Happy Halloween

Today we will be going to 'Trunk or Treat' and Fall Festival at our church.  Peyton is going to be Yoda!  Although, I think he will probably end up just being a Jedi because I don't think he will keep the hat on which has the adorable Yoda ears.  Either way, he will be cute.  Unfortunately we still have not made it to the pumpkin patch yet, oh well - maybe next year.  Pictures to come...

Christmas Daily Album

My Christmas Daily Album has been started...

This is the 'frame' or 'shell'...

Still need to add stuff like the numbers for the days, and then in December I plan to add pictures daily (or somewhat daily) and journaling.  I got the idea from Ali Edwards album last year...she just happens to be working on hers for this year too...you can see hers (which is much better, please don't compare) here.

 

Here is a shot from the front...you can't really see it yet, but it is inside a clear, 6x6 scalloped album...more pictures to come.

Go read this...now

You know I have talked many times about the importance of journalling, even if you are not a scrapbooker.  if you are a scrapper - i think you probably already 'get' it.  This post from Stacy Julian - my ultimate favorite scrapbooker of ALL TIME (she was the founding editor of Simple Scrapbooks the Magazine and Big Picture Scrapbooking (www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com)

So go read the post - here...

This week

We have ALL been sick. Peyton and Eric both have bronchitis, and I have a sinus infection.  Peyton is doing much better and pretty much back to normal.  Eric on the other hand is not.  I don't know what it is going to take to get him better.  I finally took myself to the doctor yesterday and got myself some antibiotics and I'm hoping to get myself better fast. 

Went back to a weight watchers meeting yesterday.  I had 2 friends with me this time!  I'm hoping doing the WW and having friends with me will be the 1-2 punch to help me get back on track...especially during the holiday season.

Had an uppercase party Tuesday night that went pretty good.  still waiting on all the orders to come in.

Our daycare lady called yesterday at 5 at said that she would be leaving town today for 5 weeks to go to Korea b/c her mother is very sick.  So I'm scrambling trying to figure out what to do - and home with Peyton today because we couldn't find anyone else to keep him.

Oh - and our washing machine broke Wednesday night.  With a full load of course.  Don't really know what to do about it at this point.  Sadness!

This week is kind of a blur honestly, with us all being sick and all.  I just can't wait for us all to get better. 

Please Join Me

At jessicasprague.com for a cool online digital scrapbooking class called 'stories in hand' in November that is FREE!  I took her 'Up and Running' with Photoshop class and it was loads of fun and I learned a TON.  And it wasn't free!  This class is free, and I think it is really geared around journalling - so even if you are or aren't a scrapbooker, I think this class is for you.

I registered for the class today.  This is what Jessica wrote in the intro to the class...

"I am so excited to go on this journey with you! I have been thinking a lot in the past few months about stories. As I've looked through my scrapbook albums, I have realized that while I've told many of the stories I've wanted, there are SO MANY MORE stories in my head and my heart that need telling.

I decided to create a system for capturing the stories I would like to tell, so that when I sit down to storytell (whether that's scrapbooking, taking photos, blogging, or any other of the various ways I can record the stories of my life), I can have some stories in hand.

This class is really not about writing, or about scrapbooking, but about the gathering process. About the remembering process. About collecting the experiences, big and small, that have shaped us and made us who we are. The stories worth telling.

I anticipate that this will be a life-changing experience for all of us, and I am so excited that you've made the decision to join me on this journey!"

If you decide to join me (or had already discovered the class from somewhere else on the net) - post to let me know.  Maybe we can share our journals and stories during the month of November.

Peyton is sick

Poor little guy.  I bet he didn't sleep 45 min straight last night, which means that I didn't either.  So poor mama too!  He is running a fever, so I know this cold or whatever he has had for the last few weeks has turned into an infection, so tomorrow we will be at the doctors office first thing.  Eric is sick again too.  He had to go to the med-stop and get more meds - total costing us around $90 bucks...so it wasn't as bad as previous visits.  Sometimes the medicine alone is more than $90...

Oh...one day we will all be well for more than a week!  Can't wait until Jan when my Flexible Spending Account (for healthcare) thing starts kicking back in so I get reimbursed for all these doctor visits and medications.  It was so nice the first few months - we automatically got paid back after every visit/medication was filled.  I have the money taken out of my check pre-tax - then I'm reimbursed as I 'claim' it.  What stinks though, is that that money is still getting taken out each month/check and we had used up all the claims worth before May.  you just don't want to over claim, b/c then you can't get back the difference.  I do think I will up the total next year, not sure how much though...

Little bit of everything

• The appointment yesterday went well.  Still have another appointment to figure out stuff/make sure everything is going to work out.  We shall see. 
• I've gained back about 3-5 of the 43 lbs I've lost, and I only went to that one WW meeting and really didn't stick to that for very long.  But I think a friend at work and I are going to do it together.  I hope the extra motivation will help me to stop gaining and start losing again...
• We finally joined the church we have been visiting since April!!!  I'm so stinking excited.  I LOVE it.  I've been going Sunday AM, Sunday PM AND on Wednesdays.  I'm also getting involved in the women's group and I volunteered for one committee.  Being excited about church again is wonderful.  E is excited too...and Peyton has been yelling 'YEAH' as soon as we pull into the parking lot - so he is loving it as well.
• Peyton is going through a phase where he calls E - 'mom'.  Don't have a clue why, but it is the funniest thing.
• I have a crop scheduled for today, and I think there might be a whopping 2 people this time.  Bummer.  Everyone kept canceling out.  Usually we have 7 or so...
• Speaking of the crop though, I have 10 or 11 layouts already pulled and READY to go.  Everything is picked out (Pictures, Paper, Embellishments) - so I should be very productive today.  That is usually what takes the longest, so having that part ready, and knowing what is going to be the theme/title/concept for those pages will help to speed that up.
• The uppercase stuff is still going pretty good.  I only have one party scheduled right now though, so after that party I'm a little nervous about what will happen next.  I guess I'll just take it one day at a time though...
• I have a lump that I have to get an ultrasound for on Tuesday.  We don't think it is anything to be worried about, but after my bone tumor I'm a little worried even when I wouldn't have been previously.  I'm sure everything will be fine.  I had a lump removed about 10 years ago, and my doctor is pretty certain this is the same type thing, but there is always that 'what if' in the back of your mind.  I'm not stressing it at all though...just going through the process...
• And my arm, it still hurts a lot. I've gotten to where when people ask about it I just tell them that it is fine though.  I don't want to sound like I'm complaining forever!  And honestly I'm starting to wonder if it will hurt forever...so might as well get used to it I guess. 
• That new migraine medicine that I mentioned a few weeks ago, well - my insurance co pay was $87 a box, and I need 3 boxes a month (b/c I get migraines a lot) - so it isn't going to help me until the 'newness' wears off and the price comes down a bit.
• E was diagnosed with work related asthma a few weeks ago - witch really sucks.  It is horrible to see him having issues breathing.  We thought it was because he had bronchitis really bad, but he just wasn't getting better.  They do not properly ventilate the shop where they work, and I know that his boss has many violations.  We don't know if we should try to get the boss to pay for all the medical bills and medicine (because they have really added up over the last few months due to this - meds, doctor visits, chest x-rays, etc) or if we should just suck it up and he will start looking for another job.  He has always had bad sinus issues, but they have been so bad lately it seems like once a month he is on a antibiotic for something, and lately it is always moving into his lungs.  I don't know...

I guess that gets me caught up...for now...

My first lens

This came in the mail Wednesday - my first new lens for my camera.  It is recommended by many as a 'starter' lens and great for portrait shots - and only $89, so I had saved the money and finally went for it.  I think I'm going to be saving up for an external flash next, to help with the indoor photos, but we will see...

Mark this day

Today - E and I made some major financial decisions (we think) - we have a few appointments tomorrow to discuss them further.  Can't say much more than that b/c we are still praying hard for guidance and want to make the right decisions - and we are not talking with ANYONE (which is advice from the bible by the way).  Need to listen to our hearts, guts and instincts to try and follow what we think is best and what God wants us to do - which is always hard for me (the listening part).  But when I read this post many years from now I will remember what I'm talking about...and if you want you can just pray for us to make wise decisions!

Wow

Today, while searching through files on my computer at work – I found the (password protected) backups of my blogs.  I opened up the Feb-May 2006 back up, which was when I was pregnant with Peyton, and it brought back lots of memories.  Wow.  And made me realize a few things.  1.  I’m not blogging enough lately.  2.  I haven’t backed up this blog since Feb 2007, so I’m a little behind on that.  And 3.  I really need to get these posts into a book of some sort.  I know there are tools out there that make that easy to do (SouleMama has done it).

So – I’m going to work on just that, blogging more again and making a book from all my posts.   

I still think about blogging on a daily basis…it is just so far down on the priority list that it never seems to happen.  I’m going to try to blog every single day for 21 days.  Doesn’t it take 21 days to make something a habit?  I think that is what we used to do on Heather B’s blog – the 21 day challenge’s right?  So, today starts my 1^st day in the 21 day challenge!  Challenge will run from Oct 15^th – Nov 5^th.    Go Me!