Tasty Finds

I got some great email ads today. Anthropologie has their new line of fall sweater coats out. I really like this one in particular...

And Oilily which has some of (I think) the cutest and most fun little girl stuff, has these oh-so adorable backpacks on sale for 25% off! (Maybe if AJ were actually IN preschool I could swallow dropping $95 on a toddler backpack; Maybe!) But isn't it just the cutest thing?!

Uhhh...what did she just say?? Miss Teen South Carolina 2007

This is mortifying! And hilarious. Talk about a train wreck. I'm so glad this girl (and her parents) clearly have their priorities in order. It totally reminds me of that scene in "Miss Congeniality"... "Describe your perfect date"..."Well, my idea of a perfect date would be April 23rd. Because it's not too warm or too cold, and all you need is a light jacket. " At least her answer made sense to her. I mean really, what?!?!? WHAT?!?!?

Scrapbook Page

Here is my page for this week.

I figured since it's about time to buy her Halloween costume for this year, maybe it's time to scrapbook last year's!

Must...clean...house...

So I've not only had the "scrapbooking bug" lately, but the "decorate and organize the house bug" as well. And it's bad. It's like I'm nesting (without the whole pregnancy part). But because my spending funds are limited (please reference "scrapbooking bug") I can't properly splurge on home decor right now. So instead, I clean. I've been obsessed with cleaning lately. So here are my little tips and must have products from my increasingly tidy world.

I love two men. My hubby, and this guy!

He has some of the greatest cleaning products on earth.

The Magic Eraser is just that - MAGIC!

It gets anything off anything. My favorite uses are getting scuffs on the white legs of my kitchen chairs and scrubbing fingerprints off door, lightswitches and the fridge. It can even remove Sharpie!

The Magic Reach Wand is awesome for cleaning tubs.

The scrubbing pad is nice and big and you can scrub down the whole tub in two minutes flat, without even having to crawl in. I also like the fresh orange scent.

*TIP ALERT* If you like a citrus smell,

you can rub a little lemon oil (found in the furniture-polish section) to the inside of your shower door. This will keep soapscum from building up and leave your bathroom smelling fresh.

Another must-have for kitchen and bathroom are my Clorox Wipes.

I use them to clean the outside of the toilet bowl, on the bathroom sinks "inbetween" cleanings, and on the kitchen counter whenever I am cooking with chicken/raw meat.

*TIP ALERT* An oh-so-easy way to clean your microwave.

Fill a dish with 1 cup water and squeeze the juice of one lemon into it. Add the used lemon rind. Microwave for five minutes. Remove dish and wipe down microwave interior with a paper towel. This works awesome!

And Softscrub with Bleach...

leaves my kitchen sink shiny and white with little or no effort.

*TIP ALERT* For stubborn faucets that just don't want to shine up,

dab a little toothpaste on them and rub off with a towel. Ta-da...sparkly!

And finally, my best cleaning investment ever... the Dyson Animal.

Just like it advertises, it never loses suction. And even if I vacuum everyday, this picks up so much crap! It's like it lifts sand right out from the bottom of the subfloor. Amazing! Plus, who couldn't love a pretty purple vacuum?!

So there it is! My strange new obsession. Anyone out there have more tips for me? Happy cleaning...

No... I DO IT!

AJ has reached that inevitable stage of wanting to do EVERYTHING herself, including diaper changes. Several times I have walked in on her laying on her floor with the wipes next to her and she's trying to change herself. I've had to explain that Mommy has to do that (to avoid the obvious mess). So instead of moving on, she decided she would change her kitty's diaper. I went in to wake her up this morning and she had removed her diaper (thank goodness it was clean) and placed it skillfully on her loved-to-death Hello Kitty.

Side note: A kid that can change a diaper should be able to potty train, right? Apparently NOT. Grrr....

That's it! I've had it!

I have become the person I swore I would never become - the one who is behind on her scrapbooking. (gasp!) Everyone warned me, "Don't fall behind, or you'll end up like me with 10 years of photos in a big box in the closet." I did pretty good for a while, (5 years of marriage and AJ's first 3 months), but after a while it all got pushed to the side. I did little bits here and there and lots of work on other people's books, but I'm suddenly two years behind. I spent time going over my stuff today and enough is enough. I am re-committing to my own books. I am going to continue my side business doing books for others, but I am going to work on my own AT LEAST once a week. And to keep me true to my word, I will post at least a page a week. (A goal written on your blog is a good as a binding legal contract, right? I have to follow through because now the whole world's seen it. Uh, make that the three people that actually look at my blog, but you get the idea.) So here's the page I did today. I forgot how much I really do love this stuff! It's safe to say I've got the bug again. (Craig - this is your fair warning to keep an eye on the checkbook.) And for any of you scrappers out there, please leave comments and suggestions. I can always use them. Happy scrapping, um, me.

Fort Worth Zoo

We took AJ to the zoo last week. She had so much fun, even though it was about 5000 degrees outside. The first time we were there was right after we moved here and she was only 6 months old. Boy we've come a long way! It was so fun watching her get excited over all the animals.


We tried to cool down with some ice cream, but it turns out when you eat ice cream in 5000 degree weather, you're still hot, and now sticky.

She thought this big alligator was pretty cool.

I'm pretty sure her favorite part was the (lame-o) train ride. She was down-right giddy.

Just throwing this one in for good measure, to prove I was actually there. Why does mom always get the shaft in the photos? Oh ya, because we're the ones behind the camera. 'Cuz if it were up to Dad, we wouldn't be stopping to take ANY photos. Not that I'm complaining; I didn't want a lot of photos of myself with my face sweating right off. Did I mention it was 5000 degrees that day?

Summer Swap

I got my stuff this week from my partner for the Sizzlin' Summer Swap. Her name is Deborah and you can check out her cute daughter on her blog, alicebinwonderland. I think I hit the jackpot. She sent me great stuff, including a set of notecards, homemade cookies, lip gloss, a book - "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" (has anyone read this? She said it's her latest fav), a cute notebook, and a copy of the "Wicked" soundtrack.

I was seriously so excited when I got all this stuff. I guess I'm a bit childish. You know what they say, simple minds, simple pleasures! Anyone else receive any simple pleasures recently?

Twilight

So after all the ranting and raving from my friends, I finally picked up a copy of Twilight. It didn't really seem like my kind of read (it's about vampires), but everyone was so enthusiastic about it I thought I'd give it a go. Turns out, they were right. It is FANTASTIC! I just about read the whole book in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. Of course, it's not classic literature or real deap, but it was very entertaining. And scary. And romantic. And hey, who doesn't want that? There are two more books in this series, the third of which just came out this week. I already can't wait to pick them up. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it. And if you love reading as much as I do, check out goodreads. I love it! It's a fun website that lets you keep track of what you've read, what you want to read, your reviews, and what your friends are reading. Who knows where it may take you. Possibly into a vampire's lair...

Oooo La La

I had to step away for a few minutes today to take a phone call. When I returned, this is what I found. She looked up at me and said "Hey mom, look at my pwetty eyebwows. I LOVE my eyebwows."

All things considered, I guess she did draw them pretty straight, even though she's now the proud young owner of a pink unibrow.

I took her into the bathroom so she could take a look at her work. She was rather pleased with herself. I must admit, I love having a girl (even if she ruins my new Smashbox color palette) :(

Vacation to Oregon Coast

We're back from our vacation. We had a wonderful time in Oregon with our Utah friends Cory and Candace. Not that Texas has even been that hot this Summer, but it was nice to get into some cooler weather. We flew into Portland and stopped for dinner at the Melting Pot, oohhhh...

then we headed out to the coast. The beach house was in Nehalem, a little beachside town with a population of about 2. Very charming...

It was a trip of relaxation, with much time wasted at the beach or strolling around little beachside shopping villages. The highlight of the trip for me was probably the food. MMMMM! I had seafood three times a day and was it ever good! Salmon omlette for breakfast, fish and chips for lunch, crab alfredo for dinner, etc. I may have an eating problem. But since Craig's not a seafood lover, I'll take it whenever I can get it. We also made good on the Tillamook cheese factory, stocking up on cheese curds (or as we call it "squeaky cheese") and yummy ice cream.

The views along the highway were amazing. Cheesy photo, I know I know, but check out the view...

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach

We also spent an afternoon horseback riding along the beach. It was my first time on a horse, believe it or not, and I thought it was so fun. My horse had a little colt that followed me around the whole time - it was really cute.

Craig was a little saddle-sore...

Craig fulfilled his lifelong dream of bodysurfing in the ocean (I fulfilled my day-long dream of napping in the car while he bodysurfed)

This hat is guaranteed to keep your brain warm in even the coldest of waters...

We had a great time, but we are glad to be home.