A to Z Survey

A to Z Survey

A is for age: 34
B is for breakfast today: Frosted Flakes and a banana
C is for currently craving: a good run!
D is for dinner tonight: probably chicken kiev
E is for favorite type of exercise: running or elliptical, right now walking :)
F is for an irrational fear: spiders biting Jack (country living brings wonderful surprises)
G is for gross food: lettuce
H is for hometown: Luna Pier, MI
I is for something important: spending as much time with Jack as possible
J is for current favorite jam: strawberry
K is for kids: 1.5 - Jack (1) and Presley (.5)
L is for current location: my couch
M is for the most recent way you spent money: bought a Living Social deal for a haircut/malibu!
N is for something you need: can't think of anything right now
O is for occupation: Human Resources
P is for pet peeve: finger nail clipping in public places; people who sneeze/cough without covering their mouths
Q is for a quote: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
R is for random fact about you: I love candy.
S is for favorite healthy snack: oatmeal
T is for favorite treat: ice cream
U is for something that makes you unique: I just had a beautiful baby boy last week!  
V is for favorite vegetable: green beans
W is for today’s workout: walking Presley
X is for X-rays you’ve had: shoulder, teeth
Y is for yesterday’s highlight: Eric finished his last final!  WOO HOO!!!
Z is for your time zone: EST

Martha in person in a little over a week!

One of my dreams is coming true!  I am going to a taping of the Martha Stewart Show - actually not just any taping - the BABY SHOWER SHOW taping.  A month or so ago, I saw a tweet from Martha regarding this episode and I felt like trying to get a ticket.  I had no idea if I would get one and thought Eric and I would make a decision about whether or not to go if we were lucky enough to get a ticket.  Well, I DID get a ticket but the show will tape on a Tuesday and Eric is just too busy with his school schedule to get away.  HOWEVER, Beckie (my sister) is going to meet me in NYC for a few days.  This trip is going to be amazing!  We already have a ton of things on our list of "to dos".  We are both very excited to say the least.  I cannot wait to spend 3 whole days with my sister.  She is so much fun and I miss her all the time.

More baby preparations

We have been slowly getting the baby's room for his arrival.  Eric made him a wonderful book shelf.  We also obtained a wardrobe from his Mom that he painted to match.

We also have the wardrobe stock started with fun baby clothes that we cannot help buying sometimes!  Others have helped too.  It seems Little Compton's grandparents also love giving him gifts already.  He will be one well dressed boy.  I also created a fun wall hanging after seeing something similar on Pinterest.  We made another fun item using his name but that will have to wait.  The name will be shared in less than 3 months!

Scrapbooking Update

I finished my scrapbook for our 2010 trip to London and Paris!  It was fun to look back at the many pictures we had from that trip but also to accomplish this task.  I have included some of my favorite pages here.  

Next up:  It is wedding time!!  

Home-made Pizza

Being home a bit and finding a little energy means... COOKING!  

First came the dough.  The recipe calls for Bread Flour, which I've never purchased. Since I needed so much, I figured it was worth buying.  I also bought Kosher Salt after looking for it for quite awhile at Meijer.  

This was actually my first experience with yeast.  I've made other breads before, but never with yeast.  It was really very easy.  This is pre-rise.  

Then came the sauce.  I left the oil on the stove for a little bit too long though and when I mixed in the rest of the ingredients, it reacted a bit crazy (splattering, shooting out sauce, etc.)  It calmed down though.  I used provolone and mozzarella cheese, canned mushrooms, and ham.  The dough and pizza sauce recipes made two pizzas.  I made both.  We had leftovers the next day.  They baked for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

All cooked and ready to eat!

Eric and I both really liked the pizza.  I estimate that the ingredients cost around $12 which is really reasonable.  We will have it again!  

Preparing for Baby aka Little Compton

Remember this?

We had quite a project on our hands.  We had an idea of what we wanted to do.  We were looking for a piece of a furniture called a secretary but of course wanted a great deal and the perfect piece.  It needed to have PLENTY of storage space but also look nice and have somewhat of a compact quality once it was finished.  Eric found something that looked like it would work on craigslist.  While we were out on Black Friday, we went and looked at it in Farmington Hills.  Keep in mind we had a vehicle full of shopping bags to start.  We were in luck!  It was exactly what we had been seeking, however ti needed A LOT of work.  After looking closely at it, we could tell that it had been stored outside at some point and was rather marred and scratched up.  It needed work to say the least, but that was the plan.  It actually fit in the Trailblazer which was perfect.  Otherwise, I am not sure what we would have done.  

Check out the before pics...

In process...

And done!  SUPERB in my opinion!  What an amazing transformation.  

Eric doubted that all of my "stuff" would actually fit within the furniture, but he was happily surprised!  I have my jewelry making supplies and the larger dies for my Sizzix machine on the top shelf.  The second shelf has ink and other stamping supplies, my Creative Memories cutting system and many of my embellishments.  The  third shelf has some of my watercolor painting supplies, ribbons, wood beads, and many, many adhesives/glues.

In the open secretary portion, I have stored my scissors, pens, markers, several punches, more adhesives, and my cutting system mats.  I also store whatever project I am working on inside.  Currently, I am working on scrapbooking our 2010 London/Paris trip and keeping my pregnancy journal updated.  I just finished London!  WOO HOO!!!  

In the lower drawers, I've stored many more supplies. In the first drawer, I have more watercolor painting supplies, my stickers, and lots of punches.

The next drawer has so much glitter (LOVE), and some of my stamps.

This drawer has my paper.  This is the only part of this "system" that I do not love.  I think it is the best solution for now, but it is difficult to get to and go through the paper while you are working on a project.  

The last drawer has the rest of my stamps. 

Using the new spot!  Love it!

As I stated in my earlier blog post, I did do some sorting and reorganizing of my supplies before I started moving in to my new spot.  I have a large bag of fun supplies ready for my sister and her kids!  I think she'll enjoy the mixture of items.  

Check out the room as of right now - quite a transformation.  

The desk is listed on craigslist.  We have had some interest and hope to sell it soon.  The bookshelf will be replaced by the one that Eric is going to make for the baby.  I will have to relocate the scrapbooks and crafting books as well.  I am so excited to see all of the baby furniture Eric will be making for the baby over his Christmas holiday break.  It is a really large undertaking but I have confidence.  He is excited too!

Non-traditional Holiday Baking

When I asked my mom what we could bring to the Holbrook Christmas celebration today, she requested my chocolate chip cookies!  Yum!  I love making them and especially love eating them.  They are cooling and will be ready to package up soon for the trek to my aunt's.  

I used my traditional recipe but instead of all of one kind of chip, used one bag of mini-chocolate chips and a half of a bag of white chocolate chips.  These are usually a hit. :)