Summer Goal Setting

I have a list of things in my head that I feel I've been slacking on lately and I would really like to pick them back up... So I thought if I get them down somewhere, maybe I will be more likely to hold myself to these resolutions. I almost hate to call them "resolutions" because that word sort of has the connotation of something that you decide to do, but give up on within the week. These are NOT those kind of resolutions! ;) I have already started on some of these things, but I think I need more motivation and OOMPH behind my thoughts, so without further ado, here are my summertime goals (and beyond!):

1: Take more pictures. I don't have ANY new pictures uploaded on my facebook since last November (crazy!) and haven't taken many even if I had tried to upload them. I used to take photos of Bendy almost every day, and I would really like to get back into documenting more of our life and her growing up. I have my excuses/ reasons... Clunky camera is hard to drag around with me; batteries never charged when I need them, etc etc... But it basically comes down to, I have to COMMIT and bring it and just do it, baby! I am aiming for new pictures EVERY week. I don't want to say how many because I feel like that is setting myself up for failure, but I WILL take my camera with me to places, and I WILL document this summer!

2: I feel like this almost goes hand-in-hand with #1, but I want to keep up with the blog. At least two posts every week. I always feel like I have nothing to blog about if I don't have new pictures to share, so I think this should be easier to stick to once I have #1 down.

3: Working out... This is a running to-do list item, but I have not been getting to it as much lately as I want, and frankly, that sucks! I would really like to feel COMFORTABLE in a bathing suit (bikini? I don't want to commit to something unreachable yet, but possibly...) this summer. I want to be more fit so I can feel more comfortable in my own skin and not always be worrying about how I look! My goal for this item is 4 times per week at least with cardio, and strength training at least 2 times, but more often than that for abs.

4: Take the family camping AT LEAST once this season! We wanted to go last year and never got to it, and it's something I love... I enjoyed it a lot as a kid, it's a great, cheap, fun way to relax and spend some time together, and I know Illy will love it! So on the list it goes for this year :)

5: Visit with three friends that I haven't seen yet this year. I'm glad we have online social networking now, because if it wasn't for that, I feel like I would have lost touch with everyone! My social life has taken a nosedive since we moved to the middle of nowhere, and I definitely want to make some time to reconnect with some of my best buds :) I think a goal of 3 is reasonable, and I have some people in mind, but hopefully it will be more than that!

6: Take Bendy to the beach at least once... This is kind of an every summer goal because I grew up on the beach and love it (didn't love it so much when I lived there, but I guess that's they way things go!) but my hubby is not a big fan so we don't always make it over there. I am taking her this year even if it's just us two :)

7: Try a new food. Just because. I love food, and I like trying new things, and I want to branch out more. So there you have it.

8: Pay off a debt. Any one of the old ones on my credit report. We are trying to get closer to buying a house, and we have to do this first. Given our current situation, this one might not be achievable, but I am putting it on my list to remind me to work towards that.

9: Go hiking at least twice.

10: Visit the Farmer's Market at least twice per month... This is kind of a fun one, but also good for our health! I love the local Farmer's Market and I can't wait for it to start up again this June :)

That's it for now, but I may keep adding and updating this list as time goes on. I'd like to at least come back and cross things off, add dates, etc. once they have been achieved. Wish me luck! Summer summer, here I come! You know what they say... "It's summertimeeeee, and the livin's easy..." I can't wait to be cruising around with the music blasted and the sunroof open in the nice warm weather! We had snow here just yesterday so I'm really hoping spring is on its way for GOOD now!

~Jade

Blog: Journal or Exhibition?

Everyone on the net lately seems to be scarce, including myself. Could be the nicer weather, the ability to be outside longer, to grill, to run and play... To do things other than sit on the computer, essentially :) But for me, it's not just that... Lately I've been struggling with what I want this blog to be. What voice do I want to use? Where am I coming from? Who is reading me? Is this my journal, or is it a place for voyeurs to come and observe my life?

These are questions that have sort of stopped me in my tracks with the blog, and I hate that, because I love blogging. I hate not knowing where it's going, or what I want it to mean. Originally, when I started this blog, it was sort of as my own journal, but more than that, a record for Ilyana of her life, what we did, how much we loved her, and what she was like as a little girl.

Once I started with this, I loved it. I still do. I'm just dumbfounded as to... well, my mind is saying "What now?" because I started this blog with one intention, but then I realized there is this whole WORLD of people out there, blogging about their lives, about current events, about politics, about food, about money... There is this whole community that I have gotten involved in and begun to really enjoy. My presence on other people's sites has drawn them here, and for me... That's sort of blurred the line of my intent for this space.

I mean, if other people are coming here and reading it, is the blog now more about me than Ilyana? I started doing memes and things like that for a while, because I saw other people doing it, and I figured it was a way for me to involve myself more in this community... But soon realized that most of those don't really fit in with my vision of what the meaning of this space was for me and my family... And that most of the family members I have who read this probably don't care as much about the silly little mundane surveys and when I am "tagged" with awards, etc.

So then I began wondering if I should address this more directly to Illy, more like a journal or letters to her, more back to the roots of what I had envisioned. But I waffle back and forth on this too, feeling like if I do that, it shuts everyone else out- and since I love this community so much, I wouldn't want to do that. I appreciate it when other people visit us here, I appreciate when they are interested in our lives and want to know what we're doing, want to engage in conversation over things that are relevant to my life.

Basically what I'm saying is that I haven't been on here as much recently because I'm struggling with my own intent, my own voice for this little ol' blog. I'm sure a lot of people go through this. I'm trying to get a grasp on where I want to be with this, and what it needs to mean to me. In the end, years down the line, am I going to care about the comments I received from people I don't know? Or am I going to care more that I kept a good record of what our lives were?

I'm definitely leaning more towards the latter... For me, this is about us. I love that I have made friends through this space (and yes, even though I haven't met most of you, considering that we allow each other to play peeping tom into our lives, and give each other advice, and support each other when we need it- yes, I do consider you all my friends in these ways) but that is sort of just a bonus.

When I think about this blog as something that other people will visit- when I write posts with the intent of being witty, or trying to seem too PC so that I won't be bashed by random blog-hoppers- I stump myself. I get into this funk where the words just won't come out. My thoughts flow more freely when I am speaking directly to my daughter, or to my family, or reflecting on my experiences without worry of the outside world. So I think that's what I'm going to try to do. I'm sorry if it seems to my blog friends that this is more boring, or that it's putting up a wall between my life and the rest of the internet, or that it's detaching myself from the community as a whole a bit more- that's not the intent. I just wouldn't want to give this up, and I've found that if I don't do it the way I'm most comfortable, I won't do it at all. I'll just keep wavering about what to write, and why, and why it's relevant... And it will never be honest, it will never be exactly what I had intended.

I feel like now I'm getting repetitive, so I'm just going to end here with a couple of quotes that I think are relevant to this struggle...

*****

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." ~E.E. Cummings

"He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away." ~Raymond Hull

Holy Schnikes Batman! Featuriffic!

I opened my email this morning and a message from NewParent.com caught my eye.

NewParent is a wonderful website I stumbled on a while back. It's for parents or parents-to-be of babies and toddlers. They have some great expert advice, parenting blogs, giveaways, coupons, recipes, and a wonderful community of other parents you can communicate with. There is also a baby of the week section where people can enter their children to be the star of the week : )

I was curious to see what they had to say, so I clicked and started reading:

"Hey Jaden,


How are you? Just wanted to let you know that your blog is listed on
NewParent.com under: “Around the Web" here is the link in case you want to
enjoy your fame and show off to your readers : )"


For real? For really real? I'm featured?!

HELLO, of COURSE I want to show off! Yippppeeeee! :D This is me doing the: I got featured! dance:

Well... That is, if I was an adorable, skinny asian lady.

Now then, without further adieu, HERE is the link to the page with this lil' ol' blog's name on it!

And in case you missed it the first time- HERE it is again. ;)

Who me? Nah, I'm not excited. What makes you think that? *grin*

So THANK YOU to NewParent for the ego boost on this lovely Friday morning.

Oh, and if you do click over- you should check out some of the other featured blogs. There are some really great ones on there.

Happy FEATURED Friday! hee.

ETA: Apparently, my little lady gif does not want to dance. But I'm keeping her up anyway as a visual aid. :)

AWOL

We interrupt the regularly scheduled blogging for one intense move and a few days of recoup, organizing and unpacking. I apologize for my absence, but I am at least keeping up with my blog reading, and I swear I'll be back soon... Next week most likely :)

In the meantime, if you get bored, feel free to check out some of MY recent favorite blog-reads:

PostSecret

Pacing The Panic Room

Pioneer Woman

The Creative Junkie

The Journey

Pistols and Popcorn

In Through The Back Door

Her Bad Mother's Basement

Good Enough Mama

There. That should keep you busy until I get back! :)

Challenge to Kick-Start My Bloggy Blues :)

I went to visit Angela over at This Woman's Beautiful Life (click it, you won't be sorry! She takes AMAZING photos. And I'm reading her book right now, which is also fantastic!) and saw that she was doing this challenge- The One Word Challenge put on by the Shutter Sisters. I wrote in my comment to her that I totally admire her ability to commit- I always want to participate in fun photo challenges like this, but then my nerves get the best of me, I start worrying mine will suck, and I flake. I hate flaking.

Angela convinced me to give this one a go. I mean, what do I really have to lose? If I don't follow through, I'm only disappointing myself in the end. And it should be fun. Really.

Here are the rules (cut & pasted from the Shutter Sisters' post):

Here's how it works:

1. Pick a word that best represents you or your focus. Your word should inspire images throughout the month of February. If a word doesn't come immediately to mind, scan Ali's extensive list of words to inspire you.

2. Once you've selected your word, share it here in the comments or blog about it in your space and leave a permalink to your post here so we can go check it out. The project begins on Sunday, February 1, but you can join the project any time after this date.

3. On February 1, begin shooting images that visually represent your word. You can shoot, tag and share your best photographs in the Shutter Sisters flickr group every day or whenever you feel moved to do so.

4. TITLE each of your One Word Project images to include your word (e.g., Hope, Love, Courage, Peace). TAG each of your images as follows: "oneword (month)" (e.g., "oneword february", "oneword march", "oneword april", etc.). Tagging is important as it's the only way we can find and enter your images in our contest.

5. Beginning February 1, check the new One Word Project page daily within this site to see if your image is featured. The first award-winning photo of the month will be chosen by the Shutter Sisters team and announced on March 1, along with the new One Word Project for March.

We've created a discussion thread in the Shutter Sisters flickr group to manage questions and answers. If you have any questions, check for the answer or post your question here.

* * *

You can find out more about the prizes, how to enter, or any other groovy details on their post.

The word I chose for the month of February is... ::::drumroll please:::: GROWTH!

So I am going to begin taking my shots on Sunday. I will not flake. I will not flake. I will not flake. This is my mantra.

::Edited to add:: I am thinking I am going to post my pictures once a week, just so that I don't tell myself I'll do it every day. Cuz let's be honest, I won't. If I just post my seven pictures for the week at the end of the week all together, that will be best. Plus, I'm thinking I might be able to also do some kind of snifty voting thing where you all could give me feedback if you wanted and vote on your favorite for the week. Yeah, that would be cool. ::end edit::

If any of you like this challenge, please play along. I would love to see what some of my other bloggy friends would come up with. Plus, then I won't feel so alone. And that would be one MORE reason for me NOT. TO. FLAKE.

Here's me right now. I'm a little bit of this:

but even more of this:


Minus the rollers, which is a good thing for all, I think. :P

Procrastination 2.0

Lately, I have been soo busy with the routine. You know the one. Wake up, brush teeth/ hair, put in eyes, get dressed, make lunches, let doggie out, make smoothies, get girl dressed, let doggie in, put her in car, drive him to work, drive her to daycare, drive me to work, work, go home, make dinner, play with girl or give tubbie, put girl to bed, sit for five seconds, pop back up and start lunch prep for tomorrow... you get the point.

Not sure what exactly it is that is making me so tired- is it this never-ending cold? is it the change in weather/ light?-, or whether it is just an accumulation of things catching up with me, making me NOT want to do things after the little girl goes to sleep at night. I find I just want to veg out on the couch and BE for a while. But I keep forgetting to upload my pics from Thanksgiving and put together the great post I have in my brain, which is something I really want to do.

I read someone else today talking about how important it is we take care of ourselves before others, so that we can truly give them what they need... It's so true, but it's so hard to put into action in real life- when do I find a half hour for me when there is this *LIST* of things thatmustbedonequitesoon?

*Sigh*

I'll figure it out. For now, please know, I'm still here, and I'm still reading everyone else. Now it's just on me to actually get my crap together and post those pics and make time for the things that I actually WANT to do, not just have to do...

Thanksgiving post to come. Sometime before next Thanksgiving, I promise!!

Merry SITSMAS!!!

So, there is this great bloggy commenting group called The Secret Is In The Sauce, which I have come to love! They are a great way to get to know other bloggers, find ones you love, and have people visit you. The basic idea is that each day, they feature three of the best posts from one featured blogger. You visit SITS in the morning and "roll call" (ie, pop in and say, "I'm here!"), then you go and visit those 3 posts and leave some comment love. In general, people will come back and visit you, too :) It's reciprocal bloggy love sharing, and it's great!

Today, they are having a MERRY SITSMAS party!! The grand prize is a $200 gift card to... TARGET! w00t w00t :) Tar-jay is one of my fave stores. So this is major. On top of that, EVERY SINGLE HOUR today they are giving away some fantastic prizes. So you should go. Look. Enter. Be Merry.

And now, on to the requisite Merry Sitsmas Card to all my SITStas that may swing by...

Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas From Bendy Ruggles and Her Parents!

My Christmas Wish For You
Anonymous

My Christmas wish for you, my friend
Is not a simple one
For I wish you hope and joy and peace
Days filled with warmth and sun

I wish you love and friendship too
Throughout the coming year
Lots of laughter and happiness
To fill your world with cheer

May you count your blessings, one by one
And when totaled by the lot
May you find all you've been given
To be more than what you sought

May your journeys be short, your burdens light
May your spirit never grow old
May all your clouds have silver linings
And your rainbows pots of gold

I wish this all and so much more
May all your dreams come true
May you have a Merry Christmas friend
And a happy New Year, too ..
We wish you a merry Christmas :)

And now, if you would like to visit some of the great SITStas from the site, here are a couple of linkies to posts I have found funny lately:

Ravings of a Mad Housewife- Truthful Christmas Letter

The Fam Five- Boys Best Friend

Thrifty Decor Chick- The Purdiest Christmas Tree Ever

The Fun House- Letters To All The Jerks I've Encountered Today

Crazy and Happy- Funny Stuff

Have a wonderful holiday, everyone!!

Quizzy McQuizz: What Holiday Are You?

So, now that the holidays are upon us (24moredaystillChristmaswoohooI'msoexcited!! ANDonly23tillthebeginningofmyvacationwhatwhat!) I thought it might be fun to find out which Holiday I would be. If I were a holiday.

I hope most of you that know me know where this is headed, cuz I had a little INKLING of which holiday I was already and of course I was right:

You Are Christmas

More than most people, you are able to find magic in life's small moments. Traditions mean a lot to you, and you tend to be quite nostalgic. You are a giving, kind person who really understands the true meaning of holidays. You inspire others to be as altruistic and caring as you are. What makes you celebrate: Tradition and a generous spirit At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The storyteller. You like to recount memories with everyone. On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Give a gift to everyone you know

What Holiday Are You?

So thanks to Judi at Where The Road Takes Us for taking this quiz, inciting me to take it... And to be confirmed in the fact that if I was to be a special day, I would be the special day I look forward to alllllll year :)

Thanks I Give Today

*I am thankful for my family- my gorgeous little girl who amazes me more each day; the loving husband who has been with me through thick and thin for eight years; my Mom who has supported me in every way she could for my entire life and who has grown to be one of my best friends; my Father who teaches me things, tells me what I need to hear, and gives me sound advice when I am down in the dumps; my step-parents, both of whom I adore incredibly- I think they are perfect matches for my parents, they have taught me so much, and I am beyond glad that they are in my life; my brothers, all of whom are unique and fun and loving, who could never be replaced; the family I have inherited from my hubby... I know everyone jokes about evil mother-in-laws and tragic family visits, but I truly love them and feel like I lucked out with my new extended family- I care deeply for each of you and I hope you already knew it. And the rest of my extended family, who I am closer with than most people- my cousins, who are some of my best friends, my Aunts and Uncles, who I have had so many fun times with, and the wonderful grandparents who helped spoil raise me. I am so happy to have you all today. I appreciate each and every one of you- thank you for being there, for living life along with us and bringing your own experiences to the table.

*I am so very grateful for the job I have now. Today is my one-year anniversary since I started this job! I love my position, my boss, my co-workers (except one, but we won't count him. *ahem*), and the company I work for. My job is stable and I work for a company that is in no danger of going under like so many others right now. I also feel like we truly do something meaningful (I work in the research field), which makes a huge difference to me. I am also grateful for the benefits my job provides- so many people right now are living without health care, and if we were in that boat right now, we would be seriously screwed. I won't go into why, but we REALLY needed the insurance. I sometimes think what would have happened to us if I didn't get this job, but it's a scary thought that I don't need to indulge, because THANKFULLY it's not the case. When I was pregnant, and after I had Ilyana, I couldn't find a job for a long time, but I believe it's because I was meant to end up here.

*I am grateful for my daughter's good health.

*I am grateful to have good food and a roof over our heads. It seems simple, but there are a lot of others right now just struggling to make ends meet.

*I am grateful that my husband found a position at a company that appreciates him and is quickly moving him up. I'm grateful that they see his potential and are giving him the opportunity to work with computers, which he has always wanted to do, even though he is self-taught.

*I am grateful that we are slowly working towards fixing our credit and ultimately achieving our goal of owning a home. Hopefully *fingers crossed* before Ilyana goes to school!

*I am grateful for the chance to shop celebrate and appreciate my friends and family on the holidays. *maniacal high-pitched voice* I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

*I am grateful TO HAVE HEAT! WOOOOOOOoooooOOOOoooooOOOooo... Yeah, if you don't know about this little gem, you can read about the heat situation here

*I am grateful for my new camera to take photos of the people and things I love, for Dora the explorer, for dark chocolate, for Bavarian Wild Berry tea, for gifts from Mother Nature, for frozen strawberries (smoothies!), for Weeds and Worst Week and It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia... for Soap & Glory, Origins and Old Navy.... For so, so much more... I could go on all day...

So, what about you? What are you thankful for today, in this moment?

These *R* A Few of My Favorite Things...

So, I was visiting a good bloggy friend of mine, Aubrey, over at The Fam Five, and she had participated in this fun post about her favorite things... The twist on it is this: you have to list ten of your favorite things that only begin with one letter.

Aubrey had an *I*. And she did *I*ncredibly *I*ngeniously with her list, if I do say so. Many of the things on there are things that I might say I love, too! Internet, ice cream (who doesn't?!?), iPod, Iron Chef... I won't give away her whole list, but it was pretty good. She asked any of us who wanted to rise to the challenge to give a *holla* and so I did...

And I got an *R*.

So, without further adieu (SIDETRACKED: is this the right way to spell this TYPE of adieu? I know it means "good-bye", but does it also mean "rambling on unnecessarily"? hmm...) here is a list of my favorite *R* things. At least, these *R* my favorite *R* things that I can think of *R*ight now. heh. In no particular order, other than the order in which they popped into my head...

(1)

Reading. I have always loved to read. I have so many books on my shelf that I haven't gotten to yet, it is *r*idiculous. A few favorite authors are: Jodi Picoult, Chuck Palahniuk, Gregory Maguire, Stephanie Meyer (yes, Twilight... lol), JK Rowling (oh shush!), Michael Crichton, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, Francesca Lia Block...

(2)


Rest and/or Relaxation. Don't get much of it these days, but when I do... it is great! Who doesn't love to sleep... or curl up on the couch and veg with no obligations?

(3)

Reese's. Especially cold ones. They are oh so good.

(4)

Ribs. I am a sucker for some awesome, on-the-grill-all-day, meat-falling-off-the-bones ribs. Yum. Yum.

(5)

Running the dishwasher. Yes, you heard me. I am a little bit happier every time I turn that knob. That means less chores for me, fewer dirty dishes, more time to spend with the girl... it's all good, see?

(6)

Recipes. This is kind of cheating, because I'm using it to mean cooking and baking and in general, having fun in the kitchen. Although I couldn't do any of this without the recipes. I mean, I sorta could now, but before I ever used recipes to cook, you would NOT have wanted to try something I came up with on my own (it may have looked something like the recipe above, lol). Now that I have some experience WITH the recipes, I am better at inventing yummy things. So recipes= good. We have to eat, and it's better to have fun with it and try new things.

(7)

Raising my kiddo. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's frustrating... But it is always *R*ewarding, and I am always grateful for having her in my life. I couldn't imagine being without her.

(8)

Rewards. I am one of those survey-filler-outer, points-racker-upper people. I am a member of Upromise- which helps you save for your kids' college; Mypoints, which rewards you with gift cards once you've racked up a certain amount of points through doing any number of things, including surveys, online shopping, clicking on ads, etc.; and a bunch of survey sites, the best of which is Pinecone Research, which pays you $3 each time you fill out a survey, on top of at times sending you free products that are still in the development stage to try out and give feedback on.

(9)

Recycling and Reusing. Whenever I remember to do this, it makes me feel all nice and good and like I'm doing something to help the world. Which is a nice feeling. We have been trying to bring those reusable bags to the grocery store, and we have to go to the dump now for certain things anyway, so I like to try and recycle what we can when we go...

(10)

Riches. Both the show "The Riches" with Eddie Izzard (who is so freakin hilarious, if you haven't seen him before, YOU MUST. Go. Rent. Laugh. Be happy.) and real-life, actual, in your hands, cash money, riches. As if I have those. But someday, I hope to... And when I do, I know I WILL love them, trust me! hehe.

...So, there they *R*. This was a lot harder than I thought. I guess there aren't a ton of *R* things that make me so happy I dance and pee in my pants a little. But there *R* a few. Okay. I'll stop with the *R* now. *R* you annoyed yet?

PS: Let me know if you want to participate in this little listy! I swear I'll go to random.org to pick your letter so you don't think I'm evil if you end up with, like... X. Or Z. And, just to be nice, if you don't think you can come up with ten for your first letter, I'll give you a new letter. But only once. Come on, we can't just keep picking letters here, that wouldn't be random enough! ;) *R* you up for it?

Thursday Thirteen #6- Thanksgiving Edition!

The Thanksgiving Edition!! Can you believe it's only TWO WEEKS away?!?!

Here are my 13 FAVORITE THINGS TO DO on Thanksgiving

(1) Give Thanks. For my family, my health, my job, my friends, and (of course) for good food. This seems a little obvious, but it popped into my head first... and I know if I don't mention it, everyone will be all "don't-you-at-least-give-thanks-on-the-special-day-set-aside-for-doing-so-you-(insert expletive here)?!" So I'm saying it. The most obvious thing. And I'm even saying it first.

(2) Watch the Macy's day parade. Or at least parts of it. But I am seriously upset if I miss it all, which happened to me one year! It's something I can remember doing when I was itty-bitty at my Nana and Pep's house every year, watching and ooh-ing and aah-ing over the ginormous (*yes, that's a word in my eyes!*) floats and waiting, waiting for Santa...

(3) NOT watch football. In fact, I'd MUCH rather be helping in the kitchen than watching football. I know, I blaspheme. So sue me.

(4) Play outside with the kiddos! This sometimes takes the form of tossing a ball around, or playing tag, or hide and seek... But we try and get at least a little bit of air, since we're all cooped up in the house together, and it's usually one of the last days of the year that you CAN play outside without getting super-soggy-nasty feet from snow.

(5) CHOW DOWN! This should rightfully be higher up on the list, but we don't want to seem gluttonous, now do we?? Food is always a first priority on this holiday! I can almost smell the turkey now... mmm....

(6) Card games with the fam. Shanghai, anyone?

(7) Listen to Christmas music on the ride! Thanksgiving is the official start of the holiday season... and we all know just how much of a CHRISTMAS lunatic fanatic I am. :P

(8) This is a new one, starting last year- dress up the Bendy Ruggle! It's always fun to do the mini-fashion show.

(9) Be family photographer. I just love taking pics. I'm sure I'll get shots this year of tryptophan-induced comas (BTW, I saw this on mythbusters and it's not true, unless you ate ONLY turkey and a lot of it... so stop blaming your laziness on the turkey, people!), gravy grins and post-meal vegging out.

(10) Try and decide WHICH of the 1,356,467.7 fabulous desserts I will allow to enter my body. I usually end up slicing a small piece off of a number of them, cuz let's face it, it's pretty impossible to choose just one.

(11) Take home some toot-kay! Nana makes the best, and she usually makes extras for this occasion, because she knows everyone will be fighting over the leftovers otherwise!

(12) Ponder what I will be buying the next day on the most nightmarish best shopping day of the year! Yes, I will be up and out of the house by 4:30 a.m. on Black Friday. No, I am not crazy. Yes, my Mom is coming as a shopping partner. No, I haven't figured out yet how I'll get HER out of bed and out of the house by said time! I'm working on some funky new wake-up-calls... heh.

(13) And lastly, I like to... drumroll, please... GO TO BED EARLY!

Come on, I'm getting up at 4 a.m. the next day! And I did eat a TON of turkey. Who believes those mythbusters, anyway? hah.

Butterfly Award

w00t w00t I got another award from Judi over at Where The Road Takes Us. Thanks Judi, you are so sweet! I love your blog, too!! :D

Now, here are the *rules* that go along with this award:

Rules if you choose to participate

1. Put the award up on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs
4. Add links to these blogs on your blog
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog

And I pass this award along to:

Dr. Cason
Aubrey at The Fam Five
Elizabeth at Three Channels
Issa at IssasCrazyWorld
Texan Mama at Who Put Me In Charge of These People?
ThriftyDecorChick
Kyla at The Journey

An AWARD!?! For me?? YAY!!!

This must be my week, because (a) I won a contest; (b) it's my birthday; (c) I got my new camera- connected with b, I suppose; and (d) now I won a bloggy award! w00t-w00t for me! Maybe I should go and buy a lottery ticket. You never know, right?

Judi from over at Where The Road Takes Us bestowed this upon me... Thanks again Judi!

"The requirements for this award are to list six things that make me happy, then tag six more bloggers."

Six things that make me happy:

1. Kisses from Bendy Ruggles
2. Spending time with my family
3. Shopping
4. My job- I like what I do, I like the people I work with, I love the University I work for, and it provides my family with not only income (duh) but also good BENEFITS, which were a godsend for us. We needed them badly!
5. Photography & Blogging (I think they sort of go together)
6. Yummy home-cooked food... I'm looking forward to some right now!

The final requirement for this award is to tag 6 more bloggers that are Kreativ.

1. The Stuff I Live For
2. Jewel Street Designs
3. Ginger Louise Clothing
4. Dr. Cason
5. Two Dogs Running
6. A Year Of Crockpotting

Voila! My first award. I feel so warm and fuzzy inside now. :D

High School Meme

I've been tagged by the wonderful, talented grandmother to Peanut (aka Judi) over at Where The Road Takes Us for another meme... This one is all about high school. I have to list seven facts about me in high school, and then tag a few others to pass along the meme-ish joy :D Here goes:

(1) I went to three. Different. High schools. Started out in York, ME for freshman year, moved to Dover, NH for sophomore and junior years, then moved to Nashua, NH. My favorite of the three was Dover High. I actually made a few good friends there that I hung onto.

(2) I was an honor student.

(3) My favorite subjects were Pottery (I'd still love to get a wheel someday and be able to do it as a hobby! but then you need a kiln, and glaze, and yeah... it gets expensive quick), Graphic Design, and Poetry.

(4) My least favorite subject was... gym. I wasn't what you'd call an athlete by any stretch. And I didn't like getting sweaty and having to get back in my clothes afterwards... I mean, who really dares to use those gym showers, anyway?

(5) I drove a 1995 ford escort station wagon.

(6) I skipped about 1/3 (at least?) of the last semester of Senior year and still pulled A's. Nashua high was not very challenging for me. But then again, I chose not to take AP classes, so I guess I wasn't trying to be challenged.

(7) I became instantly cool at Nashua High because (a) I never hung out with the kids from my classes. I didn't care to make that many friends, since I would only be there for a year, and I had an older boyfriend who I hung out with most of the time anyway. This meant that kids in my classes thought I was just too badass for them. Worked fine for me, I liked being mysterious! :D and (b) one of the most popular guys in school, for some random reason, started crushing on me after passing by me in the hall one day, and then we became friends for a short while. So this also boosted my status. :P

Okay, so nowww.... I tag...

*Kia, at Good Enough Mama

*Lori, at Mommy's Take On Things

*Elizabeth, at Three Channels

*Neptunebaby at Neptunebaby.com

AND

*Nikki at LovingDanger

Enjoy!

Fun Piccy Meme! FIRST TIME TAGGED :P

Yay! I was tagged by Judi at Where The Road Takes Us for a fun picture Meme! This is so exciting, I've never been tagged before! w00t~ I made friends :D haha! You should go check out her blog, her picture of Peanut is just sooo cute, and fitting for the season! You'll see what I mean...

The instructions are:

* Go to your Sixth Picture Folder then pick your Sixth Picture.

* Pray that you remember the details.

* Tag 5 others.


Okay. The sixth picture in my sixth folder here at work is:


A picture of Ilyana and her Grumps at Easter this year! Oh my gosh, I hadn't realized how much her hair has grown since then! It's hard to notice because I still can't put it in little bows or barrettes yet... lol. How sweeeeeettt. :D

Okay so now I get to tag people! I choose:

(1) Nikki at Loving Danger

(2) Issa at Issascrazyworld

(3) Aubrey at The Fam Five

(4) Mama Dawg at Two Dogs Running

(5) Kyla at The Journey

Can't wait to read everyone's post! And thanks again, Judi, for tagging ME!

ZoMbIe TeMpLaTe... Crisis averted?

I think it's fixed. I just went back to a similar template to the first one I had. Figured if I'm gonna have all these problems, better to stick with the tried and true. :P At first after I switched back, the old one was still loading when I went to my URL... Zombie template style, it just wouldn't die!

Maybe someday I'll get up the energy (nerve?) to fix up and use another... Who knows.

I also made a new header, which I don't like as much as my old one. I'll be making another today. Hopefully my creativity is more on its game- yesterday was just a crap day in that department.

Thanks for all your support everyone! Blogger blues semi-cured, I suppose.

On a different note, HOW do you use the strikethrough in words on Blogger?!?! I can't figure it out. Help!?! :) Thanks.

Under Construction. Stay Tuned.

ARGH! I am sooo mad at myself. I got the bright idea this morning to start looking for a new blogger template, since I hated that the other one was like a big column down the middle.

Well, I should have stuck with it anyway, because now I can't find one I like, I lost all my widgets, and everything I try screws up. To top it off, I can't locate where the computer saved my ^%$# old template when I backed it up. So now I am on the hunt to find something better that I can use. I wish I knew the ins and outs of blogger better, cuz I'd just design one myself that fits my needs... But I don't.

So now I'm just pissed. Stay tuned to see if I can cure my blogger blues. BAH. :(

(B)apple Streusel Cheesecake Bars

I'm telling you. These will KNOCK your SOCKS off. Sooo good.

I'm not one to post recipes to my blog often. However, I am one to delight in making people happy through food. And these bars will make you and your family very happy. Unless, of course, you're trying to diet- in which case, you will be very UNhappy to find that you cannot walk by the fridge without sneaking a bite. I know this from experience.

It's a Betty Crocker recipe, (a 2007 prize winning recipe, to boot!) and you can find it on their website, too. But just to make things easy, I'm posting it here and encouraging you to make it, ESPECIALLY if you have gone apple picking like us and need a good way to use some up.

Instead of using the canned apple pie filling like it calls for, I used real apples. I would highly recommend you do this, even though I haven't tried it with the canned filling... I think canned filling is both worse for you and lacks a lot of the taste that real apples have. It's worth the extra work to use real. Here's what I did:

I peeled, cored, and sliced thin (into about 1/16ths) about 12-14 small apples, then tossed them in 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 tsp ground cinnamon. I brought a splash of apple cider to a boil and then threw in the cinnamon sugar apples and stirred for about 20 mins, or just until the apples were starting to tenderize. I know this isn't very exact, but I did it on the fly, and it worked. You don't need to cook the apples all the way through on top of the stove, because you're going to bake them in the dessert- you just don't want them to be crunchy when you get them out. Don't worry- apples are hard to ruin.

I also used chopped hazelnuts instead of walnuts- just cuz I don't like walnuts, and I'm the Momma, and I'm the one who made them. :) Oh, and neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese. Because it has 1/3 less fat. And I think this recipe had plenty of fat without the real cream cheese, thankyouverymuch. It didn't change the texture at all, so don't be hesitant to do this if you want! It will lower the guilt level of these treats :P

And here's the rest of the recipe:

1	pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® oatmeal cookie mix
1/2	cup firm butter or margarine
2	packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2	cup sugar
2	tablespoons all-purpose flour
1	teaspoon vanilla
1	egg
1	can (21 oz) apple pie filling
1/2	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4	cup chopped walnuts

1.	Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
	Place cookie mix in large bowl. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly and coarse. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; press remaining crumbs in bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
2.	Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
3.	Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over partially baked crust. In medium bowl, mix pie filling and cinnamon. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top. Sprinkle with walnuts.
4.	Bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until light golden brown. Cool about 30 minutes. Refrigerate to chill, about 2 hours. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 40 to 45 minutes.

I'm not putting the nutrition information for obvious reasons. If you REALLY want to know, head on over to Betty Crocker and find out for yourself. But don't say I didn't warn you- things that taste so good are never quite as good for your butt. :P

Tail End of Bloggy Giveaway Week!!

Sooo, I just found out it's bloggy giveaway week! I'm so excited to be entering a few of these... I would have done a giveaway myself had I know about it sooner! I guess next quarter I'll just have to pay more attention :P Since I didn't catch this early enough to host a giveaway, I'm trying not to be selfish and enter too many, but it's hard not to be greedy with so many GREAT offers!

Anyway, here are some of my favorite giveaways so far- mind you, I'll be editing this as I go because there are TONS of giveaways this time (I mean, like over 900 so far) so I'm still working my way down the list as much as I can before the giveaways end!


(1) $50 Target Giveaway From Unexpected Bliss

(2) Land's End Backpack From Musings of a Housewife

(3) $20 Target gift card (the Tar-jay cards seem to be a theme... :D) at Adventures In Babywearing

(4) $50 gift card OF YOUR CHOICE!!! (How awesome is that?!?!) at Mommy of Three

(5) Kissable Lips lip balm and trial size body wash from Mambino Organics at Goodies For Mom (and baby too!)

(6) Mystery Grab Bag full of items at Monkey Giggles I loved this idea... it gives a little bit of intrigue to the whole thing!

(7) Beautiful Blue Topaz necklace at Life With Three

(8) iPod Shuffle and Target gift cards from Annie's Eyes

(9) $300 Gift Certificate to Amazon, $100 to Williams Sonoma, and $50 cash via paypal at My Wooden Spoon

(10) $100 Target gift card from Simply Amusing Blog

More to come, but I'm leaving work for the day! Enjoy these great giveaways!