After a long break....I am back and blogging again. Since my last blog in August, we have left FL and moved to middle TN...so let me officially say... "HI YA'LL". I am loving the cool weather here....hot FL can get tooooo hot after a while. Even saw some snow flurries last week which I LOVE!
We saw the Kathy Griffin show last night and she was spectacular!! Our seats were really good...right off to the side up one section.
Kathy is known for dishing about A-List celebrities and claims to be on the "D-List" which is the name of her show on the Bravo station...Life on the D List.
After regularly watching her TV show, we were hoping we hadn't seen all of her schtick already but her show last night was fresh, current and belly-laugh funny. She is not afraid to speak her mind and make fun of A-List people. Hubby and I laughed from start to finish at her 1 hour and 40 mins show.
WELL>>>>>>>>these pictures above are pictures of a 400 ft stream that is on the back of a 3 1/2 acre property that we bought!! It is total country living in this NE PA area (considered the lake region of the Poconos) and beautiful, and only 2 hours to Manhattan if I need a city fix. We are about a half hour to Honesdale, Forest City and Scranton PA where there is plenty of shopping, restaurants and places to work. We will also be very near most of my husband's family members.
This move won't be taking place until we sell our current home in FL which considering the way the market has been might take a while.....but who knows....it could sell quickly too. Then we will be building a home on our new property and starting over in PA. We are very excited about the prospect of moving but the only down side to moving is leaving my elderly Mom in Florida, but she has hinted that maybe she will follow us up there since there is some retirement villages there. We have a long road ahead of us to get to where we want to be but we are headed in the right direction. It is hard to pick up and start over but it is what we really want and will have lots of family around to help us if needed and know that happiness is on the other side of all the hardwork.
My daughter is only half-heartedly excited about moving. She loves the area and all but at 13 doesn't want to leave her friends, although one of her best friends is also moving away within a year. She was also born in Florida and really doesn't understand the missing of the four seasons concept. I know she will flourish in PA and make new friends. I also cannot wait to introduce her to things in Manhattan like the museums and Broadway shows as well as other places up north and SNOW DAYS. I miss SNOW DAYS!!!!!
This quote is so perfectly fitting for an antique fair and for a father/daughter relationship. In case you can't read the quote.....
I had my closet done by 3 Day Closets and am sooooo happy!! Not only will I have no wasted space in the closet but I will really be able to see what I have in a glance. Some of the pictures above are the rest of my room besides the new organized closet...the corner shelving is my wood stamps and on the other side of the room I have my Sizzix machine and dies on a tv stand table. I split my paper between the closet and the desk for now. I have most of my tools that I always use on my desk and my markers and xyron 250. I can't wait to scrap now and know exactly where things are....I found so much when I had to clean out the closet. I also like the fact that I can close the closet doors and hide the stuff so it doesn't look too cluttered in the room. Also, one section of the closet is inter-changeable for hanging clothes for guests when necessary since my scrapbook room is also the guest room --- you can see that part in one of the closeup pictures. I also have a black couch which opens up into a twin bed in this room and my computer on the other side of the desk that you can't see. Also note...the 2nd to last picture shows a close-up of my 3 briefcases that house my brads, eyelets, buttons and magic mesh....these were very inexpensive and bought at Home Depot in the toolbox aisle.
The Biggest Loser show has been a favorite of mine for its three seasons. Each time a new show starts, I say that I will start with it.....and each time I don't. I watch the show and am so happy for the contestants that work so hard to get the healthy body they want and need. Last time, some contestants did the work at home to compete and there was one contestant named Poppi who inspired me. She lost 117 lbs to become 115 lbs. She did this at home. I kept thinking to myself....at home, at home.....the show isn't what made these people lose weight....it was themselves! She did it at home! I can do it at home and don't need to be on a show.
I joined the Biggest Loser Club online ( www.biggestloserclub.com)
to have a constant inspiration and a place to ask questions and mark my progress. This is what Poppi did....at home. I have a treadmill, ab lounger and bowflex at home so I have absolutely no excuse not to exercise. I have been dusting these objects for years now! I started exercising on Monday and have done 20-25 minutes a day on my treadmill.
Two years ago, when husband discovered his diabetes, we started eating semi-vegetarian and low sugar but now I am portion controlling like I should always have been. My husbands diabetes was immediately controlled through diet. I always said...we eat healthy but never realized too much healthy stuff can be fattening. I have always been 20-30 lbs overweight....even went to Weight Watchers when I was nine to lose 25 lbs....it's not only today's kids that had a weight problem. My weight is no longer just an extra 30 lbs..it is now sadly double that...I don't know how I got here but I am doing something about it now?
Not only do I want to lose weight for my health and vanity but...I am going on a cruise to Alaska in June and I am NOT going to go with all this weight on my body. I am hoping to lose 50lbs (or more) before June and since the Biggest Loser contestants lost something like 15-25 lbs a month - I am hoping I can do it too. I know exercise is a huge part of how they lost it. Poppi said she exercises 2 1/2 hours a day broken into two sessions. If she can do it....why can't I? I also need to add that since I am a non-smoker for over nine months now, I can breathe to do all this exercise. It feels great. If I can stop smoking...I can lose weight. I read in a diet magazine once where a successful dieter wrote....
I didn't lose weight until I stopped smoking and was able to exercise. That is a thought that has stayed with me.
I will post my progress. Wish me luck. I need to buy a nice dress for the cruise!!!
The U-Pick place was much different from previous places we have gone where you have to wade through dirt and are constantly bent over. This place had all the plants in these 5ft high turnstyle plant stands - see the picture above. When we arrived, they handed out baskets and scissors and required that we wash our hands before going into the picking area.
Although it was a hot one out today (85 degrees!) hubby and I enjoyed the strawberry picking - it was relaxing. Tomorrow we are going to make strawberry preserves with Splenda. We made preserves a couple of years ago with regular sugar and it was excellent but now that we watch our sugar for diabetes sake, we are going to try to make it with Splenda and are hoping it comes out just as good.
December went so quick! Did my Christmas shopping early and then we headed up to visit my daughter in South Carolina. Spent a couple of days with her there. Met my furry granddaughter (above) while there....isn't that kitten adorable??? We ate at some great restaurants and walked around downtown Charleston. One place we ate was the Bumba Gump Shrimp Co. and it had Forrest Gump memorabilia all over the restaurant.
Next, we headed up to New York. Our relatives are in New York and Northeastern Pennsylvania. We spent the week including Christmas visiting relatives and enjoying the 30 degree weather. Saw some snow fall twice...it didn't stick enough to play with but it was fun to watch fall. I miss the way my hair looks in cooler weather as opposed to the humidity here in Florida. My hair looked great the entire time we were in NY....no frizz all week.....LOL.
Anyhow, got home the other day and have spent the time getting rid of the jetlag feeling from driving 20 hours and spent the other half of the time doing laundry. It was nice visiting and all but it is great to be back in the comfort of my own home.
For any readers out there...I just finished London Bridges by James Patterson and it was another one of his excellent books. I am now reading Mary Mary by him and then have one more book left in his Alex Cross detective series to read. If anyone likes mystery detective thrillers with a touch of romance, comedy, and total intrigue...this series is for you. James Patterson has a way of writing that keeps you captured until the very last page. It would be thought that after reading so many of his books I might be able to figure out the storyline or guess at whodunit but I never can....LOL. I have also read James Patterson's....Sam's Letters to Jennifer and Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Those two books were love stories but written in the suspense and twist ending style. I just don't know how he keeps doing it...writing twists and curves in every book.
Tomorrow is the New Year 2007 -- Time really flies, especially when you are having fun. Starting the New Year after coming off vacation really gives me this renewed, refreshed and spring cleaning feeling. I don't have any resolutions this year because I finally licked the one I have said year after year....I haven't smoked in nine months and proud of it!!!!!! Hubby hasn't smoked for nine months either and I am so proud of him also. I do have some goals - I will continue spending my time with Family, Exercise More, Read More, Scrapbook More, Save More and Be More Organized.
I have alot of things to look forward to this year...one daughter will be turning 13 and into a teenager and the other will be turning 20 and out of teenagehood (is that a word?). We have a trip to Alaska planned in June and we cannot wait to go there. My husband and I will be celebrating our 14th Wedding Anniversary and our 10th Business Anniversary.
I hope for a Happy and Healthy New Year for our family and yours.
To get the Fall feeling in Florida....you have to decorate your house. The weather outside won't change and the feeling like summer is still there and the leaves don't fall. I miss the change of seasons that I use to have growing up in New York. Here is my Fall Layout...it's the best I can do living in "Fall-Less" Florida.
Notice that I used the Autumn Leaves clear stamps again....I am addicted to these now and am trying to use them on almost every new layout I do. Love the "You Are Here" and "Arrow" stamps!!! I found the compass in my stash.....don't even remember where I got it or how long ago. See....this is why us scrappers have to constantly shop for stuff that we "may" use in the future.....because when the layout is right.....we will have the stuff we need....LOL.
The background paper is Basic Grey-Hang 10 and the month stickers are Epoxy stickers by Creative Imaginations. The clips on top right are Clipease. The rest of the paper and the Fall letters paper was done with scraps from my scrap folder......I try to go in there more often lately. I also try to use my Coluzzle more often...I used it here for the Fall letters. Some things I have that are old are becoming new to me again.
I haven't written lately but have been busy scrapping. I have been busy doing some books for hire....did one Baby Boy album for someone who needed to give it as a gift and then another Little Boy album for someone else. Since I have girls, it was new for me to work on so much "boy" stuff. I also worked on my own Tennessee Vacation scrapbook as well. I used an 8x8 album and it was so quick to do in that size. I used Fancy Pants rub-ons on these pages and OMG do I LOVE them! I recently found this company and LOVE LOVE LOVE their stuff! On the couple page...everything but the strip border is a rub-on and on the Horse page...the frame is Fancy Pants rub-on and the words are K&Co.
Now I am back to finishing up my Christmas 2005 layouts before I need to do Christmas 2006. I am pretty much caught up except for the Christmas ones. I have kept up this year with doing layouts of recent pictures as soon as I get them but somehow Christmas 2005 got put on the back burner. On this layout of my husband and I, I used a real felt bow from our decoration stash. 
On another note, looking forward to the Orlando Memories Expo in a couple of weeks...hoping to find lots of Fancy Pants rub-ons there. This will be my 5th year going to this event. Every year I meet my bestest friend/scrapping buddy there (we live 2 hours apart) and we shop until we drop.
I have never played the game BUNCO before but last night Christine (the owner of my LSS) asked me to be a fill in. I really didn't know anyone that was going to be there except for Christine but I figured I would give it a try. I got to her house around 6pm and got a quick lesson on the game. Everyone soon starting arriving and we had dinner. Everyone was very friendly and made me feel very welcome. We starting playing BUNCO after dinner and it was so much FUN!!! I loved the game...easy and fun. All of us woman chatted and joked around during the game which made it a very friendly and fun atmosphere. During half-time we celebrated someone's birthday and had cake. This group gives out prizes at the end and I won one. Everyone traded prizes for the ones they really wanted so I did the same because I really wanted this tiny desk plaque that said "Life's A Journey". I love that quote - and say you need to find the J O Y in the Journey. I put the plaque in my scrap room/office right away. The person who traded me was surprised I wanted the least expensive prize but it is the one I really wanted...LOL. I traded her with my prize of an embellished glass candy dish.
Christine is now starting a new BUNCO group.....a SCRAPPER'S BUNCO group. The prizes would be scrapbooking supplies. I am definitely joining this group. Not only will that be fun and scrapbook related but it felt good to get out and hang out with a bunch of girls for a change. Sometimes us Mom's don't do that too often and I think we need girl nights. NOT the girl nights we had when we were single ....LOL...but nice, clean fun girl nights like last night. I am glad I was asked to go last night and glad that I took a chance and went.
