An Ordinary Day

A Team Player

For a little while now, I've been wandering the web, meandering through message boards and stores, trying to find an inspirational and welcoming new home on the internet. A few weeks ago, I found Serendipity Scrapbooks. And it just so happened that they had recently posted a design team call! So I got busy creating a couple of new pages, sent my application in for the team, and anxiously waited for word. Word came! I am happy to report that I was offered a position on the team, and can't wait to start "working" with my other very talented team members. Yippee!

Serendipity is a rocking place, with daily challenges, monthly contests, special event crops, and more. Join in the fun and sign up for the House of Serendipity Event. You won't believe where we're staying:



Edward, the butler, has been preparing the house and stocking the fridge with Chocolate and the bar with plenty of drinks to go around. Bo, the Pool Boy, has been cleaning the pool and hot tub and making sure that all there is plenty of tanning oil by the chairs so he can help the guest get a perfect tan. The house has everything that a lady could want!

I am so there! Won't you join me?!

Spread the Word

Are you drooling over all the new products being presented at the Winter CHA Show? Well, guess what! Products from Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, Sassafras Lass, Pink Paislee, and Tim Holtz are now available to pre order in the Serendipity Scrapbooks store!! And best of all, you can get 15% off these pre-orders by entering the code: Winterchagoodies in the code box at the very bottom of the shopping cart.

[Please review the info on how to order pre-ordered items. Also note that some papers and embellishments will be in future Serendipity kits. If a product line is slated for use in an upcoming kit, it will be mentioned on the main page for that line.]

HERE IS HOW YOU CAN WIN PRODUCT---- Post this on Facebook, Twitter it, blog on it and share on any board that doesn't have a store. Get your name entered into the Crop drawing for the Kit for each place you post, then link back HERE.

WINTER CHA 2010-Cosmo Cricket & Sassafras Lass Open thru Jan. 30th (Ships in February)
WINTER CHA 2010-Pink Paislee & Basic Grey Open thru Feb. 15th (Ships in March)

His Bucket List

Kevin: "Mom, do you know what I want to do?"
Me: "No. What do you want to do Kevin?"
Kevin: "I want to go through a car wash."
Me: "A car wash?"
Kevin: "Yeah, I've never been through one."
Me: [shocked silence]

How did that happen? In all his life, we have never taken him through a car wash!? Some kids yearn to see a professional football, basketball, or baseball game. Others desire the newest video game or gaming system. Others still will plead for tickets to see their favorite music star in concert. And what does Kevin want? To experience a car wash!

I remember when Laura was little, going through the "Big Bird car wash" was a favorite activity. (She named it after the lovable Sesame Street character whose feathers reminded her of the big plumes of cloth that whirled and scrubbed the car clean.)

So we did it. Julie's car had been showered with dirt when she parked in an area that was undergoing construction. It was in bad need of a bath. I grabbed my camera for this momentous occasion:







Looks like the ELMO Car Wash to me!

SWEEEET!

It was a great day for a birthday. The treats began after the 9:30 AM Mass with the Men's Club Donut breakfast. A favorite lunch was to follow, meatballs and spaghetti! Then the piece de resistance, the Saints defeating the Vikings for the NFC Championship and a trip to Miami for the Superbowl!



At some point during the 4th quarter, we stole a few minutes away from the game to celebrate Kevin's birthday with the most delicious King Cake from Randazzo's. No more single digits! He's ten years old!

What a Crock

First there was The Julie/Julia Project. In the book (which I am currently reading), Julie Powell gives herself a year to make every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook, "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".



365 days. 536 recipes. Did she succeed? I might just have to finish the book to know for sure, but I do know this. She succeeded in turning her cooking blog into a best-selling book, and that best-seller into a movie. Julie (and Julia's) style of cooking? Very odd French recipes. Extremely labor intensive. Not. For. Me.

Ahhh...but here's a cooking blog I find so much more appealing! In A Year of Slow Cooking Stephanie O'Dea resolves to use her crockpot EVERY... SINGLE... DAY in 2008 and shares both her recipes and her family's verdict. Dump everything in a pot and cook it all day. THAT'S my kind of cooking.

My cooking resolution: to expand my crock pot repertoire.

In 6 hours we're having beef stew.

Can't wait!

Party In The MIA!

It's going to be a long week until that NFC Championship Game on Sunday! But I believe!

Playing With Paper

Bits and Pieces

These are a few of my favorite things! Music, books, foreign films, paper arts, photography, family and travel. All done with a favorite color combo of red, black and kraft. And a few of my favorite supplies: pretty patterned paper, lace, and chipboard. I love the fleur-de-lis...and the scissors...and the "potty" person. Fun stuff.

And a few peeks at what I've been working on lately:

Who dat?!

It's the little fan in his sister's hat, wearing his Reggie bush jersey under his Saints sweatshirt, getting all pumped up for Saturday. They are allowed to take a break from their school uniform and wear Saints' apparel today in anticipation of the playoff game tomorrow. Geaux Saints!

Top Ten

Thanks for the memories! For over six years, my home on the web was LifetimeMoments.com. Getting to know the wonderful owners of the scrapbook superstore, being invited to be a part of their design team, and working with the other very talented members of the team was was an awesome opportunity. With the sad news that the Lifetime Moments store, message board and gallery would be closing, I spent many hours perusing the site, revisiting my favorites gallery (filled with inspiration from other members of the DT and board), and transferring work of mine (scrapbook layouts, cards, and other paper art projects) back to my computer. I could hardly believe all the pages that I've done throughout the years! I picked out 10 of my favorite projects for 2009 to share once more:

The Monster In The Closet

On one of the coldest nights of the year, it decided to scare us. With four feet of smoke hanging from the ceiling in the den and the smoke alarm blaring, we shut off the heater, dialed 911, hurriedly dressed in warm clothes and opened all the doors. After welcoming a half dozen firemen into the house to check things out, we determined that nothing was (still) on fire but there were some serious malfunctions and we shouldn't run it until having the serviceman out...again. So we hit Target and WalMart to stock up on space heaters. Brrr!

Looking Back

Kevin, the last of five, came into this world on a frigid January morning in 2000. Boy was that life changing...again. The diapers, the colic, the middle of the night feedings!

Julie graduated from Mount Carmel Academy, spent a semester at Ole Miss, and returned home to finish her education. Home sweet home.

We took the kids to Disney World where all 7 of us crammed into a Wilderness cabin! The Murphy bed, waiting at the rope, Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear again...and again...and again, Rockin' Roller Coaster with my eyes shut, Laura winning at Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Good times.

Kevin and I attended I to I (Infancy to Independence), a moms and baby/toddler play group. He loved their marble maze, snack time, and swinging and sliding outside. Field trips included the zoo and Sesame Street Live.

We discovered Christian Brothers School, and their motto, "Your sons into young men, young men into Christian gentlemen." We couldn't have chosen a better middle school for Christopher. Go Falcons!

I discovered scrapbooking, and had many of my pages published in various books and magazines. For over 6 years, I designed for Lifetime Moments scrapbook store, while my supply stash grew and grew. :)

Elmwood Fitness Center. Spinning class. Cafe Zucchini. Swim lessons for Kevin.

Tommy discerned and was accepted into the Diaconate formation program for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He attended classes twice a week.

Kevin attended preschool at St. Ann. He returned for his first two days of Kindergarten and then...

Hurricane K atrina devastated New Orleans. We couldn't go home for 3 weeks. 5 kids at 5 schools...all affected. Luckily, we got Kevin into St. Rita's kindergarten class. Christopher attended Christian Brothers' afternoon program (noon-6) held on the Rummel campus until they went back to their City Park campus in November 2005. Brendan was registered for Rummel's morning platoon (6-noon) until Brother Martin returned to New Orleans in January 2006. Laura and Julie signed up for the University of New Orleans internet classes...and liked them so much that they continued to schedule online classes for most of their studies!

I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. I filed, wrote thank-you's, processed applications, and solicited donations of materials for the Construction Manager.

Award trip travels: a Caribbean cruise, Puerto Rico, a Mediterranean cruise, an Alaskan cruise, and the Bahamas! Such luxury at a great price...FREE!

The kids enjoyed vacationing at the beach with their cousins. Riding the waves, kayaking, surfing, sunning, eating, playing Chicken Foot and Balderdash. Poker tournaments late into the night. Uncle Chris' beach hikes.

Two university diplomas showed up in our mailbox during this decade. Neither Laura nor Julie were interested in attending their graduation ceremonies. No matter...they did it!

I emailed and called my congresspersons. I wrote letters to the editor and had a couple published in The Times Picayune. I co-facilitated a social justice "formation class" and the "graduates" formed a Social Justice Committee in our parish. Our first venture was a Fair Trade Fair.

Christopher, while at Jesuit High School, joined the Cross Country team and spent most fall afternoons at practice, Saturdays at meets. He took the PSAT as a sophomore and college mail filled a shopping bag. He took it again as a junior and we're waiting to hear...

Tommy was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate and was assigned to our parish of St. Ann, and to Holy Cross High School as a co-chaplain.

Brendan graduated from Brother Martin High School. He volunteered and trained with the Third District Fire Department and now hopes to get into an upcoming NOFD recruit class. WTG!

Kevin tested for Christian Brothers School in December of 2009. Crossing fingers...

And that's the decade in a nutshell.

Here's to a healthy and prosperous new decade for our family and friends!

Cousins

My parents have fourteen grandkids (five of them mine), and THIS was the first time I can remember having them all together in the same place at the same time! Mark was home from college. Olivia was visiting for Christmas. And no one was working or made other plans.


Smile! Out of a dozen photos, there wasn't a single one with everyone smiling and/or looking at the camera, so I took the best picture, merged it with part of another, and you can't tell one bit. We REALLY need to find a better spot next time, but we knew the light was nice under the tree and there was no time to search out another location. The natives were getting restless as it was. :)