pink nostalgia

throwback thursday: a snowball fight

This is my grandma (on the left - ha!).

 

She is a wonderful Christian woman.

This is a snowball fight in Minnesota, Christmas 1988.

The weapon:

 

The grandma:

 

The target:

  
She creamed her husband with a snowball!

AND THEN, she turns on her own daughter!!

  

I asked my mom about it since we were both there.  She could neither confirm nor deny, but I swear that I heard my sweet little grandma yell, " BOO-YAHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

What do you have to say for yourself, Meme??  ; )

merry christmas!

 

Merry Christmas from ours to yours.  : )

throwback thursday: a Christmas ham

I guess it was a good Christmas, complete with slippers, jewelry, clothes, and a big ol' ham.

 
 
 
 
 
 

So embarrassing.

Merry [almost] Christmas Eve.

 

happy birthday to me!

 

Nope, my birthday is still in February, but shout out to Scott at Ninfa's for the free "birthday" sopapilla.  Hey, I'll take it!

Adios, muchachos!

ten quirks

Ten random things about me, and I guarantee that no one on this earth knows all ten.

1. I almost always drive with my hands at 10 and 2.

2. I'm scared of the dark.  I won't walk from one side of the house to the other without turning on and off a light in each room I'm in.

3. I am deathly afraid of roaches.  [I just shuddered.]  Even though we don't have any, it's getting worse.  I now have a hard time even looking at a can of Raid.  I'm really on edge typing this.

4. I stand on my tip toes a lot if I'm not wearing heels.

5. I love chocolate chip cookie dough.  I even eat it with the raw egg in it because I'm such a rebel.  Dave asks me not to, but hey, your body can handle more than you think it can.  : )

6. I don't really care for baked chocolate chip cookies.  I mean, they're fine, but...

7. My favorite cookies are peanut butter from Subway.  Even when they're burnt (meaning done), they're totally worth the 12 grams of fat.

8. I have song lyrics and quotes from movies and TV in my head ALL DAY.  It makes me very sad that I have to stifle them because no one would get the obscure OC reference from season 1.  ("The way things are going, that's probably Oliver."  "Then Cohen came along and taught us all irony!"  "Cuz that guy shaves his chest!"  "Yogilates!" "No, no.  Puberty happened.  She's a Laker."  "The only thing you will be eating is your words."  Etc, etc.)

9. It makes my heart smile when old friends call me by my nicknames.

10.  I make lists to entertain myself.  Doctors' waiting rooms, drive-thru lines, staying awake during the last hour of CPE, lame college lectures; on receipts, in margins, in my head.  Photos to take, pages to scrap, books of the Bible, chores to do, ten movies with Reese Witherspoon, gifts to buy myself, places that start with the letter P.

Do these make me more endearing?  : )

Christmas around the house

I'm declaring my Christmas funk over.

 

 

These lights and the figurines in the first photo are from San Antonio Grandma.  They don't make them like that anymore.  : )

Merry eight days until Christmas.

throwback thursday: a long way before an ipod

How about a boom box for Christmas?

 photo circa 1984.  Yes, that's Jesus in the background.  And that's me and my doll on the right.

 

Sa-weeeeet!

for real: the dinner party dash

Here's a scenario in which I am too well familiar.  It's 5:25 on a Wednesday, I just got home, and one of our couple-y friends are coming over for dinner at 6:00.  Dinner is done, but the house is a wreck and there is no time to clean.  (Am I the only one this happens to?)  Sure, you could've cleaned last night, but dinner at Texas Roadhouse was too tempting to pass up, and then The Good Wife was on...which brings you to your current heightened state of stress.

Here is your gameplan, as I have perfected over the last 5 years.  Note that some steps are adapted for an "open door" option.  This is if your guests will expect a tour of your house.  If they don't, you're really home free, but my suggestions provide for optimal time management.

Preliminary note: I highly advise stripping down to the bare essentials.  This will reduce wind resistance and improve efficiency.  At the very least, take off your heels.

 Kitchen:

- Put all dish soap, rags, sponges, and dirty dish towels under the kitchen sink.

- Put the dog bowls on the back porch.

- Place all dirty dishes, including pots, pans,  and sharp knives in the oven and dishwasher with the intention of hand-washing them after your guests leave.  Remember that this is temporary and relax.  NOTE: When you clear the plates after dinner, be sure to leave them on the counter instead of trying to load the dishwasher in front of your guests, only to unveil your hiding place.

- If you run out of room, plastic cups and Tupperware can be stored in the freezer.

- Stack remaining dirty cookie sheets, etc., on top of the washer/dryer.  OPTION: If your laundry room will be visible, move this stack to your master shower.  Also, put the shoes that are on the laundry floor in the bottom of the laundry room trash can underneath the liner. 

- Move the teapot on top of the big stain on the stove.

- Pick up any big chunks of food off the floor.  If you have time, sweep.

- Put your napkin holder full of paper fast food napkins in the pantry.

*Sprint through each of the open rooms while dispersing Febreze.  NOTE: This should be done no later than T minus 15 minutes to give the aerosol scent ample time to disperse and mellow.

Living Room:

- Put the load of (clean) whites that are still sitting on the couch back in the dryer or in the washer if one but not the other is occupied.

- Put the stack of empty cardboard boxes that you've accumulated from Amazon and J Crew in the back seat of the broken down Land Rover that lives in your garage.  (What?  You don't have a broken down SUV in your garage??)  You can also hide the old printer-that-you-should've-taken-to-Goodwill-by-now here.

- Wheel the vacuum cleaner up and down the length of the living room to give the appearance that you vacuumed.

- Fluff the couch pillows and cavalierly drape the blankets over the arms of the couch.  No time for folding.

- Stuff all remotes, magazines, chew toys, mail, etc. into the entertainment center and close the doors.  If you don't have a cabinet that closes, drop everything into the bathroom drawers.

Bedrooms:

- Put dirty clothes from your bedroom floor in the hamper.  SPEED ROUND OPTION: Provided there aren't too many, lay them under your pillows at the head of your bed.

- In the kids' rooms, kneel on the floor and use your hands to snow plow all toys to underneath the bed.  If your kids have already exhausted this option, snow plow into the closets. 

Guest Bath:

- Empty the bathroom trash into the kitchen trash but only if the former can is overflowing.

- Tuck the plunger and toilet brush behind the shower curtain.

- Give the toilet one flush (or more as needed) for good measure.

Outside:

- Make sure there isn't any bird poo on your front door.  If there is, wrinkle your nose and wipe it off with a wet paper towel.

-Hope that it's raining and dark.

- Change your clothes and reapply powder and mascara as your guests pull into the driveway as your husband answers the door.

And...dinner!

the bah humbug remedy

What do you do when you're being a huge Scrooge with no redeeming Tiny Tim in sight?  Invite your three best friends over for a Christmas dinner party.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Here's the menu:

a cheese tray (cheddar with Port, brie, and smoked mozzarella) with apples, pears, and crackers

Roast Pork Loin with Stuffed Baked Apples and Cider Gravy

mashed potatoes

spinach salad with pears, Gorgonzola, and candied pecans

garlic sauteed green beans

Julie's bread

Jack Daniel's Pecan Pie

Bluebell Homemade Vanilla

hot cider, hot chocolate, and sugar cookie egg nog (which tastes exactly like sugar cookie dough in a glass)

These girls were such good sports.  They did a lot more than just humor me.  We dressed up real nice and fancy, sat at the big dinner table, and passed everything to the left around the table.  Sparkling cider in champagne glasses and everything in real serving dishes.  Christmas music played in the background all night with Angie aimlessly singing along.  Ahh, so nice.  And now I'm totally hopped up on this wonderful holiday.  : )

And for those of you keeping track, this is #3.

 

Grrrr.
 

what to scrapbook: the messy bits

The last category that I scrapbook is the messy bits.

It's scary to expose the messy parts of your life.  Even when you mask them with pretty paper, flowers, and rhinestones, it's hard to admit that you're not perfect, that you failed, that you are longing, that you're discouraged, that you're worn out.

It seems ironic to showcase these things.  Wouldn't it be easier to just have a good cry and quietly hide them in the corner?

You know, they say that it's good for kids to see their parents fight.  It shows them that it's okay to argue and teaches them how to resolve the conflict and get through it.   Dave and I never fought so much as we did during our first year of marriage.  It took me by surprise, and it sucked.  But we learned A LOT, and now we're much more efficient!  (Ha!)

When you scrapbook your wedding, you automatically think of your first dance, gazing into each other's eyes, twirling, walking down the aisle...I can't help but get swallowed up in newlywed optimism and bliss.  But when you scrapbook messy parts of your life, you relive them, too.  And that's just not as much fun.

But it is important.  Sometimes it's just for yourself.  If I can get it all down, put it into words, then I can put it behind me.  Sometimes it's for other people.  Years down the road, my daughter can look through my album and realize that I had (have) struggles, too.  Sometimes it's a mile marker.  Once I've moved through that failure, I can look back on my page and feel good about where I've come.

When I make these pages, I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer.  My goal is to be a little honest.

 

(read the post here - which was my first ever!)

 

(and go to this post here)

 

(this post is here)

 

(read the post here.)

I've seen pages from different women showing her fear of flying, her worrying about being a good mother, sadness when her husband is overseas, death of a loved one.  I scrapped a page the day after Chrissy (my beloved dog of 14.5 years) died, and it served as a nice bookend.

These messy parts form you to help make you who you are, and while they're not as much fun, they're just as important to your story as graduation or a new house.

Fin.

throwback thursday: before starbucks

 
photo circa 1985

Being a barista is serious.

what to scrapbook: the everyday bits

Part Deux.

You've heard me say it before.  If the pretty bits are what you do, the everyday bits are who you are, and they're very important to record.

See examples.

 
(blog post here)

 
(see the post here)

 
(see this post here)

 
(this one here)

 
(and this one here)

The majority of our lives is the everyday bits.  It's not the exotic vacations or heart-wrenching confessions of love that you see in the movies (and Dawson's!).  It's the regular weekend to Houston that would have otherwise been forgotten.  It's eating lunch in the break room with your best friend every day.  Talking about your day with your spouse while you wash dishes [okay, that one is for other couples].  The dinner party antics and jokes that you tell.  Your idiosyncracies that aren't revealed until someone has known you for at least three months AND eaten ice cream with you after 2:00 a.m. 

It reminds me of that scene in Sleepless in Seattle when Jonah tells his dad that he's starting to forget his deceased mother.  Tom Hanks replies, "She could peel an apple in one long strand."  Not, "She wore the cutest bikini on our honeymoon in Bermuda."

Does anyone else watch The Mentalist?  I often wonder what Patrick Jane would deduce about me if he walked around my house for a few minutes. 

Well, I've gotten a little off track, because now I'm thinking I should at least straighten the piles on my desk so that if someone does come in to analyze me, they won't think I'm a total slob.

But even that, there it is again.  What you think, where your mind goes, what you do day in and day out.  Why you love to take the train to work or how you always play Natasha Beddingfield's Strip Me at least three times in a row every time you listen to it.

Alright, beating a dead horse.  You get it.

what to scrapbook: the pretty bits

Hello Friends,

I thought I'd do a little three-part series for those of you who might like to scrapbook but don't know what you'd scrapbook.

Shall we start with the easiest and most obvious?

It's the pretty bits. 

The weddings.

 
(see the blog post here)

The vacations.  

 
(see this blog post here.)

The anniversaries.

 
(story here)

The accomplishments.

 
(the blog post is here)

The reunions.

 
(see the post + Dawson's Creek videos (!) here)

Of course, there's also births, birthdays, Christmas mornings, Halloweens, first days of school, first snows, and generally everything you usually think to take pictures of.  These are cornerstones of family heritage and relationships.  What you celebrated and how you celebrated, joys you shared and words you shared.  This is how traditions get started and passed down - when people who love each other share that love.  It's fun to scrapbook and wax nostalgic when you're looking at happy photos that tell the majority of the story.

I'll leave you with a few snipets from tonight, courtesy of Dave.

"So, pretty much all I had to eat this weekend was taco soup and Cheerios - and I lost weight!"

"Listen to me!  I'm tooting my own horn!  Toot!  Toot!"

A: That's like Y's friend.  Except he drives a white unmarked van.  I told her, "No matter what, DO NOT get in his van!"

D: Right.  Not even if he has candy. 

train of thought cleaning

Contrary to popular belief, I don't like to clean.  Insert gasp here!  Organize - yes.  But clean - with all of the scrubbing and dirt and grime - no.  When I clean, it's usually because I can't ignore it any longer, which is more frequent than some people because my threshhold is pretty low.  And even then, I don't really set out to clean.  I clean what I see, which is the only time that I have ADD tendencies.  It goes something like this:

Ughhhh, mess.  Alright, Angela.  C'mon.

[put my shuffle on some good booty-shakin' music]

Put my clothes up from this morning.  Back and forth from my room to the closet.

Notice the clothes in the closet.  Ope, time for laundry.

Take the towels out of the dryer and dump them on the bed.  Note to come right back and fold them.

Move the whites in the washer to the dryer.  Start the water.

[Break for a few hand claps to the beat.]

Augh, I meant to unload the dishwasher last night.  Unload and load.

The mail is still on the table?  Those bills need to go in my room.

Don't forget the towels.  Towels, towels -

I need to put more toilet paper in the guest bathroom.

Wait, did I ever bring that book in from my car from yesterday?

Shoot!  I was going to start the jeans...Go get the jeans.

Hmm, I haven't used this perfume in a while.  Spray. Sniff.

Was there something else I was going to do?

Angie said something really funny today, what was it?  Something about James Bond?

Jeans in the washer.  Throw away the receipt from Dave's pocket.

Why are the paper towels out?  [TOWELS!]  Those go back in the pantry.

Ooh, we have semi-sweet chocolate chips in here.  Mmm.

Oh!  I haven't watched The Good Wife yet...

And done.

feign shock!

So, you know how you have old photos stashed somewhere and you think, "Shoot, it's already Christmas 2010 and these are from 2002.  I'm so far behind!  I guess I better put these back."  Well, don't!  Just scrap them!

 
 
Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzil.  Patterned paper: Echo Park.  Ink: Tim Holtz.  Chipboard alphas: dear lizzy + American Crafts.  Staples: Making Memories.  Punch: Fiskars Apron Lace.  Journal block: Jenni Bowlin.  Corner rounder: We R Memory Keepers.  Pen: American Crafts.

This whole page is only two sheets of paper!!  It came together for really cheap.  Just layer, glue, and go.  Simple embellishments since the paper has such a range of colors.  Click on the first photo to read the journaling.

All supplies available at Crop Paper Scissors.

I'm off to get ready for the Christmas party.  I have a new dress...  : )

throwback thursday: my Christmas best

This is the first of four Christmas installments of Throwback Thursday!

I like to dress up.  Especially for special occasions.  Especially for Christmas.  It seems I've always been this way.

 
 
Photos: 1988 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Nice tights, girrrrl.  For the record, I never knew I was such a little ham.  Looks like I'm practicing papparazzi poses.

Our company Christmas party is tomorrow night.  I'm looking forward to dressing up.  : )

bah humbug

Here is my heart and soul, with a Christmas theme, and a page to match.

I've had a really hard time getting into the holiday spirit this year.  Since we've been married, we've always travelled for Thanksgiving and Christmas and haven't had a holiday at our house.  I love spending time with our extended families, but I've been craving starting our own family traditions.  Just Dave and me - figuring out what our Christmas Eves and Christmas mornings  look like, which traditions we'll keep and which new ones we'll start. 

I think about this every year, but it's been weighing on me particularly heavy this year.  I decided to scrapbook it for two reasons.  1. Like anything, I hoped that if I got it down on paper or got it "out", that would be enough to assuage the unsettling.  2. I'm more and more coming around to the idea that scrapbooking doesn't have to be the pretty parts of your life: the wedding photos, birthday parties, and accomplishments.  It can also be about the everyday parts of your life - your current favorites, friends, pets.  And just as importantly, it can be about the raw parts - crying at work, feeling defeated, and treading water.  (More about all of this next week.)

So I scrapped it, for therapy and posterity.

 
 
 
 
 

Supplies: Patterned paper: Webster's Pages.  Alphas, brad: Dear Lizzy + American Crafts.  Punch: EK Success.  Buttons: My Mind's Eye.  Flower: Prima.  Stickers: Making Memories.  Journal cards: Anna Griffin, Jenni Bowlin.  Pen: Sharpie.  Floss: DMC.  Thread.

The main patterned paper is titled "Delivery", which is kind of perfect for my journaling.  I took the photo of my grandparents' tree two years ago and altered it a bit in Photoshop.  Since it's a pretty personal page that's on display at my local scrapbooking store, I wrote my journaling on two cards and hid it behind the photo.  It's a longer version of what I wrote above.  I chose to hand-write the journaling instead of typing it since it's my stream of consciousness, my intimate thoughts.

Alright, I think that's enough heavy for one post.  Happy middle of the week.  Throwback Thursday in the morning.  : )