Rememberance

Well..it has been forever since I posted. Life has gotten in the way of most things I enjoy. Today is a bad day for me; for on December 27, 2005 at 10:00 pm; my world came crashing down. My father passed away. My father was a great man - everyone loved him. He never met a stranger and would give a stranger the shirt off of his back. He helped everyone. He was my repairman, carpenter, electrician, mechanic, and the person I called when I heard a noise at night.

I recently bought a house and many times I wish he was here to see and help me through it. Because he would know what to do. He would know how to make my washer and dryer work in the room I wanted it in. He would know what was causing that leak that nobody else can seem to figure out. He would know how to fix that squeak in my floor. He would know why I have ice cicles the size of my leg running off the roof of my house. And he would have already taken care of most of them.

What I miss most - his silent laugh. The grin he would get on his face and his belly roll and you never heard a peep from him. But you knew he was laughing and trying to keep the tears from rolling down his face. I miss his thoughfulness.

He never got to see his only grandchild graduate highschool. He never got to see his first great granddaughter be born. He will never get to witness the happiness in his granddaughter's eyes. He will never see that his great granddaughter is doing the same things his granddaughter did as a baby.

I miss him so much - there are times I relive that night over and over. There are times I just think it was a dream. Daddy's are supposed to be around forever.

Remodel Update

The contractors started tearing the old garage and side building down yesterday. I cannot wait for that eyesore to be gone. They should finish up by Tuesday.

The next thing we are going to do is put up a fence. Our little dogs need that. Then the rock wall is going to be complete. We will also be extending the front porch.

We are trying to finalize the plans of adding on to the house; a washroom and extending the bathroom. We want to put 2 doors on the bathroom so we can have a way in from my scrapbook room without my company disturbing the dogs. One of my dogs does not like people. We are definately going to extend the scrapbook room so I can fit more than 2 guests. The kitchen is also on the schedule to be extended. Add a little storage room and a out building for tools and we are good to go. Shouldn't take us more than 5 more years or so! (LOL)

New Croppin' Room!

My husband and I recently purchased a house. This is what we have been doing for the last 2 months; getting the house ready to be moved into. Well, 30 gallon of paint, many long hours, and lots of help; we are moved in. Now we will take one room and fix it up the way we want it and fix major issues. Yes, this was a fix me upper house. So, I have my own little room for all of my scrapbook supplies. My friends, Christine and Teresa, organized all of my supplies. I love my room. Teresa and I spend lots of time creating our pages together and have girl talks. I tried to upload pictures; but the blog must be lazy today.

So Excited...

So, me and my husband just bought a house. I am so excited! It is a fix me upper house and I love it! My friends Donna and Katie are going to help me paint this weekend. Next week, we get the carpet and hard floors installed. Then comes the real fun; packing all of our crap; I mean family treasures up and moving them down the street. The best part...I will have one brand new room for my scrapbooking needs! All ONE LEVEL!!!!

All Day Crop - Birthday Party for Me

Saturday, May 1, 2010 was my birthday. Christine Adams, (my dealer...I mean therapist from CTMH), had an All Day Crop on this day. I spent the entire day scrapbooking, eating, and winning prizes. Christine supplied a birthday cake, took pictures, and showed us the new Studio J digital scrapbooking from CTMH using my "birthday pictures". Lunch was a wonderful poppyseed/strawberry salad and breadsticks. There were homemade pies and ice cream too. Darla brought some taco dip that was out of this world. Carolyn supplied red velvet cup cakes that were not part of the Weight Watchers point system; but were mouth watering. (Not that I follow the WW point system anyway so they didn't hurt me any-Ha Ha Ha). Dinner was a scrumptious homemade spicy chicken bbq, baked beans and corn on the cob. Followed by more dessert; the strawberry birthday cake. Food was not the highlight of the day; my friend told secrets as a birthday "Why I love Claire" game. Everyone wanted to know the story behind money in my bra. The best time was when Christine gave away prizes; showed us how to make flowers; a mothers day card, and opened her home to the 6 of us for a fantastic birthday/All Day Crop.

Mission Impossible

The Scrapbooking Group I belong to has a little game going called Mission Impossible. A package of tidbits is sent to you and you have to create using the items along with some of your own. This is what I have created so far.

I have the most wonderful Close To My Heart Consultant. She surprised our Imagine Club members with an announcement for the birth of my first grandchild. She is always doing something extra for us. I really appreciate everything she does for us; but this one touched my heart.

My friend Christine is always putting great recipes on her blog. So, I thought since I am getting ready to start a recipe "scrapbook" and was taking pictures anyways; I'd do the same. This recipe is the easiest recipe to make and taste the best! This recipe will feed 4 as a side dish; but my husband and I eat it as a meal for lunch just the 2 of us. At Christmas; I tripled the recipe and added some shredded cheddar cheese before the breadcrumbs.

400 degrees on the oven

1 Can Cheddar Cheese Soup
1/2 Soup Can Milk

1/2 tsp pepper

1 1/2 Cup Pasta - Cooked and Drained

1 TBS dry bread crumbs - I use 4 because I like crunch and I use stuffing breadcrumbs.

2 TBS Butter, melted - I use 3 -4 with my crumbs

Stir soup, milk, pepper and pasta in a 1 QT Baking dish. Stir breadcrumbs and butter together and sprinkle over pasta.

Bake 2o minutes or until bubbly. Best when hot; but can be heated in microwave. ENJOY!

Vent Time

You ever notice that when someone needs you; they need you "drop everything now" need you; but when you need someone to do something for you....they tend to disappear. Some of my New Year's Resolutions were to have more me time and slow down. Neither has happened. I can honestly say that since the beginning of the year; I have been disappointed, let down, used, and forgotten more than the last 6 months of 2009. Why would I ever think it would change?

Chicago Bound

Last summer we met some of the most awesome people. We were invited to go on a trip to NY with a Jr. High class. It was perfect for us; no driving and a tour group so we would not get lost. We had the most fantastic time. That same group has invited us to on another trip. This time to Chicago and on Amtrak. I have always wanted to take a ride on Amtrak and my husband has always wanted to go to Chicago. Our trip is in the middle of June and we are excited!

Baby Shower Activity Book

We are making activity books for each guest to keep them occupied until all guests have arrived. Each one (40) is unique and these are some of my favorites.

Friday Night

I can remember going out every Friday night. Not just going out; but staying out until the sun came up the next morning. I can barely stay awake past 9:30 pm now. Usually on Friday nights now; I am cropping with the Friday Night croppers. Tonight; everyone seemed to have something else going on. I was really just too tired. It has been a long week! I cannot wait to get back on schedule and crop every Friday night. I get more done when I am with the girls. I am on track with completing my uncompleted projects. Well until next time; hopefully Sunday; have a great day!

Pop Dots

I buy lots of supplies and when I catch something on sale or clearance items; I buy it regardless if I need it at the time or not. My philosophy has always been; Someone may need it or I may need it down the road. So many moons ago I caught Pop Dots on clearance at Wal-Mart; $0.69 each pack. I bought 10 packs. I passed them on to someone else because I didn't like them. I went to Michaels and again found some pop dots on sale; I only bought one package because I was a little iffy on them after the Wal-Mart incident. Well, I used them today for the first time. I wished I would have bought them out. They are call All Night Media Pop Dots and come in a very plain package. I love these things! I will definately be on the lookout for more of these.

Putt Putt

This is probably one of my favorite layouts. A tension mistake on my Cricut produced the Grand Prix title. I also created a golf ball with my Cuttlebug and used a new technique of chalking words in the journal.

Lil' Bo Peep

I did an album for my daughter and her boyfriend. It is called 2009 Adventures and each month has between 2 - 6 pages. In this picture; she dressed as Little Bo Peep and her boyfriend went as a Hillbilly Farmer complete with the sheep. She is 4 months pregnant in this picture.

Fifth Avenue

I know this is probably hard to see; but I had to leave it in the album. I have a mini 4x6 album attached to the page protector that included several shops on Fifth Avenue in NY.

Ta-Dah!

My daughter made her boyfriend a cake for his birthday. She jumped out of the cake. It was awesome!

Baby Shower Invitation

The invitations (40 of them) I made for my daughter's baby shower.

New Year: New Purpose

The new year has started and I am going through a "New Purpose" stage. I am going to set more time aside for me. Some people may think I am selfish for setting aside time for me; however this is not the way I see it. I am going to be a first time grandmother in March-my time will be spent spoiling this child. I want to do more for my community; me personally. I also want to do more cropping.

I always make the same new year resolutions - eat healthier and exercise more. Well, 6 days in to the New Year and I still haven't exercised once. Food washed all that bothers me away!

I am hoping that January 20th brings good news to our family. If all goes well; we will have a new house and Claire's Croppin' Corner is going to be more than just a blog.