Chicken Scratch

Friday Fill-In

1. It's time for my annual exam this afternoon (bleh!)

2. Renting this house; it's not a bad place for the time being.

3. I must be disciplined about working out.

4. Being a wife and mom is the best thing I have ever known.

5. My life is simply blessed.

6. The last time I laughed really loudly was yesterday watching Kaleigh play with the dogs.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to more scrappy time with Kaleigh, tomorrow my plans include nothing and I love it and Sunday, I want to veg and watch movies with the fam!

Play along here. :)

Playing with Pixels and Paper

Just wanted to share a few layouts I did the past few days.

I created these two digi layouts for Jessica Sprague's CT.

 
[supplies: Crystal Wilkerson June 2009 Collection; Crystal Wilkerson Templates V.01; fonts: Century Gothic, 2peas Champagne]

 
[supplies: Crystal Wilkerson July 2009 Collection; Jessica Sprague Template 4; fonts: Downcome, Century Gothic]

And I created these two paper layouts as the last of my DT projects for July at Scrapfreak.

 

You can find supply lists and my other projects here.

And lastly, here's a little gecko I got a photo of tonight. I looked out the back door and he was hanging out. I was even able to open the back door slowly, step out, and get a photo of him from a different angle. Kaleigh and I love looking for the geckos at night when we come in. This one was one of the larger ones we've seen. He was probably about 4 inches long.
 

Meal Plan Monday & Today's Thrifty Treasures

So I'm officially cooking now (God bless hubby for doing it for so many years LOL) and am attempting meal planning. We'll see how it goes. Wish me luck! My friend, Monica, shares hers on her blog each Monday so I thought it might be fun to post mine as well.

Monday - Easy Cheesy Chicken (except the recipe I'm using doesn't have the cream of mushroom soup or the sour cream - might have to try this alternate recipe next time and compare)

Tuesday - Chicken Florentine and Farfalle (a frozen bag dinner)

Wednesday - Teriyaki Brown Sugar Ham with Steamed Broccoli and Sweet Potatoes (hubby's own marinade - place a ham steak in a casserole dish, sprinkle generously with brown sugar, pour in teriyaki sauce - sorry for no exact measurements, I always eyeball - cover with foil and bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes)

Thursday - Chicken Parmisagna and Penne (another frozen bag dinner)

Friday - Creamy Shrimp Alfredo

So not everything is fresh and homemade (those frozen bag dinners are quick and easy) but I'm still learning this cooking thing and slowly easing into it. I've always been a baker but not so much on the dinner cooking. If you ever have any healthy, quick and easy recipes that your family loves, please share!

Now onto Today's Thrifty Treasures... technically I shared mine yesterday but I discovered this blog on the 320 * Sycamore blog and after seeing my friend, Stacey, play along today I thought why not. So I'll start sharing any thrifty finds on Mondays from now on. If you missed mine yesterday, just scroll down to the post below to see my goodies. :)

Sunday Seven

1. I went to my mom's retreat this weekend for a scrap retreat with my girlfriends. We had a great time scrappin', eating, and watching chick flicks. I can't wait for my next retreat in October! I had to share this photo of this little chicken sign my mom has. She always writes a welcome message for her retreat guests. Too cute!

2. The August Project Freak class begins this coming Saturday at Scrapfreak. Here's a sneak peek of what I'm teaching. I hope you play along!

 

(created with Crystal Wilkerson's June 2009 collection)

3. I got a few new home decor goodies this week...

Monday my friend, Stacey, stopped by with this vintage step-stool chair she picked up for me at a garage sale I missed. I snagged it for $15.

Tuesday I went to lunch with my aunt and afterwards we ran into Garden Ridge. I got a really cool 2' bird cage on sale for $12, a glass cloche, and some ceramic balls with letters/numbers on them on clearance for $5.
 

Wednesday I went to Hobby Lobby and found this planter on clearance for $3.

And then on Friday, on the way to my mom's, I stopped at a favorite junk store and found an old window frame painted black  for $12 and a cute metal shelf for $6.
 

4. Sad news today. My baby sister miscarried her baby. I feel just awful for her. If you will, say a little prayer for my sister, Kelly, and her fiance, Landon. We were all so excited for a new baby in the family.

5. I'm signing up to be a Jeweler for Premier Designs Jewelry. I'm so excited! I love jewelry and I love their pieces so this should be a fun new venture! I'm having my debut party in two weeks and can't wait! If you ever need jewelry for yourself or maybe a gift for a friend, let me know! ;)

6. We saw the new Harry Potter last Sunday. Loved it! Hubby, who hasn't read the books, was so not prepared for what happened in it so he didn't dig it so much. LOL They also played the New Moon trailer during the previews so it was AWESOME to see it on the big screen finally! I can't wait! 117 days and counting! ;)

7. My baby lost her second tooth this weekend. I wasn't home to make sure the Tooth Fairy handled everything properly but hubby stepped up and made sure she did a great job. Tooth in fairy box - check! Fairy dust left behind - check! $1 gold coin left behind - check! Way to go, hubby, for helping her out! ;) And here's my cute li'l snaggletooth. :)
 

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. Have a great week!

Friday Fill-In (a day late)

1. Maybe my external hard drive getting fried is not the end of the world. (I think.)

2. Sitting here, listening to the sound of rain falling, I am perfectly content.

3. This brownie fudge sundae tastes so good!

4. Sometimes, putting others first is hard.

5. A sunrise is breathtaking, really.

6. Well, maybe there is chance I'll actually get to the gym this week.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to scrappin' with my girls, tomorrow my plans include family time with hubby and Kaleigh and Monday, I want to call for a flooring estimate!

My Latest Project

I finished a project today. I started it a few weeks back at a crop and finally found a frame for it yesterday. I love how it turned out. It's inspired by this project on the Cosmo Cricket blog.

Many thanks to my special friend, Monica, who gave me the vintage buttons for it. They were from her great-grandmother's stash and she also used some of them on her own project like this.

(You can find my supply list here.)

I'm so sick of this Texas heat and summer is my least favorite time of year because of it. I was at Hobby Lobby yesterday and they have their fall and Christmas stuff out already. It made me so excited! Fall is my favorite time of year and while it's still a few months off, I'm already planning for craft and home decor projects. I can't wait to pull out my tubs of fall decor for the house. Again, a few months off, but it was a nice COOL thought during this HOT weather. ;)

Friday Fill-In

I love blog quizzes/Q&As and recently learned about a fun blog that provides fun blanks for you to fill in. I'm going to start doing these every Friday on my blog. Feel free to play along! :)

1. A frozen lasagna and garlic bread make a quick and easy dinner.

2. The Secret Life of Bees is the book I'm reading right now.

3. July brings back memories of swimming and BBQing at my parents.

4. The fact that it was freakin' hot today was obvious.

5. They say if you tell your dreams they never make sense to the other person. LOL

6. I sometimes need to think it over.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching movies with Kaleigh, tomorrow my plans include scrappin'/craftin' with Kaleigh and Sunday, I want to hopefully go see the new Harry Potter with the fam when hubby gets back in town!

Pure. Sweetness.

I took this photo of Kaleigh earlier this evening. I absolutely adore my sleeping child. I love to lie on her bed with her and snuggle her. I'll just stare at her sweet face and listen to her breathing. It's such an easy time to thank God for blessing my life with her. There's just a sweetness and innocence in that moment. It touches my soul.

Sunday Seven

1. I hope everyone had a fun July 4th! We spent the day at my parents' playing, BBQing, and shooting off fireworks. My friend, Monica, and her family joined us. It was a fun (and HOT) day!

2. If you haven't heard my PSA yet from this past week... back up your hard drives NOW! I fried my external hard drive last weekend pretty good. I've had two friends look at it and both had no luck. So I'm going to get a quote from a few pro companies and see if I can even afford them hopefully recovering my stuff. It's put me in such a funk this week realizing the photos, digi layouts, and files I've lost from the past 6 months. I signed up today with Mozy.com for an online back up system. I wish I would've done this a long time ago and saved myself the heartache.

3. The three of us saw Ice Age 3 today. LOVED it!!! I think those movies have gotten better with each sequel. Definitely a must-see if you haven't already. ;) And the funniest part was they had the song *Walk the Dinosaur* in the movie. It brought back memories of our 9th grade drill team performance at Spring Show. LOL

4. My June DT projects are all up at Scrapfreak. You can view them here. Lots of fun things going on at Scrapfreak right now (click on each item for more inf0):
July Project Freak class
July Guest DT Contest
July Sketch Inspiration
Summer Points Challenge

5. Monica has a new blog about being a not-so-green wife living with a very green husband. If you ever need a good laugh you can check it out here. :)

6. My husband and I discovered a TV series today on USA called Royal Pains. It's pretty good. We both thought it was like a mix of The O.C. meets Nip/Tuck. We might have to add this one to the DVR list.

7. I'm having a Premier Designs jewelry party this Friday. I went to a party a few weeks ago at Monica's and decided to have my own show. I'm even contemplating signing up to be a Jeweler for them. They have some neat stuff!

Have a great week!