a pair of socks on the floor and a lunch dish setting out. If they are going to be there for a while and need to come in, I don't sit down, I clean, even if the front room is already clean.

Being in crowds also stresses me out, but that is an infertility issue and I'm trying to work on.

Why I love the Michael's Store

Last weekend while shopping, Jessica and I ran into Michael's to grab a few things. We only planned to be in there for a minute. 

Until we saw the demonstration table. 

I LOVE that Michael's sometimes sets up tables for you to learn new things. We used the Martha Stewart paper punches to make this card. Not my best work, but it was my first time using those punches. I thought they were super cute, but I had a hard time lining them up. 

Savannah's Day con't

Mother's Day is such a struggle for me, that is why we try to put a positive spin on it and call it Savannah's Day instead. In the worst of years, I just want to be ignored. I want the day to just pass like it never happened. But then other years, I get a little perturbed when I'm ignored. I know, I can only blame myself for these feelings. 

This year was... okay. Josh did an amazing job of making me feel loved. (I think he's just trying to butter me up so I get him something good for Josh's Day.) I guess that I have burned enough people in the past, that they now ignore me. Again, that is my own fault. And its okay, for the most part. Its hard to explain. I don't want peoples pathetic sympathy. I don't want to hear the empty promises of "someday". It also really doesn't help when mothers tell me that they don't like Mother's Day and list the reasons why. (I really can't stress that enough! Infertile people do NOT like hearing you say why they are so lucky to not be moms because of all the stress it causes in your lives. Please, don't bring that up. It hurts. And upsets us. And makes us think about stealing your babies since you complain about them, even if its just an attempt to make us feel better.)

What does help is friends that acknowledge me by showing they love me for who I am. The day after Mother's Day I went to the movies with the ECC's. Kim gave me a card that showed this Willow Tree figurine. She wanted to get it for me, but hadn't been able to find it yet. I told her she didn't have to do that for me, but she did anyways. I love it. Its my first Willow Tree figurine and its perfect. 

Spring Kits

I've now been ordering kits from the Idea Closet for a year. Which means, now when I order, I only order the new kits because I've done all of the older kits I want. Jessica pointed we're running out of room for all of these kits, so probably starting with the next kits, I'll have to take some to work to display. Darn. ;)

Each time I finish a new kit, I declare it my favorite. But I could really mean it about these flowers. I.LOVE.THEM! 

I also love how this spring kit turned out. Even though, I think its lying since I've seen snow at my house for the past 3 days.

I always love the kits, but really its about just getting together with the girls. I would be lost without them.

I looked out the window, and what did I see?

A few inches of snow glistening back at me.

 The first picture is dark, but that's because it was about 4:30 this morning. I also woke up to snow yesterday, but just a skiff. This morning it was a full whiteout!

I'm not going to complain. I HATE summer. I'm already dreading the heat. Which is weird to think about, because most nights, I still run my heater. I would build a fire, but I'm lazy when Josh isn't around to do it for me. I don't mind winter. Its not oppressing HOT like summer time. In the winter, I can add more layers of clothing. I can build a fire. I can cuddle under the blankets with the cats. I can sip hot chocolate.

In the summer, I can sweat. There is just no escaping the heat. Sure, there is fishing and camping and other fun outdoor activities. But once its over 80, I'm miserable. That is why, each time we talk about moving, we talk NORTH, where its cooler.

I also love how pretty the snow makes everything. Yesterday I was starring at a LOT of mud. This morning, I couldn't see that ugly brown stuff. I know summer is right around the corner, but I'm glad I got one last look of wintertime.

Close to My Heart Annual Event

Once a year, Janel with Close to My Heart hosts a HUGE scrapbook event. Its a lot like her monthly groups, only LOTS bigger! I know she starts planning this day months in advance. This year, she offered two packages, but I choose to do both. ;) As always, Janel comes up with these pages on her own and then we recreate them. Like I always say, "I'm not crafty, I'm just good at copying crafty ideas."

I LOVE the barn page. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

It doesn't have a lot of room for pictures, but the page is cute enough on its own. The barn doors are actually flaps that open up and you can put pictures underneath and also in the underside of the flap.

The party page was one of the easiest pages to put together and another one of my favorites. I love the simplicity of it and all the fun colors.

I love the colors on the peacock page. And I'm getting braver to do things on my own. I can't remember what the technique is called, but using just one stamp, you cover it with multiple colors. I usually try get Janel to do the fancy techniques for me, but I did it myself this time.



A fun tree page.

A close up of my tree.

The roller coaster page was another complicated page, but complicated in a cute and fun way. This page set also included flip flap pages, but in bigger sizes.

This is what the page looks like when you first open it.

A close up of the left page. Keep an eye on that large star on the right.

You fold that half of the page open and get this.

This is just a close up shot of the right page. I LOVE it!

The Halloween pages was by far, the hardest page. It took me about 2 hours to put together, and that was with almost everything already cut out. But Halloween is my favorite holiday, so of course it was my favorite page.

This is what the page looks like when you first open it. It has 3 flaps. On the right, there is a flap that folds up and a bigger flap that folds down. Then on the right page, there is a flap that opens up to the right.

This is what the main pages look like, without the flaps.

With the flaps back on, this is the left page with the two flaps, one fold up and the other folds down.

This is the page on the right with its flap opened.

Janel always outdoes herself. I love everything she comes up with. You can learn more about her Close to My Heart business HERE.