whewwww.

I am alive! I just let the whole summer go by with out one blog, and we are now well into the fall! What has been going on? WELL, we went to the beach for a week during the summer, spent alot of time at local parks, summer school, and work for me. Josh is doing well, trying to adjust to 1st grade. Unfortunately it is not going as great as we thought it would be, but we are dealing with it! Hunter is growing and learning more and more each day. He moved up to the "big kid" class at day care. He is loving that! We are getting ready to experience some amazing changes in the coming days. In 22 days, my sister is coming home. The boys will have their mom back, which will be good for them. I am trying to find a way to keep life as normal as possible, because I do not want the boys world to turn completely upside down. We are also getting ready to move into a bigger space, to give my sister space. An added bonus would be that I am getting a craft room! YAY for that, it will be my safe haven! I am so excited to have a place to dedicate to my craftiness. OHHHH over the summer I also purchase a Cricut Expression and it is my new love. I have one of the smaller cricuts, but the bigger one is soo nice to have! So This weekend is going to be devoted to packing, homework, and of course halloween! The boys are going as Thomas the train and Spiderman....pictures to follow.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Kindergarten graduation!

Yay, Josh is a kindergarten graduate! The school had a whole program where the kids sang sungs, did some dancing and then got their diplomas, followed by tastey treats. I made gift bags for Josh's class with a book mark, eraser, pencil and of course some M&Ms. I made a little bag for Hunter because I knew he would want one. According to the teacher they were a big hit. I also made an explosion box for the teacher but I just realized I did not get a picture of it. Such a BUMMER! Josh was soo nervous that morning, as he does not handle change well, I guess being in foster care will do that to a child. Instead of being excited he acted up, which frustrated me a bit, but we dealt with it. Now we are getting ready for Father's day, and then going to the beach for a week on Monday! Hunter is very excited, only I think that when Josh and I say beach, Hunter thinks we are going to the pool. The reason why I get this impression is because we walked by the pool the other day and he started pointing and saying " beach, beach." hehe, he will learn soon enough! Have a great weekend!

End of the school Year!

Well hello there! It's the end of the school year for Josh and me! I took my final exams last week and just checked my grades a few moments ago, and I got all A's, so I am very pleased! Josh has three and a half days of school this week, and the half day is for his kindergarten graduation party. Josh is VERY excited to be a 1st grader but sad to leave his teacher behind, which I understand because she is amazing!

Anyhow, since it is graduation time, I have made a couple gifts from some co workers, and one for a girl that works at Hunter's day care! This was my first time making an explosion box, and I am pretty pleased with them as I did not follow any directions, and did not have a scoring board or anything! Create a Critter is still my favorite Cricut cartridge ( so much that I had to let someone borrow it so I could study for finals, now that is bad!!).

I will be posting more this week, since I am still working on the teacher's end of the year gift and Im making little gift bags for the kids in Josh's class. hehe yeah I use my free time well!

I'm baaaaaaaaack,,,for now hehe..

Whoa, did not realize I had not blogged for a while. Silly me, letting my life get busy! Ah well I am back, for now anyway. Anyway This next week is teacher appreciation week, so I made something special for Josh's teacher because she is nothing short of AMAZING! I had so much fun creating this, I got the idea from the Cricut message boards! So much fun!

My hand at card making....eeeek.

So I have these boxes of blank cards taking up space in my scrapbooking stuff, so I figured I would use them up finally. I have done a couple and wanted to share them... so here you go... don't laugh I'm new to this!

girls trip 2010

I love my friends! I know that I have said it before, but I truly do! I have been friends with Miranda, Krista, and Alycia since middle school... so its been a while. Thanks to the internet we are able to keep in contact with eachother, with out it we would be in big trouble. Back in December, Miranda and I decided we were going to plan a girls trip to the Oregon Coast. We let Krista and Alycia know that we expected them to be there, and they came! Miranda's sister-in-law got us an amazing penthouse suite, right on the beach. Of course it rained the entire time were were there! But that did not get us down! We still walked on the beach (backwards because the wind was blowing), hung out in the hot tub (which was super neat because the lights changed colors), did a little drinking, and of course shopped. It was soo nice to just be me for a minute. Some bad things did happen on this trip: My camera broke (oh No!), Miranda slammed the air hockey puck into my fingers (right after my camera broke) and that freakin' hurt!. and they got some aweful pictures of me! But revenge is sweet, and I got some AMAZING pictures of them that I cannot wait to scrap *smirk*. We are planning a trip to Ireland in 2012, I hope we can do that!

Some of my pages.

I love to scrap! LOVE it, I love being creative, its messy and its fun. Okay so maybe it is not always messy for everyone, but for me... I am REDICULOUS! Seri

ously! I do not have a scrapbook area so I have to bring it all out, and then spread it out. But the cool thing about it is, if I bring it all out, I'll work on pages for a couple days, I usually get 6-8 pages done in my Scrap-A-Thon, then I put it all away. One day though, I will have a designated space just for my scrappin'! Here are some of my pages, I did these a while ago, I need to get pictures of my recent ones. Some of these I need to fix, just a little warning!

The best of the best!

Do you have someone that you can tell all your secrets to, no matter how horrible, embarassing, funny, or sad they are? I really do hope so! My best friend is Julie, and she has been there since we were four years old. Most of my childhood memories include this lovely lady. She is the person I can say "remember when," and know what I am going to say before I even finish. She is the one that can make me laugh like no one else can, understands me for who I am. I think that she is amazing, an amazing mother and friend ( and I'm sure her husband would say wife). She is quite the crafter, has lots of style, and is a good cook. Of course I would love her just the same if she did not have any of these qualities, but they make her extra special. Currently Julie is going to nursing school, which is time consuming. So time consuming that since school has started we have been talking less and less, I try to give her time to study, and have time with her family, because that is what is most important. I am very proud of what she is doing, and she is motivating me to finish school for myself. I cannot wait for her to become a nurse, because its her dream! And selffishly I want my best friend back. But for now I will sit here quietly cheering her on, I just hope she does not forget about me.

Brotherly Love

I grew up with several and I mean several ( try six) siblings, and as much as we fought ( someone was always fighting someone) I loved that I always had someone to talk to and play with. So when Josh started talking to me about how he missed his brother and sister, I thought I should do something about it. It made no sense to me why he should feel like an only child when he clearly is not an only child. So, I talked to Hunters Grandma, who was taking care of him, and told her it was time for the boys to be together. That It was not fair to either one of them to be separated, it is not their fault that their mom has made the choices she made. So we started the boys out with weekend visits in September. Then in November, we went to weekly visits, and by Christmas Hunter moved in. It is so great to see how they interact. Josh loves being a big brother and teaching Hunter new things. His favorite thing to do is trying to get Hunter to say new words, as Hunter is almost two and is talking ALOT! The both have a love for cars, and usually they are fighting over the same cars, even if they both have the same cars. Ahh the love of siblings. It is also a blessing for me, because I have gotten to spend more time with Hunter, and he is the sweetest little guy, loves to cuddle. But at the same time he is the one who is demanding and yells alot, you can hear him say "NOW" with everything. He will come up to me witha juice cup and say "juice NOW". It is funny but I have to hold back the giggles, because he will only keep doing it. Winter break is almost over, and Josh usually loves school but he told me today he much rather stay home with Hunter all day, because he does not want his little brother to be alone. I think having his brother here is going to help him grow emotionally, and see that he does have a family.

I might go crazy, I might want to scream but I have to remember that it is all worthwhile... the boys will grow up together, but they will have those memories of loving, playing and fighting with eachother!

It's raining, it's pouring.....

Yep, it is fall... and I live in the valley. You would think I would be used to all this rain by now, but I am not. I love listening and watching the rain, I just do not like to be in it. And what bet better than doing that? Doing it and drinking CARAMEL APPLE CIDER! It is my favorite fall drink!

Apple cider is a great drink that warms me up, but add a spoonful of caramel into it and spray some whip cream on it and the drink becomes an amazing treat! So let it rain, I will be drinking my caramel apple cider!

"This Junk is Delicious!"

Well, here I am... shocking moment? probably.

I wanted to share this moment with you. A couple weeks ago I made meatloaf for dinner, which Josh has never had before. He looked at it and was like " Auntie Krystal I do not know if I should trust you about it." He normally says this about anything he has never had. So I encouraged him to take a "brave bite". He did, and he took a moment to think about it and then he says very excitedly " this junk is delicous". hahaha, it was a great moment. I did a couple things to capture the moment: I texted my best friend to share with her ( we do this constantly because we have boys the same age) and then I grabbed my camera... its going to be an awesome scrapbook page!

It is really interesting to me how a smell, touch, taste, or sound sends me down memory lane. It is even more interesting when I smell something and I know it is familar to me, but I cannot figure out why it is so familar.  The smell of old spice will always remind me of my father, the smell of vanilla does the same of my mom.   Anyway, I was just sitting out side drinking a cup of coffee and I got a strong sense of familarity came to me... so I had to say something.

In the last week I have done four scrapbook pages, so that has been nice. I need to get some more scrapbook inserts though, as I have run out. I will have to take some pictures of the ones I love so I can post them. I have SOOOO many pictures of Josh it is unreal. But then again, Im trying to capture the time he can't spend with his mom, for his mom. Plus if I did not take pictures of him, what else could I take pictures of? ME???? No, NO thanks.  I do have some pictures of myself, but unless I have a good reason, I tend to only scrapbook pictures of myself once a year. who knows why. 

I guess Josh was bored yesterday, he decided it would be a great idea to jump on his bed. I cannot blame him though, jumping on the bed is fun. I remember growing up my sisters and I ( who ever it was that I was sharing the room with it at the time) would have jump contests on our beds. Or we would create obstacle courses that involved alot of jumping. So on one hand I totally cannot get upset with this fun idea he had. HOWVER, he jumped so much that the frame totally buckled. I tried to put it back together, but it wont work. So Im calling in my parents, lol. They can fix it. 

Well, I should wrap this up, my best friend is coming over with her kiddos again today, and we are going to get bagels and coffee ( our ritual) and maybe take the kids to the park... or maybe we will just lock our selves in my extra room and scrapbook... hahahhaha yeah right, like that would keep them out!

I Fail.

I feel like a failure some times. I make all these goals  and I plan on sticking to them, but then I get preoccupied with other things that I could be doing. I have done several scrap pages recently So I have been pretty happy with that. My best friend of like 22 years does a great job of motivating me with that. She is constantly sending me pictures via text messages of her amazing pages. We hang out once a week when our schedules are aligned and compare our pages. I have so many scrap supplies I think I need to go to scrapbookers anonomous.

My five year old nephew is living with me, while his parents get their lives together. Anyway he is growing like a weed, and is a very busy little boy. He is so smart though, he amazes me with his intelligence some times.  He is also a dare devil, always jumping off of things, and is willing to try most anything. This July he will be learning how to ride motorcycles...I want to encourage him in anything he is interested in... reasonably of course. He also allows me to take alot of pictures of him, so he keeps my scrapping going. 

I had my birthday a little over a month ago, and it is weird to me. I don't feel like 26... so incredibly weird to me. Im not loving this getting older thing.... at all... 

And so the list begins

The Mission: to complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria:

Taks must be specific (ir. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks myst be also realistic and stretching ( ie represent some amount of work on my part.

Why 1001 days?

Many people have created lists in the past- frequently simple goals such as New Years resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. !001 days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, beacause it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some talks such as over seas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:

1. Be decisive. Know exactlu what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.

2. Stay focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.

3. Welcome failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and make the success more worthy.

4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.

5. Keep your goals in sight. REview them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of thinking.

This list must be completed by October 6, 2011.

I have looked at a bunch of other lists, and noticed that they are organized by group, but I just Don't have the time to organize it all like that,I don't have the time and I really want to post this so I can officially start.

1. read 100 books I have not read before (45/100)
2. Do something with my hair that is completely unlike me. Completed Jan. 9, 09.
3. Send my postcard to post secret and let the secret go Done May 2009!
4. Give all handmade gifts one christmas
5. finish Matt and Krista's wedding present before their first anniversary (1/31/10).
6. Make my mother a memory quilt
7. Give up soda for two weeks straight done.
8. give it up for good
9. lose ten pounds, and keep it off done
10. lose 20 pounds and keep it off
11. make a scrapbook all about my favorite things
12. make a scrapbook of my family
13. Go to Georgia to visit my best friend.... can't go to Georgia to visit her she is moving back this week (3/23/09)
14. pay off my credit card
15. grow a plant and keep it alive done
16. Find a new recipe once a month and make it (8/33)
17. Take Josh to Omsi and experience through his eyes
18. go back to school and dont stop this time. Back in school 01/04/10
19. Go through my stuff and donate what I do not need DONE 3/23 will be doing again in a few months
20. cut out the useless spending
21. blog/journal atleast once a week
22. make a list of things I like about myself.
23. make a time capsule
24. have a girls weekend with my mom
25. have a girls weekend with my best friends Going on a 'mid week adventure 02/09-02/12
26. go camping on the beach
27. sew an outfit for myself
28. One day each week, do not spend any money.
29. get a tattoo
30. detox my body
31. Move to Idaho not happening.
32. have my nieces and nephews over for a slumber party
33. take a walk or bike ride twice a week (rain or shine) (12/143)
34. use my canvas shopping bags more This is going well.
35. recycle whatever I can so far so good.
36. floss everyday for a month (15/30)
37. pick a charity and donate to it
38. volunteer for something in the community
39. Have pajama day at least once a month (3/33)
40. organize my scrapbooking stuff and keep it that way
41. Get caught up on Josh's life book and stay that way
42. organize my pictures
43. redecorate my bedroom
44. decorate my bare walls in the living room
45. Go a weekend with out phone, computer, television or ipod
46. change the legal way of spelling my name
47. make and send a card to someone once a month (7/33)
48. Take a picture of my self once a month (0/33)
49. Do not take anything out of savings for six months ( not even to put it right back) completed
50. make a growth chart for Josh and check his progress once every three months (0/11)
51. Plan a weeks worth of meals and stick to it
52. put ten dollars into savings for every goal I reach
53. make my self a rag quilt
54. send a "just because" present to five people (2/5)
55. Do something nice for five strangers (4/5)
56. Donate 1,000,000 grains of rice on www.freerice.com (15,000/1,000,000)
57. Make a snow angel
58. get my passport
59. drink only water for one week (7/7)completed
60. Collect and save all my change ( minus the quarters, I need to do laundry after all)
61. Take a class for fun
62. Make a list of 100 things that make me happy Done! I did a scrapbook page on this!
63. Get a guys phone number
64. call the guy
65. host a dinner party
66. wear make up everyday for a month (30/30)
67. open a savings account for my future bookstore
68. buy myself flowers done... orange roses.
69. Go to the zoo
70. Dance in the rain
71. Go on a date
72. Buy myself a piece of jewelry
73. Take Josh to Disneyland
74. Make five completely organic meals (2/5)
75. Do not say anything negative about work for one week (0/7)
76. Make play dough with Josh
77. buy some nice dressers
78. buy a new mattress
79. Take Josh to every park in this town
80. buy ten things off of etsy (3/10)
81. shop local for gifts
82. buy a really amazing bag
83. fundraise for the march of dimes
84. Get up early every day for a month ( by 7:30) (30/30)
85. Get wii fit complete 2/15
86. use wii fit three times a week
87. Take Josh swimming three times a week during the summer (completed summer 2009)
88. Go out for a "fancy" dinner for no reason at all
89. Decorate my living room
90. Get new glasses
91. write letters to my loved ones in case anything happens to me
92. Renew my foster parent certification
93. make some jam and give it away (completed October 2009)
94. Get my nose repierced
95. watch the sun rise and set in the same twenty four hours
96. Take Josh on a picnic in a park
97. Find picture frames for my pictures and put them up
98. make a list of everything/everyone I am thankful for
99. have a backwards dinner with Josh ( start with dessert then main course, then salad, etc.)
100. call a friend once a week (not the same one every week)
101. make a new list!