A gift to myself...

Today I got my newest Cricut addition in the mail! I wasn't expecting it for at least another week. It's the Home Accents cartridge and I can't wait to use it! I got a tip from my cousin Shani that a certain website had it for cheap so I took a look. I think these normally sell for about $50 but I got it for around $25 shipped. I hadn't bought this one before because I didn't want to pay $50 for it! I'll post some of my creations later when I'm done using It!

Sunsets, fires & veggies!

Now that's a sunset!

And that's a fire!

Today Colin and I decided to do some yard work because it was SO beautiful outside! There were hardly any clouds in the sky all day. We did a ton, including: Raking up 3 piles of leaves, trimming a tree, clearing a major pile of tree branches/garbage/sticks graciously left by the previous renters, selling a metal shed we didn't want and getting it out of our back yard, and last but not least - throwing it ALL in the burn pile! Except the shed of course. The above picture is the result of all our labor. I think I have a sunburned face now! It feels SO good to get all of this done! Now I can start my veggie garden. I bought seeds today so hopefully we get some good fruit and veggies! I bought carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, cantelope, watermelon, lettuce and onion. My mom is giving me raspberries and strawberries in a couple weekends. Colin and I are planning on building the raised garden bed either this weekend or next so I'll take pics when it's up.

One of my scrapbook pages

Kind of a bad picture but I wanted to post one of my latest scrapbook pages. The quote around the tree says, "Life without love is like a tree without blossoms". I've been trying to be more creative with my card making scrapbooking and I think think this turned out pretty well!

My Little Furbaby

Recently I've noticed that Duke has been chillin' in the kitchen when I'm not in there. Normally he begs for food so I just figured that was what he was doing. I went in there today to find this...


Apparently there's a vent below the sink cabinet that blows out a massive amount of hot air. So, Duke decided this was the spot to be! When the vent stops blowing out the air, he comes back to the living room to hang out with me. :) Is he spoiled or what?!?

Cards Galore

Tonight I made a couple cards and thought I'd share. I used my Cricut for the flowers and letters. My camera doesn't take very good pics but you get the idea! Does anyone else have a Cricut? If so, what are your favorite cartridges? I really want the Home Accents one but I guess I'll need to wait until my birthday. OR Micheal's or Joanne's has them on sale again for $30. Anyway, let me know what you think! :)

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope everyone feels loved in one way shape for form today! I thought I'd take a moment to share all the people in my life I am thankful for. First, Colin - the most hard working, caring, stubborn :) and loving boyfriend ever. My parents and sister who have been very supportive and understanding of me moving to Albany. Colin's parents and sisters for helping us out with the house and making us feel comfortable here in Albany. My best friend Keana for the many phone conversations allowing me to vent. And Colin's Granny and Gramps for giving us the awesome opportunity to buy a house from them. Without them we would never have been able to afford a house.

It seems silly that only one day a year people express their love for one another. But Colin and I are constantly thinking about and thankful for the very special people in our lives. We love you all!

Swim, Bike, Run!

2 years ago my sister and I did a triathlon in eastern Washington. Last year we didn't for some reason, so this year we figured, why now. We are both trying to get more fit and this would be a good goal for us. We found a tri about a mile from my parents house at a park we grew up going to. (5 mile lake) I'm pretty sure we had several birthday parties there too. The tri includes a 1/4 mile swim, a 14 mile bike and a 3.1 (5k) mile run. I've got the swimming part down, the biking part I'll need to work on, and the run will absolutely kill me I'm sure. I HATE running! I've been doing it more lately with working out so hopefully I'll do ok. One thing is for sure, when we did the last tri Laura and I both had mountain bikes and this year we will opt to rent the bikes with the skinny tires! People would ride by us laughing because the mountain bikes are so much harder! We were clueless. :)

If anyone wants to do it with us that would be great! I've already had Colin's sister - Allison, and a childhood friend - Carly, say they would do it so it should be fun! Below is the link if anyone is interested. :)

http://www.trifind.com/wa.html

Piros for sure...

Today on a whim Colin and I decided to make a fire pit. We have SO many sticks, leaves, tree branches that were left over from the previous owners that really need to go before we redo our yard! So we decided that making a burn pile was the easiest option. Plus, in the summertime we can have nice bonfires. We used the blocks from a flower bed thingy that was around a tree to cover the tree's roots. We were eventually going to redo that bed anyway and didn't know what do do with these blocks. Randomly today we decided we could use them for this project! It turned out pretty good I think!

A hint of good news...

Down 6 1/2 pounds! Just had to throw in that 1/2 pound. :) And I didn't cheat. I used the same scale (which is one of those old fashioned Dr. scales that you have to do manually), with my workout clothes on, around the same time at night. Gives me a little bit of hope/motivation.

Yay for me!

I've got puppy fever!

I was looking at a local Rat Terrier website and saw this picture. The puppy on the very left looks identical to Duke when he was a puppy, even though duke is a Boston/Rat Terrier mix (Brat Terrier)). Since I'm not allowed to have baby fever, I've resorted to puppy fever. I want another little Duke so bad...but Colin said no. :( He says we need to stick to the plan to get a Chocolate lab and that we don't need 2 Dukes running around the house. I guess he's right. And technically it IS his turn to pick a puppy! But how cute is this baby? I'm sure I am bias but Duke was absolutely the cutest puppy I've ever seen in my life. He only weighed 4.3 lbs when I got him and was so curious and naughty! What's new???

Congrats!!!

Just wanted to post a quickie to say CONGRATULATIONS to one of my very good friends who is pregnant again. A bit of a surprise but a VERY welcome one! I am elated and can't wait to see him/her! I'll be good and not spill the beans until she gives the okay, but am just really excited about this news. :)

Compost Bin

Recently I decided to start a compost bin so when I get my veggie garden up and going I will have some really good fertilizer. I couldn't believe how expensive actual compost bins were though! Upwards of $250! I found an old recycling bin from a supply store in Portland for $29 and decided to drill holes in it myself. The reason I chose this bin is because it's on wheels and will be super easy to move from place to place. You can even use a normal trash can or build a wooden box kind of thing I filled my bin with soil, old leaves, old peaches, an old pear, old apples, old oranges, and old lemon and I found these juicy little worms under some leaves I stuck in there too. Did you know you can compost animal and human hair, bee poop (who knew bees pooped?), crab shells and river mud? Weird! It also lessens the waste you put into your garbage can and the land fills. I found this website through Google...it's pretty interesting and lists 163 things you can add to your compost bin! Compost Website If anyone has any additional suggestions I'd love to hear!

My new compost bin!

It's a start!

A door, is a door, is a door...NOT!

We FINALLY have a new door!!! Thanks to Colin's parents for buying it for us, we have NO draft coming in from the garage! There used to be about an inch and a half gap between the flooring and the bottom of the door which let a ton of cold air flow through. Who would have though a year ago Colin and I would be elated about getting a door? :) The old door was a hollow wood door that had the split top you can open up. It also had a big section that had been ripped off, from a dog probably, exposing the hollowness of the door inside. Our new door is really sturdy and after getting painted the same white as the trim, looks awesome!

The door from the inside of the house.

The back part of the old door. With a bit of damage! (Not from us!)

We got the frame in...somehow.


And our new pretty door! We still need to paint the molding and the wall where the paint came up. But it looks SO much better!

Our "New" Bedroom

Here's the bedroom pretty much all finished! Aside from new blinds and flooring one day, this is what we came up with. I made the panels behind the bed which we will be spacing out a little more and Colin and I both worked on the bed. Although he did most of the work. :) We got a new duvet cover and comforter which are so comfortable and warm! In the right corner where that lighted Scentsy pot is, I have that black trunk I just finished painting with a few things on it like a basket and a little box. Well, just thought everyone would like to see it all put together! Things are definitely coming along with the house. It's actually really fun to see things change into our own. Today we're working on installing the new door Colin's parents bought us leading into the garage. Pictures to come!

"More" please!

I have to blog quickly about something very special to me. My good friend Tiffani called the other night to tell me her 10 month old daughter, Madison, signed "more" for the first time after she had taken her Cheerios away. I was so excited to hear this news that I thought I'd share a few reasons why signing is important in a child's life.

*Before babies are able to develop their vocal cords they already have their small and large motor skills in place. Babies are able to sign WAY before they are able to talk.

*When parents teach their children how to sign, they feel less frustrated because their baby can communicate earlier in life, which results in a less fussy baby.

*Signing helps babies develop their fine motor skills earlier.

*Research has clearly demonstrated that using sign language does not mean that a child will not learn to talk.

*Many studies have been done on children using sign. One study involved two groups of children, one group that was taught baby signing and another group that was not. The researchers found that eight-year-olds who had learned a simple form of baby sign language using invented signs did better on IQ tests than comparable children who had not learned baby sign language.

*There's no need to make excuses for not helping your baby out anymore! ASL Pro has a baby sign dictionary that shows videos on how to sign a specific word. But remember...consistency is the key!

Ok, I went a bit off my rocker but thought this info is interesting. Many parents don't know the benefits of signing with babies...but here you have it! I hope all of you with babies or future babies follow Tiffani and Trent's lead and give their children the gift of communication. Why not...right?