weekly menu:: week 9

the weather is so chilly around here.  i woke up this morning to ice on my windshield.  it snowed over the weekend in some areas but not here.

we had a nice weekend at home.  ran errands on saturday with the kids and had lunch at jersey mike's for a school fundraiser.  love the sandwiches there.  we bought new shoes for everyone, books for school projects and a baseball shirt for little league.  it's fun going around town with the family.

watched the oscars last night.  i liked it.  the winners were no surprise.  and everyone looked beautiful, ok most everyone.  i loved mila kunis.  the whole look.  it helps that she is so stunning.

after seeing jennifer lawrence in winter's bone it was shocking to see her looking so beautiful last night.

overall a glamorous night for hollywood.

here's our menu as we welcome in march.

monday - tortellini soup with garlic cheddar biscuits

tuesday - baked pasta with spinach, lemon and cheese

wednesday - turkey pot pie

thursday - twice grilled shrimp burritos

friday - 60's birthday party so i'm guessing lots of martinis? 

saturday - no plan yet

sunday - eat out

enjoy the last day of february.

five on friday :: oscar favorites

sunday we will be watching the oscars, at home, with some friends.  thinking of having a taco bar, margaritas, chips and salsa and five kids running around like crazy.  it's such a glamorous evening, isn't it?

bobby and i saw a lot of the films and performances that are nominated this year.  it helps that he works in the "business" and seeing the films is part of his job.

here's how i would vote this year.  these aren't predictions, just my favorites.

1. best actor in a leading role - colin firth in king's speech. he was incredible as king george vi.   he embodied who this character was, in speech and emotion.  this is a performance i will not forget.

2. best actor in a supporting role - christian bale in the fighter.  we saw this over the weekend and his performance made a huge impression on me.  he was funny and stupid, dependent and desperate, proud and ashamed all at the same time.  a truly moving performance.

3. best actress in a leading role - nicole kidman in rabbit hole.  let me tell you i cried like a baby in this movie.  she nailed it as a grief stricken mom trying to come to terms with the death of her son and watching her marriage suffer because of it.  beautiful performance.

4. best actress in a supporting role - hailee steinfeld in true grit.  one confession, i fell asleep during this movie.  but it was towards the end so i did get to see most of the performances.  i am a sucker for young actors.  it's amazing that they have enough life experience to look back on a pull a performance like this together.  and she really carried the movie.

5. best picture - king's speech.  i fell in love with this movie when i saw it.  it's a simple story, all about relationships and overcoming adversity.  who doesn't love that?  it was a great film.  i love a movie where i can walk away feeling good.  that was king's speech for me.

other stand outs for me were:
127 hours - gross but had me suffering right along with him.
social network - so smart.  great dialogue and intensity.
geoffrey rush in king's speech
natalie portman in black swan (i'm pretty sure she'll win)

looking forward to seeing ann hathaway and james franco host.  wondering if they will pull it off.

will you be watching?

pinterest

have you heard of this?  it's a website like tumblr where you can pin things from the internet so that you don't forget what you love.  imagine a virtual bulletin board.  with lots of pretty things.

well i requested an invite a while ago and finally got a board to start pinning.  oh my...i'm in love.  the only problem is that i can spend hours here getting lost.  i pull myself away but i do plan on designating some time to really explore and build up my boards.

today i thought i would share some of the beautiful images i found with quotes that are inspiring me.

Source: ordinarycourage.com via Gioconda on Pinterest

Source: ilikenicethings.blogspot.com via Gioconda on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Gioconda on Pinterest

Source: imgspark.com via Gioconda on Pinterest

Source: designspongeonline.com via Gioconda on Pinterest

i have boards for home decorating, scrapbooking, food and parties.  it's a lovely place.  check it out.

old place, new adventures

we spent our holiday weekend in kernville, as we usually do.  but especially this weekend when there was a storm coming in that was sure to bring some beautiful soft snow to the mountains.

saturday morning i did my 5k training in the morning and then packed up the car and headed north.  we don't usually leave during the day.  we like to leave at night after dinner.  that way the kids fall asleep and we have a quiet car ride.  but not this time.  it's weird to see this road during the daylight.  not much to see but it all looks the same in the dark.  so it's nice to see what we drive past during the day.

we stopped for lunch at chipotle.  this was my drink cup.  chips are definitely a trigger food for me, so this cup said it all.  you had me at "chips are rad!"

and the view from my side mirror was breathtaking.

we made it to kernville in time for a nap and dinner at that's italian.  we've never been there and were so excited to try it out.

bobby tried the chicken with a strawberry cream sauce. interesting.

 that potato fritter thing was yummy.

the kids slurped spaghetti and meatballs. typical andrew pose.

it poured down rain while we were in the restaurant and then it started snowing, lightly.  it was beautiful but didn't last very long.

sunday, we slept in and then went to the snow.  we've been to this section before but this time the snow was fresh, powdery, and glistening.

of course there was sledding.

building forts.

snowball fights.

eating snow?

it was quite cold.  after lunch we went home. d and i went into town for some antique shopping and to check out the fair.

monday i talked bobby into going for a 3 mile run.  ok, he out ran me, even though i'm the one doing the training.  but i was happy just to have done it.  i didn't realize how much the altitude would affect me. i was beat by the time we got back.

we met the family for breakfast at the chatterbox cafe.  i had never been here before.  the usual greasy spoon with great pancakes and some louisianna fare.  bobby was adventurous and ordered this.

alligator skillet.  i was surprised he wanted to try it.  and about an hour later he regretted it.  the sausage is made of alligator meat. kind of fishy tasting, sweet and spicy.  everyone tried it.  even andrew. no thanks.  i'll stick with this breakfast burrito that was my breakfast and dinner.

when i downloaded the photos off my camera i found this gem.

she cracks me up.

this kids took this one of us.

after a much needed shower, bobby and his dad took the quads out to the snow.  too cold for me. i stayed back with the kids and finished my book.

he wasn't sure if it was the run, the windy roads or the alligator skillet that did him in.

then we played a game of scrabble.

see that word right in the middle - "inquires"?  that gave me a scrabble and won me the game at over 350 points.  it was a much needed win after a defeat the night before even though i had scored 78 points in one turn.  i was bitter and needed this win.

we headed home around 6pm.  sofia fell asleep right away.  the boys stayed up and we talked the whole way home.  we had some great conversations on this road and some wonderful memories from the weekend.

weekly menu:: week 8

i have our menu for the week.  thought i would share

monday - away for the weekend

tuesday - cheese ravioli and salad

wednesday - chicken enchiladas, rice and salad

thursday - grilled salmon with pineapple salsa, green bean and feta salad, couscous

friday - pizza night

saturday - eat out

sunday - i'm thinking tacos to watch the academy awards with some friends.

off to the grocery store .. .

wow

we are home from a great weekend away.  lots to share tomorrow.  today it's all about groceries, laundry and getting caught up so that this week doesn't completely slip away.

happy tuesday.

five on friday

works in progress

1.  project life

yes, i jumped on the bandwagon.  i did this project in 2009 and kept up with it the whole year. it is one of my favorite albums.  last year i felt like i took a picture a day but didn't make nearly as many layouts as i wanted to.  so, this year i felt like if i did project life i could get my pictures into an album and scrapbook just the pictures that warranted a full layout.  kind of took the pressure off.

i am inspired by so many other people that are doing this.  i have joined the project life community but am just doing what feels right to me.  keeping ephemera that means something to me and adding it to the book.  very easy for me to do and keep up.

here's one of my completed weeks.

i'm printing my pictures once a week.  sometimes at home, but mostly at costco.  i round the corners and add the day stickers and slip them into the page protector.  then i write something on the journaling card and call it done.  this week i included sofia's clues from her share bag at preschool. she brought in her minnie mouse doll in case you couldn't guess by the clues.  on the other side i included a ticket stub and a page from the program of a concert we went to.

you can learn more about project life here.

2. a layout

here's the layout i'm doing based on my 5 people 12 times project.

at this point i haven't decided if this will be an album of it's own or if i will just throw it into my project life album.  i used a we r memory keepers photo sleeve for the extra photos and enlarged the one i liked to 8x10.  i think i'll just stick it down on the anna griffin paper and add a title.  then i will print the journaling from my blog post and add that to a separate page protector in between these pages.  you can see that i am using some old product, but it's things that i really love.

3. 40th birthday album

here's where i confess that i haven't put together my album from my 40th birthday.  i have the album and i bought the product last year.  but i haven't done anything with it.  i don't even have the pictures printed.  but i started it and i hope to finish it before my 41st birthday next month.

i'm using an american crafts 8x8 album and the pink paislee queen bee collection along with some rhinestones and flowers.  my plan is to keep it simple and uniform.  i took stacy julian's finish line scrapbooking class last year at cha and was so happy with that finished album.  i think that is what i will do this time around.  here are the first two pages.

4. road trip 2010

i wanted to create an on the road scrapbook that i could work on while we were on vacation.  i made the scrapbook before we left and took a little kit of essentials with me.  i was able to get a lot of it done on the road.  but along with the instax photos i wanted to include photos that i took with my slr as well, those would have to wait until we got home.  i continued to collect tickets and receipts to scrap with those photos.  well we moved my scrapbook stuff into boxes for a while and i either couldn't find the book or i couldn't find my stuff.  so it's in limbo right now.  but i'm sure i'll get it finished before this year's summer vacation.

5.  a completed layout

and just so i don't look like a total slacker, here is a layout i did finish.  i am participating in shimelle's class over at two peas in a bucket and this was the assignment and sketch for january.  i absolutely love this line from colorbok that i found at joann's recently.  it's called flea market.  this yellow and blue paper is one of my favorites.  i followed her sketch pretty closely and love how the page turned out. used up some ki memories flowers that i had been saving and the martha stewart butterfly punch.  the class is free if you want to check it out.

i am keeping some of these projects in the hefty one zip 2.5 gallon bags.  they are perfect for the 12x12 paper, photos and any other product that i need.  i can dump everything out on my work table, do some work and then put it all away.  and they don't take up very much room.  planning on finishing up these projects and posting them here soon.

have a wonderfully creative 3 day weekend.

the rebound guy

it's the end of another school basketball season.  jordan's team came a long way this year.  they had good plays, good communication and great team spirit.  but never won a game.  and jordan was happy as could be.

even if they lost the game (sometimes by a lot)
even if they were tired (there were only 8 players on the team)
even if he didn't make a basket
even if he sat on the bench
even if the ref "didn't make the right call"

he was happy.
he felt good.
he loved it.

i talked to his coach the other day and he told me that jordan gets basketball.  he understands the game, the plays and the method that makes it all work.  he can explain something to jordan to make him improve his game and jordan understands, that makes him a better player. and it helped that he was one of the taller boys on the team.

let's face it, jordan is not the most athletic boy in his class, but he tries.  he wanted to be a part of the basketball team in 4th grade, even though he hardly ever played before, and that surprised us.  unlike swimming, it is something that we don't have to encourage him to do.  it's something he really wants to do, and that matters more than his ability.

i remember watching him play that first year.  he could hardly dribble the ball.  whenever he got the ball he got rid of it right away, to anyone.  he looked down all the time.  but he would smile and run from one end of the court to the other.  he scored one basket all season.  and he loved it.

the next year, he got better.  that coach told us that he saw a lot of improvement. he could dribble better and defend better. you could see that he was part of the team.  jordan scored a basket that year.  and he loved it.

this year things got a little more serious.  the games are more intense.  the kids and coaches are more competitive.  they have actual plays and positions.  jord was the rebound guy.  but it's hard to teach him to steal the ball or take it away from someone when he has been taught his whole life to be polite and let everyone have a turn.  being aggressive is just not part of this nature.  but something clicked this year.  maybe he took the game more seriously.  maybe he realized that winning was important.  maybe it mattered to him. he made a goal this season to score 2 baskets. he scored three. and he loved it.

i really think he loved sitting on the bench drinking his gatorade and wearing the uniform.  you could see on his face that he feels proud about being on the team.  it's amazing what he has learned and how far he has come.  basketball is something that doesn't come easy to him.  he doesn't have that natural ability.  but he enjoys playing and that makes the effort a little easier.  i am so proud of him, regardless of the outcome, and admire his love of the game.

currents :: 2.16

listening: to sara bareillis kaleidoscope heart.  current favorite of sofia's too.  i love that we both belt out the songs in the car.  some beautiful music on this cd.  we listen to number 3 over and over.

eating: a blueberry muffin that i made for the pto meeting this morning. not planning on eating any more of them today.
drinking: vanilla caramel tea.  yes, it's as good as it sounds.
wearing: workout clothes.  just got home from the gym.  3 days in a row, yea me!
feeling: strong.  

weather: cold, no rainy, no sunny, no pouring, no cloudy.  it's weird.
wanting: to make something today.
needing: to clean my kitchen. . . and the bathrooms. . . .and my room. a cleaning lady.
thinking: always.
enjoying: life.  it's pretty good right now.
wondering: if i could be songwriter.  


have a happy wednesday.

valentine's day all wrapped up

our day went something like this.

send the boys off to school in the morning.  andrew had his valentine's in his backpack.  not jordan, he's in middleschool you know.  bobby forgot the treats for the office.

sofia signed the bags for her teachers' treats.

i tried running the bags through my printer but they kept getting stuck.  and the bags that did print had black streaks on them.  so they got a punched out heart and baker's twine and we were done.  the bags are filled with chocolate covered rice krispi hearts.

she doesn't go to school on monday but we thought it would be fun to drop off her valentine cards.  the teachers said she should just stay.  which worked for me because i had errands to run.  and she enjoyed spending the morning making crafts and playing with her friends.

i went for a run.  a tough one today, but i needed to do it.  then to the grocery store for ingredients for dinner.  i loved the flower display outside of trader joe's.  you could get a dozen beautiful roses at tj's for $9.99 and they were gorgeous.  i loved this "girly valentine" bouquet.

pick up sofia from school.  home for a peanut butter and banana sandwich.

 went to school for the basketball game, completely forgetting about andrew's class party.  i'm sure he didn't miss me much, he's in 3rd grade you know.  close game today. they lost 21-23 but jordan played well.  so proud of him.

back home for homework and dinner.  i struggled a bit in coming up with something to make.  i decided to do shrimp with pasta and found this recipe on cooking light that sounded good (and spicy).  the kids had linguini with regular sauce.  added a caesar salad, garlic bread and wine for us, sparkling water for the kiddos.

dessert was cookies, rice krispi treats, and valentine donuts.

 i gave the kids a little box of chocolates and a love note.

a homemade card for b with a box of nerds.

that heart punch got a lot of use over the last few days.

phone calls with grandparents, moon journal, dishes and bath. some things don't take a holiday.