30 things - photos around the house

Michelle - this one's for you!! :)

this is really dark - but the table was clean, so that's something you may not see again!

My cool retro metal signs. Each sign says "lets all go to the lobby and get a...." soda pop, hot dog or popcorn. My favorite Kitchen Aid appliance is hidden under my favorite RED Kitchen Aid Appliance cover.The Alabama Corner of the room - a very nice platter featuring Denny Chimes, two cool wine glasses and a dip bowl too - oh and see those cute popcorn things? They are Yankee Candle - a tart warmer and votive holder - LOVE THEM!

This is a plexiglass wall hanging I made - the picture slides out from behind and can be replaced. This picture was of me and Cole on the way to his school's pirate party!

The dining room - we actually all sat at the table last night and tonight to eat together. That doesn't happen often enough!

Jason's chess set. We found these pieces unfinished about 9 years ago. We painted them and made the board ourselves. It could use a fresh coat of paint and better squares, but it's pretty cool. Jason and his brother played with it when they were here a few weeks ago.

a close up of the pieces

Saturday late afternoon activity - the BEST book and some ice cream!
This is in my sitting room (where I was enjoying that book pictured above). I have my nice fancy glasses. my granny's desert bowls, my granny's everyday drinking glasses, and some bowls from my nanny - all tucked inside my friend Michelle's china cabinet. The view from the top of the stairs - the front entry way.
Cole's closet door and growth chart.
We hung Lightning McQueen from the ceiling.
My guest room - those are the flowers and ribbon from my wedding bouquet, our ring boxes and some bubbles from the reception!
My corner of the bedroom.

Photos on the dresser.
Our monogram over the bed.
My crosses.
Curtains that I've used in three places we've lived now - they match everywhere!
Cole's bathroom - yes, that Sally is a wall sticker that can be reused.
Lightning McQueen rug in the bathroom.
My giant clock in the living room, with some cool plaques from Hobby Lobby.
layouts i did this weekend
Cole in the living room tent we built Sunday
Blue and Magenta in the tent
Cole being silly in the floor - after we took the tent down.
Another shot of the kitchen.

ok - that's 27 photos - and since there's only one more day in April, will you forgive me for not doing 30??

lisa

ok -so i couldn't stand letting anyone down and came back to add three more things!!

Cole - crazy hat day at school today.

A cute banner I hung up on the fireplace - made from Jenni Bowlin's class at the event.

At any given time in our home - you will see this - a collection of things that Cole places where ever he likes - but usually all in a row. cars, backyardigan toys, nick jr toys, mickey mouse clubhouse characters - you name it - here they are, in a row!!

shew - now i feel better - 30 things!!

OK - I owe you 90 things now.

So I tried on Friday to start working on Saturday's list, but I only got to 15. I am making a list of my favorite music lyrics - and just didn't get far enough to post it on Saturday. Friday night we were without power for about three hours and the rest of the weekend was spent with company and doing Jason's homework. So I just didn't get to it - but I'll catch up. Today's list will be 30 things I did this weekend - like you haven't seen that before. And I promise I'll post 30 more later today - probably pertaining to 30 things about the CMT awards which comes on tonight - with Kenny!! WOO HOO - the lyrics will show up when they are completed!!

so this weekend:

1. Drove through a hail storm.
2. Spent about 30 minutes having a little photo session with Cole while the power was out.
3. Hung my super cute kitchen decor (retro popcorn, hotdog and milk shake tin signs)
4. Ate a sandwich at Schlotzsky's.
5. Hung out at the bookstore and met a couple that lives near us.
6. Went to Krispy Kreme (it's a weekend ritual for us lately).
7. Met my bro and sis in law and nephew there too!!
8. Got hugs from everyone but the nephew - he's too cool for that!! :)
9. Called my house repeatedly waiting for the machine to pick up so we'd know we had power.
10. Stayed up too late Friday night.
11. Got up too late Saturday morning.
12. Rode to Tuscaloosa for the A DAY GAME!!
13. Bought pom poms.
14. Thought about a million other things I wanted to buy - all Alabama gear!!
15. Showed my cousin which shirt I liked
16. Took about 200 pictures during the A Day Game.
17. Watched Alabama win the A Day Game - there was really no losing it!! :)
18. Ate a delish meal at the Cajun Steamer.
19. Oh - did I mention that I froze at the A Day Game. I decided, against my husbands better judgement, to wear short sleeves and it was very WINDY!! {Sorry Honey - you were right, I was wrong}
20. Got a little sun/wind burn on my forehead and one strange spot on my chest in the shape of an upside down triangle.
21. Watched No Reservations with my sis in law.
22. Got up to early on Sunday.
23. Ate a yummy breakfast.
24. Tried to get the computer to run a game for my nephew - I failed!!
25. Ate a yummy lunch at Johnny Rockets.
26. Hugged everyone bye - even my nephew!! :)
27. Bought a small amount of groceries for our short week at home.
28. Helped Jason with a ridiculous amount of homework. (I should at least get some credit for these classes, I'm thinking)
29. Ironed clothes for today - winter clothes - what's up with the temperature, by the way.
30. Fell asleep holding a book.

well that was the small details of our weekend. there was much more than that - but it's not 150 things for 30 days - it's just 30!!

I'm hoping I can blog from Nashville, but I'm not sure it'll happen. We'll be so very busy with event stuff, we probably won't have time to blink, or pee, or eat - but there will be FUN had by ALL. I can't wait!!!! Last year I was a bit nervous about the event. I didn't 'know' anyone at all - just had chatted with a few people online on the message board. We arrived in B'ham really late - the van broke down, we rented a car - it just started out horribly. I didn't go to all the extra stuff they had because I didn't know anyone really and was missing Jason and Cole too. This time - it's just me (no Jason and Cole along for the trip) and all the girls. I'll be behind the scenes, doing some registration, helping with classes - just fun stuff. I really can't wait. We're leaving Wednesday around lunch time I think and I'll have a car load. I feel like I'll have a great chance to get to know these girlies even better!! I can't remember the last time I had a girlie weekend. Well, I can - September of 2006 I guess and it was scrap related but I was sort of sick the whole weekend - not enough sleep or food just not a great weekend sadly. Then before that it was probably May of 2004 - a bridal party weekend for my SIL and that was not anything like this weekend will be. It was a long drive, a small hotel room, too many people in the room and giant gecko-like iguanas in the trees - I mean - really???? YUCK on the gecko-like iguanas!! ew!

So, I'll do more 30 things later tonight and I'll keep going as long as I can from the event and if I miss it - I'll owe you!!

Lisa
30 down, 60 to go!!

Happy Monday

Good Morning. Hope it is nice and sunny where ever you are. It's not here - gloomy and cloudy - an Eeyore kind of day. These are Cole's favorite though - he loves cloudy days.

We had a really busy and fun weekend - lots of visiting and lots of accomplished at home. I got loads and loads of laundry done - not fun, but always feels good when it's done, right? Sadly, there's always more waiting around the corner - you never catch up on laundry.

All our visiting this weekend was great. We saw Jason's aunt and uncle and their five girls. The youngest is just over a year old and just adorable. She's the cutest thing - took lots of pictures of her too, but sadly none of anyone else while they were there. Shame on me. Speaking of picture taking, I can't find my charger or replacement battery for the camera. My battery is getting low and I have no idea where it got packed. I remember the last time I used it and what bag it was in, but have no clue where that bag actually is - well, that's not entirely true - it's in a box, I just don't know which one!! Hopefully I will locate that very soon. I need to take some pictures of Cole now that we're in a house that actually has windows and great natural light pouring in. Our dungeon of an apartment was not the place to take indoor pictures without a flash.

We also went to a cookout last night with our small group from church. A good time was had by all. Jason met some guys - which is a plus since he hasnt' met many people here yet. And he got to meet a few of the scrapping girls I know so that was cool. Cole got to hang out with his girlfriends - Alyssa and Alayna - and now he counts Marissa in the girlfriend role call. He's added an older women too - Savannah. She's in 7th grade and is really great with kids. She's also pretty great with adults - I really enjoyed talking to her and listening to her talk about school and DisneyWorld - she knows a lot of DisneyWorld. We were surrounded by Disney fans last night - and as much as we love it and know about it - we don't know much compared to them. It just made me more excited about our trip!! I cannot wait to go!!

We also talked with one couple there (Savannah's mom and dad) about Cole and St. Jude and our whole cancer experience. We really always enjoy talking about it - even though it was such an ordeal. I think we're far enough away from it that talking about it is easy. I'm not saying I could stand up and talk to loads of people about it, like some families we know, but having a conversation with people, I can handle. And the big thing is we have a happy ending - it's good stuff. Some stories aren't - some stories haven't ended yet as the kids are still fighting. But it's so good to talk about Cole and all he went through and what a great place St. Jude is. We can't talk about how wonderful they are enough.

I also got lots of boxes that were in the way put away or emptied. The empty boxes are piling up in the garage. We need to break them down, bundle them up and store them away. That's what we did in the apartment, so we're hoping to do the same thing again. We have company coming in less than two weeks, so I have lots to do. Jason's brother, his wife and our nephew are coming, along with another couple and possibly another friend. We're all planning on heading to Tuscaloosa for the A-Day game later in April. We cannot wait. I have NO Alabama shirt to wear though - I have a long sleeve, but I need a short sleeve shirt. Just can't go to a game without your game gear on. I also need to get my 'bama princess' sticker on my car!! So the houseful is coming and we'll have tons of fun while they are here, but I still have lots to do to get ready for them. I'm hoping this weekend I can actually get the kitchen unpacked. Then there wont' be much left at all!!

Alrighty - I've been typing this post forever, thank goodness for the autosave feature. It's almost time for lunch and a team meeting, so I've got to run! (This post started last night - should it take this long to blog?)

Lisa

Thank Goodness it's Friday

I am so ready for March to be over. It was a good month - don't get me wrong - but a busy one!! I'm really pooped and so ready for my house to be in order and it's still not there. Still lots to unpack but it's things that I just can't unpack yet.

I did get some quality scrapping time last night. I worked on my ATC's for the fairytale/children's story swap I'm in at SIStv. I'm doing the Poky Little Puppy. My cards are nothing fantastic - it seems like every swap I've been in - the cards are close to the same. Some patterned paper or a picture - some type of journaling - my name and info - and some ribbon and a button. I mean, I've done several of these - and they all have these things on them!! I need to try something new, huh?

I've got two layouts planned that I want to get done this weekend. Some cards I want to make too. More ATC's as well. I hope there is enough time to do it all!!!

I have a gajillion errands to run this afternoon. I need to check the mail at our apartment and pick up our satelite boxes, which we have to mail back because they expect you to sit around and wait for them to come by - one of those 12 to 6 things - and I just cannot do that - will not do that. So I'll being paying postage instead I guess. I have to go to Walmart - isn't that always on the to-do list. I have to go by the post office (but that may wait until tomorrow and I can mail it from home if I have stamps). I have to go by the scrapbook store and drop something off and hopefully swing picking something up - like the new Basic Grey paper - if it's there and in the system already!! Crossing my fingers for that!! I also have books to drop off at the library.

And Cole has been promised a trip to Toys 4 Us (that's what he calls it) to look for the Flyboat. The Easter Bunny couldn't locate one in time for Easter so we're still looking. The Wonderpets are really worried because they can't go on any rescues until they have their flyboat. This morning, the Wonderpets were hanging out on the couch (looking rather lost without the flyboat) hanging out with Uniqua, Tyrone and Pablo (from the Backyardigans) and they decided they would all be Rock Stars. It was rather entertaining listening to them ROCK OUT! I know I must have the funniest kid in the world!!

Yesterday he told me he really likes cloudy days. We were walking to the car after school and I was so excited that it was such a nice day - warm, sunny - perfect temperature and a nice breeze. He just said it was too bright and he likes it cloudy and that a cloudy day is the perfect day. I wish I'd had paper to write down exactly what he said so I could - of course - scrapbook it. Today is rather cloudy, so maybe he'll tell me why it's his favorite on our way to the car again.

Well, that's enough from me. I'm stalking the Scrap Etc. Blog today while they have some fun posting contests and giveaways in honor of the big event that is coming up. I can't wait for that. They are currently giving away a Bind It All - which I want so very badly. I could do so much with it - besides making mini albums - I'm thinking of all the things I could do with it in my classroom. The room I'm in now has this cool alphabet thing that has big triangles, that stand on their own. On the top of each one is this binding stuff just like the bind it all and it has vowels on two and consonants on two - so you can flip the letters over to spell different things. I would love to make one for home - Cole plays with it every single afternoon before we head home. There are tons of other flash card type things I could make too - so cool. This is just another thing on my list - things I need and want - it's a long list huh?

Ok - really that's enough!
lisa

Busy Busy Bees

That's what we've been - busy!! Last week we were just busy getting ready for this week and this week we were out of town for four days. We spent the beginning of the week in Memphis. Cole had a check up at St. Jude and everything went well. His MRI was fine - all clear. He's growing too, which is a blessing!! A few other things were discussed, but nothing life changing at this moment. Things we need to think about for the future. We're looking at some programs for the summer, maybe some art classes or something - but that's expensive, so we're thinking about it. Cole does need to work on things at home this summer - getting ready for second grade. I bought a book the other night that's full of work to get kids ready for second grade. So that's a good start. I have some other things we can work on. We also went to the Parent Teacher Store today and looked around. Cole is going to pick an animal and we're going to learn all about it this summer!! We saw cute little tubes of animals in the store and this prompted the discussion of how we could learn about animals. So far, his pick is a jaguar but I was secretly hoping for penguins. I like penguins. Anyway, I'll have my work cut out for me!!

Speaking of work, I'll be working a little for the next two months. I'm filling in for a maternity leave at Cole's school. So I'll be working for the next two months - YEAH!! I'm so excited - it'll be great experience and exposure. I spent a little time there today getting to know the teacher's routine and such. I think it's going to be a great thing. And getting paid regularly will be wonderful!!!

We have our big vacation planned - we're going to DisneyWorld May 31st and we're already counting down the days - 91 days now. Cole is so excited. He's ready to go now and wants everyone we know to go with us. I would love for him to be able to bring everyone he wants with us - he's have a blast. I'm hoping this trip will be even more fun for him than the last - hopefully he'll want to ride more older rides and not just the kiddie stuff. We keep checking out the website and looking at different shows and rides - trying to get him interested in more things. I can't wait - I'm just like kid at Disney. I want to see it all, take it all in! Did I mention I can't wait!!!

I've got a few scrapping plans this weekend - at least, I want to. I want to make a few cards for Lois - that's what my last blog post was about. I have a few layout ideas in my head I'd like to get on paper too. And I have tons of other things I need to be doing - first, cleaning the apartment - it's a wreck from dumping all the stuff in the dining room from Memphis. And we are moving. Yep - Moving!! I have a friend I've known for 15 years I guess. She's living in London right now and needs someone trustworthy to rent her house - and we aren't totally happy in our apartment. It stinks - literally - so it's working out for us and my friend - YEAH! So in the next week the other tenents will be moving out and we'll get keys in a week or so and then we'll start moving in. We're going to paint a little - Cole wants a red bedroom and since he's a little aprehensive about moving again - we'll do whatever it takes to make it an easy transition. We did the same thing when we moved in here - he got a complete Lightning McQueen bedroom and bathroom out of that deal!! So he'll probably get a red bedroom this time. The better news is I'll get a scraproom!! I've already been looking at paint colors - trying to decide what color I want to go with. I instantly thought pink - I mean I'm so outnumbered with boy stuff here - Pink is wonderful. But, I'm not sure that I really NEED a pink room. I mean my scrap stuff is so random - different color containers, totes, etc. So I'm thinking a yummy brown maybe. I would like some extra details though - I was thinking about some design around the top of the walls - maybe a scallop - the Scrap Etc. store had that at their location in Trussville and it was so pretty! So maybe a lighter brown with a darker brown scallop! We'll see!

Well, We're off to dinner with my parents. So, gotta go -

lisa