blah blah blah

Does that sound a little like Scrooge? I meant it more like the same old same old. I get up I cook, I clean, I drive somewhere for someone...you know what I mean.
I usually wait until something interesting happens or I have something of value to say before I post to my blog but lately I think facebook is the venue most of my friends prefer to communicate on.
But then again I use my blog like a journal that I hope will be around long after I am gone and my children can read it and remember our journeys. So I write...for them.
Our Christmas was sweet...quietly meaningful if that makes any sense. The girls had quite a few presents under the tree...mostly clothes and little things but they were excited to open each and every one of them. We tried hard to focus on the Savior and His life but it is not as easy as it sounds. So many things distract me and I do love to shop.
We have had the Missionaries over a bunch this holiday and it is really adding a cool spirit...a warm and fuzzy feeling having those amazing young men in my home...and they think I am all that and a bag of chips when I make homemade rolls for them!
The year 2010 is right around the corner and I have no resolutions to speak of. Except maybe to resolve to not have any resolutions.
I like having Cory home but the girls tend to pick at each other when they are around each other 24 hours a day...day in and day out...it doesn't help that most of their friends are out of town. So they are sentenced to play with each other. This would normally be fine except Dene hates video games and gaming is Jonece's favorite passtime. So Dene does her best to disrupt Jonece when she is playing and this only causes unhappiness all around.
I really missed seeing Greg and Chris this holiday but I keep telling myself that next year we will be in a position to either drive to see them or fly if needs be. My sister has been going through a really tough time these last few weeks and I feel like a bull at a dairy...useless. I can't help her and it sucks.
Well we have an entire week before every one goes back to school and I have a few fun things planned to make some memories. I hope it snows (I know who thought I would ever say that!) so we can get in some sledding.
I hope everyone is having a great holiday and my friends hurry up and get home...I miss you guys!
One Blah L

Last Christmas in the Burgh

I am trying to really enjoy this winter...I said trying. Part of that is looking at things in a different way...realizing that this will be the last of so many things. Some are sad...some are not but all are held in a positive light. It was sad to realize that it was the last time I will witness the leaves changing color here...and not so sad to realize we watched our last first snowfall! Our last first slide on an icy brick road...our last first scraping of the car...all these things make me see the bright side of things. This new attitude (and the meds) are making this winter season my best so far.
I am sad that Christmas will be without family and our friends that feel like family but this is our last holiday with just the four us and that makes it super special. I am determined to make it memorable for all of us. Cory is off school for a bit and even though he will be studying for Boards we will fill the break with fun family times. Since this might be our last snowy winter we are making sure we go sledding often. The building of snowmen and snow angels are on the itinerary as well as hot apple cider and the occasional snow ball fight.
I am grateful for all my friends and family who have loved me over the distance and the new friends I have made here in PA.
Have a great holiday everyone...and know I am thinking of you!
Love and smooshes
One winter lovin L

Beware the Sleep-over

They look innocent enough...don't they??? Well guess what...they are not!!!! And they are not afraid of me...the crazy eyes and the quietly menacing voice? No effect! Have I lost my touch? Have I lost my credibility? These little girls ran amuck until 2:00am and Cory and I were powerless. So what have we learned? Never have sleepovers! Never more Never more!
Well the early part of the evening was great we stamped canvas bags (thanks Keri for the idea), decorated a matte in a picture frame for Dene, colored a wooden girl, and made jewelry.
We also made ice cream cone cupcakes and the girls decorated them...but the highlight was the trick candles. I told them that you count how many blows it takes to blow out your candle and any more than one means you have that many boyfriends. Thank goodness these girls still think boys are yucky so they were mortified that their candles kept reigniting!
Dene had two favorite parts of her birthday celebration...the first was getting an ipod from Daddy and the second was the Oreo Blast cake from Dairy Queen.
Why is it my children prefer store bought cakes and cookies from my home made ones? Are the rest of you guys lying to me? Are store bought ones better than mine? My world has been shaken these last few days...no one is afraid of me and maybe I am not the baker I thought I was.
Well I must go and rethink my reality.
Love you all]
One lost L

Deep Thoughts

The first thing I thought about when I wrote this title was those funny cards I used to read at the car wash in AZ. You know the ones...with something like...If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.
I miss going to the car wash...we have washed our car probably 6 times the three and a half years we have lived in PA. Has cleanliness dropped on our list of priorities? No, it is mostly the rain...sun inspires one to wash the car...so do hot days. Those are not in abundance in Pittsburgh. I am not bashing Pittsburgh...I really have come to love so many things here, it is just a fact. I really can't complain about the weather lately we are having a wonderful fall with crisp evenings and mornings sandwiching warm and sunny afternoons. A perfect combination if you ask me!
As for my deep thoughts I have decided to delete most of that part of my post...but let me just say the future is right around the corner and I am freaking out on some levels. I am excited to start a new chapter in our lives that does not include food stamps...but I don't want our family to change...I don't want my girls to grow up and be materialistic and shallow. I don't want my family to get so busy doing things that we no longer just do fun cheap things at home. I know there is a balance...I just hope the girls grow up to be down to earth and well rounded.
Enough of the deep thoughts...
Super Saturday is done...and I have vowed to let others teach for a few years. My sister is so funny...she said when I moved back to AZ I should tell everyone I am not crafty and we can be closet crafters...sneaking around buying supplies and working in a hidden room... selling our wares over the internet under different names...she is so funny!
On a completely different note...our little family is sick...the flu...I hope not the swine flu...but we will see. Cory is the sickest...chills, aches etc. Lets hope we all have excellent immune systems and have mild symptoms and recover quickly. I must make chicken soup...and along with the Zycam and other homemade remedies we will prevail!
Later friends
One L

Cluttered Mind?

I have been busy making jewelry...mostly filling orders that I had put off and put off until it was do or die. But I must admit that I do my best work when I am under the gun! I will post individual pictures of my stuff on my other blog.
This is a look into my creative mind...Scary isn't it!! I like to be able to see all my beads so I have to splay them out over the table leaving me absolutely no room to actually work. It looks completely unorganized but in my mind it all makes sense.

The girls had a fun Halloween, Dene was a beautiful vampire while Jonece relented on the Greek Statue and settled for a Confessor of sorts (If you don't watch The Legend of the Seeker you won't know what that is). They raked in a ton of candy and Cory has been in his glory raiding it whenever he wants. I am so glad that chocolate holds no lure for me...now if they had collected freshly baked rolls...I would have eaten them all!
Later friends
Love
One L

Long Time No Blog

Its been a while since I updated my blog and I really get after my friends and family when they slack off so I am making an effort to keep up this blog.
We have been busy this past month and I will give you it in a nutshell.
The girls had their parent luncheons at school and I brought them their favorite lunches and later we got to play outside and they both beat me at tetherball (I don't know how to spell it).
My missionary who knocked on my door and brought the gospel into my life when I was 28 years old, came for a visit with his son. I had a hard time calling him Greg...he will always be Elder Harris to me! He hasn't changed...the years have been kind...he didn't say the same thing about me.
My son Chris came for a visit and it was delicious! I just love having him around! It makes me happy to see his face. His choice of sweatshirt on the other hand made me nervous (they were all rival hockey teams)
The girls got sealants and Chris and I took them to the Dental School. It was a little long but having Chris there made it fun.
I had some jewelry in my purse and sold some to the nice ladies that work in the pediatric department. Pa-ching!
I forgot to take pictures of the fall leaves and they are pretty much gone now...it was pretty but you will have to take my word for it.
This is our year of lasts...our last fall here in the Burgh...our last time firing up the boiler...our last year of school for everyone...last Super Saturday here etc.
Today is Halloween so I will take pictures and post again soon.
Love you all
One Slacker L

Capital Trip

We went to Washington DC last weekend and it was quite the experience. The no parking thing made me a little crazy for a bit but eventually I got over it and enjoyed walking 6 miles around DC with my sweet family especially the little girl who complained the entire time about her sore feet!!


Eating was expensive but fun...we had to walk everywhere so by the end of the day we settled for something close to the hotel, and for once in my life I wasn't in the mood for Chinese!
Some things we had to do a driveby because of some marathon going on and the roads were closed and after one day of marathon walking I wasn't up to it again the next morning.
The Lincoln Memorial was the one thing I was super excited to see...it was just as magnificent in person. I especially enjoyed the quotes on either side of the statue.

But Cory and my favorite site was the World War memorial...we cried...so many lives given to keep the world free...the quotes were so moving.
The girl's favorite part was spending time with daddy...especially when he whacked them with the hotel pillows!
Here are the girls at the beginning of our tour of the city looking pretty happy and excited to see all the sites. Unfortunately we picked the weekend when there was a march re: Taxes...so it was a bit tense at times with people with bull horns yelling stuff at the White House...but I was impressed everyone used appropriate language and they were all polite and well behaved. Now that is my kind of protester! I get all uncomfortable when protesters get in your face and you think if they knew you didn't agree with them they might hurt you.
The museums were great...Cory loved the air and space one the most. The girls love the natural history one mostly because of the gems...they just love all the shiny jewels! Its all about the bling!
This a picture of the girls just before we left for home...they were sooooo done!

Of course any trip to Washington would be incomplete without seeing the Temple...magnificent!
Well that is our trip in a big nutshell!
Love
One L

Too Busy

That's a lie...I really haven't been too busy to update my blog...to be honest I got a new camera and couldn't figure out how to take the SD card out. That makes me sound kind of stupid. Truth hurts sometimes!
Cory finally showed me how to even locate the card...in my defense it was in with the batteries...what the heck is with that?
So now I have the daunting task of updating about a dozen fun things that have happened!



We went to a baseball game Pirates and the Cardinals...Pittsburgh lost but Cory said that was no surprise. We had yummy food and really enjoyed the fireworks after!


We went back to school shoe shopping...who doesn't love shoe shopping??


Back to school...ahhh the joy... the bliss... the no more day care of it all!!!! Need I say more?
We had fondue night...let me just say...AWESOME!!!!! Good friends good food that is what life is all about!

We went to Kennywood and fun was had by all...I am pleased to announce that both my daughters have inherited my love of rides that scare the crap out of you and make you throw up!
Dene was sad because she was too short to ride a bunch of the freaky rides but she went on the Pitt Fall with her dad because mom was a little too scared for this one. Its the ride that takes you straight up and then drops you like a rock all in about 2 seconds!
We really did have a super day!Last but not least we spent Labor Day with friends...Kelly was crazy enough to invite everyone to her house...btw her house is so amazing...they moved the staircase and it looks so beautiful!
Thats all for now
One happy L

Life's Most Embarrassing Moment

Yesterday Cory had just come home and I had been slaving in the kitchen and was soaked with sweat...I lifted my shirt to show my husband my sweat drenched underclothing and as I was standing there with my shirt up I saw a young man with a black and white name tag with his hand raised ready to knock on our glass screen door...the look on his face totally meant he saw...I don't I will ever be able to live this down. Cory will never let me forget!
Still no pictures because my sweet husband left the camera in Washington...our friends said they will mail it but that could a while so bear with me and the pictureless posts!
One flashing L

Look at my other blog!

Alteredartbyonel.blogspot.com is the address and there is a link up in the left hand corner of my blog...I am going to show off some of the crafts I made and do some "step by step how to's"
I am having a FHE board giveaway. Check it out!
One generous L

Half way

One week down and one week to go! I have survived many things this past week...no dishwasher...dish network malfunction...computer malfunction...food poisoning (I did it to myself)...thus horrible puking for hours on end...dead rat in the back yard...dropped my cell phone in the pool...sunburn...not to mention just a few!
On the bright side I have I have had many prayers answered...and no one is injured. Also I have had some fun times...playing at the pool with the girls and some friends.
Dinner with Radene and her fun crew (baby Lynea is precious) also watched the "So You Think You Can Dance" finale with Rachelle. I am so glad the girl won that I wanted to win (sorry I suck at remembering names).
The girls and I have had so many fun times together...especially when I am without daycare kids...we eat when we are hungry and just do whatever we want. We have the car and could go anywhere but we stay home most of the time.
I really like my girls...they are pretty cool for their age. Jonece is actually pretty witty and Dene is just a hoot. I guess if I had to spend 2 weeks without Cory again (which I think I might move heaven and earth to make sure we all go) I think we could survive.
That being said we still have another week to go. I pray everynight that we will all be safe and nothing else breaks til Cory gets home!
I have been creating up a storm but Cory took the camera so no pictures...sorry.
If you have nothin to do...call and come hang with us!!
Smooshes
One L

Abandoned

My husband has left for 2 weeks to play dentist in Washington State...he left this morning and I am already missing him.
Normally I might try to see the positive...like lots of girl time but I have my daycare kids 4 days this week and 5 next!
When I am sad I go shopping and buy shoes...but alas money is scarce til the end of the month!
Then there is the cooking thing...I cook to make Cory happy...the girls would prefer chicken nuggets and raman noodles. So, no shopping...no cooking...no fun girl days...sleeping alone in a creaky old house...these are a few of my not so favorite things. (can you hear the music?)
On the bright side I set up shop at Handmade in America on Saturday and if anything sells I could actually get a paycheck in early Sept.
Cory took the camera with him so I can't take any pictures of the fun things I made...maybe when he gets back.
Well I guess I will just sit here in my puddle of self pity and splash around for a few minutes and then I have to pull it together because I have 5 kids tomorrow!
Pray for me!
One singular L

I Love Raccoon Creek

I really love going camping here in PA...so does Cookie! We have gone a few times and taken the dog and she has done so well I think we will take her from now on. She didn't bark at night at all the raccoons in the camp site and there was no whining...except a little from me...I constantly felt icky...like no matter how many times I brushed my teeth I felt I had grime all over me.
We stayed 2 nights and maybe that is too long to go without a shower especially if you go swimming in the lake!

We had great weather and a great site...we just missed friends. OK I know I am not a big fan of huge groups going camping together...but I really love it when we go with just one or two other families!

For the girls it is all about the food...I wonder where they get that from? Here is one of their favorite camping treats...The S'more! Special thanks goes out to Bryant Low for his uber cool method of melting the chocolate...it is yummy!
Cory is by far the best marshmallow roaster in the entire world...I am not exaggerating...it is a science and he has mastered it. One taste of his lightly toasted melted wonder and you would all agree!
Love and fireflies
One L

"How To" Blog

I have started another blog alteredartbyoneL.blogspot.com to showcase my crafts and have the occasional...or maybe...often... step by step...with pictures...how to make some of the crafts I show!
Look forward to my first craft in the next few days.
I really do miss teaching at the scrapbook store...I miss the fun people and all the lovely paper!
I will have a give away for the month of Aug...a FHE board...with tags!
Stay tuned
One L

Selling Out

I have decided to take my wares to "Handmade In America" and rent a little space and sell my stuff...well I have spoken to the lady who owns the store and we are ironing out the kinks so hopefully I will be selling my stuff at that store!
She already has jewelry so she may not let me sell my bracelets and earrings there but she totally wants my boxes and stars.
Here are pictures of some of the stuff I have been working on lately.










the cost of renting space and then the 14% commission they get I will have to pump up my prices! Have no fear I will still do things for friends at a discount!
Wish me luck!
One Entrepreneurial L

Happy 4th of July

In the past I have tried to take pictures of fireworks and of course they never turn out...somehow it always turns out looking like a space shot of the milky way. So when I forgot the camera I thought "no big deal" well I was wrong!
We went to the Bushman's house for a BBQ and after the sun went down they have a perfect view of the Mount Lebanon fireworks display from the comfort of their enormous backyard! We had so much fun...yes, even Cory had fun at a ward activity...I wish I had turned around and grabbed the camera.
Since there is no evidence that Cory did indeed go...and he had fun...you will all have to go on trust. Cory socialized, played frizbee and resisted the urge to "discipline" some little boys who will remain nameless (to protect the guilty).
Never in a million years would I invite the ward to my lovely home and let all those children run amuck, I must say there is a special place in Heaven for people like that!
The girls ran around and Dene loved on the babies...they could go to ward functions every day and life would be just blissful for them! I think they miss school, well the running around with other kids part of school...not so much the day to day homework part to school.
The fireworks were pretty good...the last part was impressive. We came home and the girls showered and we all hit the sack and crashed...now that's a sign of a good time!
Let me just finish my saying that I am glad I am raising my children in the USA. The freedoms they enjoy and the opportunities they have are unique to the States and I am grateful to the men and women who have fought to provide this future for them. I pray the United States of America will remain the land of the free and the home of the brave...forever!
Love and sparklers,
One L

I took the girls to see the dentist (daddy) (as Cory would say "that's Dr. Daddy") and they both passed with flying colors even though the xrays were painful!

It looks like Cory is thinning out on top and let me assure all of you that is not true...I know I cut his hair and let me say it is as full as ever!
The girls were brave and well behaved and everyone at the school was super nice...I met a bunch of super cool ladies and a fellow scrapbooker...what are the odds?
Neither of them need any cavities filled but Cory is checking into getting...I can't remember what is is called...but its like a coating on the teeth to prevent cavities. It might not be covered so it is just a maybe at this point.
That is all for now
love and stuff
One L