Vacation

We have had a few weeks of ICK around our house. Lots of tea, tissues and resting.

Now we are on vacation until after the new year. (yay!) So my parents are here and we are doing lots of relaxing, resting and touristy things. Which included a visit to the painted desert/petrified forest national park yesterday.


I hope you all are having a wonderful restful holiday!

inspired

We have been sick and fighting off colds. Sorry for the lack of posting. Here is some lovely for you.

Tag

Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages. Don't pick the coolest or most impressive one, just the NEAREST one.
Open the book to page 123.
Find the fifth sentence and post it!

"An explanation of the extent of any economic loss or porperty damge suffered by the victim."

Work much?

randomness!

E loves this dressing for thanksgiving. Wild and white rice, celery, onion, almonds and sausage. YUM!
I saw this and made these for the friends I saw Twilight with about a week before the movie. Linda helped. Just basic white cuppies with a cherry filling and cherry bite marks. They were a hit and super moist!

Have made these a few times as well. Coconut macaroons with a chocolate ganache. Yummy!

There was a lot of chess happening for our family this fall (and by that I mean for E of course) but the season is over! The last tournament was held in Tucson the weekend before Thanksgiving and I am thankful! I miss E a bunch because he's gone most weekends in the fall and it's nice to have him home more. Although I do have to say it's always nice when it starts up again since we are generally quite sick of each other after the summer.

twilight

Confessions of my inner 13 year old.

1. I really like the book Twilight.
2. My friends and I geeked out and saw it on the 21st AKA my 5th anniversary.
3. In my defense E was out of town.
4. E and I saw it again this weekend at the Cine Capri.
5. I didn't LOVE the movie but I didn't hate it either.
6. I was enthralled by the trailer for Harry Potter.
7. I almost made E a shirt that said "I'm her Edward" because it's totally true.
8. The book was better.
9. I may still see it again!

a little less grinchy!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Grinchy.

I've coined a new phrase around my house...grinchy. It means to behave in a manner not befitting the holiday season approaching. This time of year always seems to fly for me.
On Friday E and I will have been married 5 years. Feels like 5 days! It's almost ridiculous how happy I am.
A week later, well 6 days, Is faux-thanksgiving. Or as I like to call it another year bites the dust.
E and I will have two whole weeks of being 28 before he has HIS b-day and then not quite two weeks later is Christmas. My parents are coming for a week and I am so excited to see them!
So even though there is lots to be excited about (did I mention the DS lite and new super mario brothers game that E bought me as an early b-day present? LOVING IT!) I'm feeling grinchy.
I miss my family.
Arizona is too warm for November...the other night with no heat on I got to warm while sleeping and woke up.
I miss autumn.
The leaves were golden and red for a week and then the wind blew and they were gone.
I miss my family.
Work is still really stressing me out...I think the end is in sight but this has literally been the hardest year work wise and I can pin the whole situation on one particular person no matter how much I try to be kind.
I miss friends who are far away.
I am really amazingly blessed and in so many ways incandescently happy.
But I'm still grinchy so please send me some happy thoughts and suggestions on how to break out of my blue mood.
Don't worry...I'm planning several posts about what I'm thankful for soon.

Cupcakes!

I brought these lovelies to work yesterday....yummy! The ones with just sprinkles are non-partisan the rest are for Obama. Cupcakes for Obama! It's weird how invested I feel in this election. I live in a red state and I am anything but red in my viewpoints...I'm happy with the outcome of the presidential race but upset by the news from California...
I think the most importatnt thing now is to move forward as a united country even if the election did not go how you were hoping.

Is it strange to maybe want to become a citizen just so I can vote in four years?

Peace love and CUPCAKES!!

Vote!

Scrappy Love Part 2

Part two of the scrappy love. Here are some layouts from our trip to Toronto last year for Gary & David's wedding. One new product I found that I love Love LOVE and i've mentioned before is the Dotted Swiss...I used it again on the background here and it's yummy!

Another really neat find are these page protectors from American Craft. They are 12" tall and 6" wide. I used them here as a little half page between the two pages above and below. It has some more pictures from TO and on the pabk i'll put some journaling. I love the look!

So all of the pages except the one below are of our trip in July of last year to Toronto Canada. The page below is about E and his Grandpa. E graduated from the same university as his grandpa 50 years (minus one semester) after he graduated. Both with degrees in education.

E's grandpa is an awesome man and it was really neat to have him there to see E graduate. Every so often in E's alumni literature we will see his name for athletic achievement and he still holds the record at NAU for the most points scored by one person in one basketball game. And for the record that was before 3 point shots. ROCKSTAR!

Scrappy love part 1

So last weekend while E was away I went to Phoenix with a friend and we went to SCRAPFEST!
This is some of the stuff I got done...

I'm loving this bazzil dotted swiss cardstock....I used a ton!

More to come later!

We are having a very chill night and I am NOT looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.

catching up

So. I've been a little A.W.O.L. Work has been really stressful and I've been having some trouble with my teeth.....dentist visit diagnosis root canal and AFTER that appointment but before the scheduled root canal I BROKE A TOOTH. Seriously. So I had to have a filling last Thursday and a root canal this Thursday. Yeah. Loving it!

Had a lovely weekend last weekend in Phoenix with a friend. Except my phone died. So welcome to my life crackberry! It's only been a week and I love you already! I love how you keep me on schedule and in touch. I love how you do so much with your tiny little size. I just love you!

Today was a good day. Got some projects done around the house while E was at the State Chess qualifying thingy and then we headed over to Kimmy's for a day of the dead party! Highlights included tacos, face painting, and SUGAR SKULLS! I decorated the big one on top...the purple one to the right of the big one, the one that is below and to the right of the purple one, and the pink one just below the big one. I really liked the sugar skulls!

Hope you had a great first day of November!

Voting....it could happen!

I had a root canal yesterday and I'm still feeling kind of cranky so this is it for now....I know...bad blogger!

love love love love love

Missing:
Loving:

Hoping:

Card love...

Card love from our class last Saturday. I am going away for the weekend with a friend tomorrow so today is full of packing. Enjoy!

A.W.O.L.

So I've been dealing with some drama and not feeling like blogging. BAD BLOGGER! Anyways cute project posted below....we bought this solid wood cabinet below from an auction at my work...it used to live in my office at work. A few coats of red paint by E......And we have a bright and beautiful place to dump mail and store things!
I'm picturing a grouping of photos and art above and a charging station, bowl for keys etc. on top.
Loving it!

Love Love

Loving these: And this:
This movie:
Packages full of love:
And sushi dates with my love. His schedule is super busy lately so I think our next scheduled date is November...15th? Very very jealous that he gets to go to the pumpkin patch on a field trip tomorrow and I have to go to work.

bookish....I'm feeling it.

Something about fall, the changing leaves, the crisper temperatures, the honey crisp apples (yes I am aware that I live in Arizona and we had record temps today....stay with me) just makes me want to curl up with a good book and read. Or a cup of hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookie...yes they are that good make them already!

Here's a rundown of some of my book picks lately.

No Country for Old Men -Cormac McCarthy

This was kind of a sleeper hit for me. I had both this and "The Road" on my nightstand and I wasn't sure what to expect...well now I'm 3/4 through this one and I'm still not sure what to expect. Mr. McCarthy has a very distinctive writing style and it's gripping. No spoilers please...I've been exhausted but I am determined to finish this week. Side note : I have not seen the movie and while Mr. F has I have also implored him not to spoil it....while at the same time begging for spoilers so I have no movie-book comparison.

Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
Now this movie I have watched and it was breathtaking. Such beautiful cinematography and a really enjoyable film. However, I think the book was better as is often the case. More detail is one of the things I always say when watching a movie based of a book....it's just impossible usually for a film maker to add all the lush details of the book. So if you liked the movie. Read this one.

The Last Summer (of You & Me) Ann Brashares

This book is a bit of a departure for the author in that she has written several pre-teen books (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants). But the core of what she writes about in her novels are relationships. This book is about the relationship between sisters and that really struck me. I thought the book was compelling and drew me in right away.

Atonement - Ian McEwan

You know the book-movie debate.....I think the movie wins this one for me. Even though you get lots of detail it feels very repetitive as you keep jumping back and forth between characters reliving the same scene....the movie for that across without so much...annoying me?

Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

Beautifully written autobiography. Loved her voice. Loved the book.

Certain Girls - Jennifer Weiner

This is a sequel to the 2001 book Good in Bed. Just fair warning...I hate reading books out of sequence. I'm a little torn about this book....so much of what I liked about the first book was the spirit of the main player Cannie...and she was not such an active player in this one. Overall not my fave but if you read and liked the first book you may want to read this as well.

Yes YOU can.

So I don't want to be an American. I'm proud to be Canadian and while I make my home here I've never felt this pressing need to become a citizen. We don't have kids so that's not an issue and I didn't really see any benefit. Downsides no jury duty (though they did try to summon me), no voting. Oh yeah. Forgot about that one.

Did you know if you've lived outside of Canada for more than five consecutive years without maintaining a residence there you can't even vote by mail. Yeah.

So since I have no voice in this election (except a loving husband who takes into account my opinions when deciding what to do with his vote) I'm pleading. Vote!

Register to vote!

Take time out of your busy schedule and VOTE!

It's a privilege! Use your voice!

And as for registering (which is essential) you are seriously running out of time.
So please. Vote.

Daily Inspiration

So I don't think I've ever posted about this but I go here every day.
Stunning photographs of one of my fave cities. Ever. I can't believe that the last time we were there was for Gary and David's wedding (Love you guys!). Can't wait to go back!
Have a great day and a restful/grateful weekend!

Best chocolate Chip COOKIES EVAH!

Peeps.....I am on a quest...the quest is for the best chocolate chip cookies...and ladies and gents...we have a CONTENDER! I stumbled upon this recipe on Baking Blonde's blog. E and I loved them and i'm very probably makig them againfor this weekend when some friends are coming over. Recipe is below....go forth and bake!

Also! I really am trying to nail down my fave recipe and although I doubt any could top these....comment and let me know if you think YOU have the most killer choc. chip cookie recipe....it's a quest after all! (And yes Kim I did totally just have a flash of HIMYM)

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER

Blog Readability

Have you seen this kicking around?
I am VERY amused!