Ten on Tuesday

1. What’s your variety of apple?
Honeycrisp but since it's only available in the fall I also like granny smith.  I am not a fan of red apples.  I just haven't found one I like.  I really like crisp crunchy apples.

2. Do you prefer Long-English or Field cucumbers?
I don't really have a preference.  I like all cucumbers.

3. Tomatoes – Delicious or disgusting?
DELICIOUS!!  I love tomatoes.  We always have grape tomatoes in our house.  The kids and I eat them like well grapes!

4. What’s one fruit or vegetable that you can’t stand and why is that?
I really just don't like sugar snap peas.  I like all other kinds of peas but just not that one.

5. What’s your favourite way to prepare veggies? (Grilled, boiled, roasted, sautéed, etc.)
I like them most anyway they can be cooked.  But my least favorite is boiled.  I steam them most often because it's the easiest.

6. Sweet potato pie: Love it or hate it?
Ehh.  I don't love it and I don't hate it.  But you have to understand I'm not southern.  Yes,  I live in the south but I was born in Colorado and lived there for a bit and my parents lived most of their lives there.  So I didn't grow up eating sweet potato pie.  In fact I don't think I had it for the first time until I was an adult.  I do like my mother-in-law's though.

7. What’s your favourite “style” of French fry? Wedges, shoelace, curly, crinkle-cut or other?
I'm not picky about fries.  I will eat them any way. 

8. What’s your favourite fruit-pie filling?
Cherry or strawberry rhubarb.

9. When you were a kid did your parents make you sit at the table until all your veggies were eaten off your plate?
No, I don't think so.  I think we always had to try it and eat a bite or two.

10. Do you drink veggie & fruit juice blends (such as V8, etc.) or make them yourself?
Sometimes.  I really like V8 I just don't buy it often.  

Fun with Instagram

I know I have posted about the fact that I love the Instagram app for my iPhone.  But I seriously do love it.  I find myself taking pictures of everyday things but it makes them new to me.  So here is a selection of the last week or so.  It also gives you snapshot of what I did for the last week.

 

 

 

Handful of stars for a baby mobile for my good friend Meg.

Two weeks ago my friends and I hosted a baby shower for a good friend and I of course wanted to make her a mobile but seeing as she is having a boy the flower mobile was out.  So I had been forming a star mobile in my head and so I cut up all the paper for it.  I made some of the smaller stars so she could see what it would look like.  I took the bigger sheets of paper to the shower and had all the guests write blessings for the baby on them.  I thought it was a nice way to put some good energy into the mobile.

My scrapbooking table at my weekend scrapping getaway!

Last weekend I went to a beach retreat scrapbooking weekend with two of my very best friends.  We spent all weekend scrapbooking and just having good girl time.  We did leave the hotel on Saturday night to go out to a nice dinner.

My awesome friends & fellow scrapbookers!

My lovely friend Meg & Me.

I have been trying to make myself go to bed earlier and when I do I am rewarded with this view from my bed.  I just love my star lantern,

The view of my star light from my bed.

I had started this star mobile almost a month ago and just had not had the time to finish it.  I decided I wanted to get it done so I could see what the finished mobile would look like.  I think it came out fantastic!!  It's much bigger than I had initially envisioned but I really liked it!  It was almost 3 1/2 feet long!

Brand new Star Mobile prototype!

I am alive!

There isn't a Ten on Tuesday today so I figured I would just sort of free form write.

My craft/art items are now available to be purchased in TWO places locally.  This excites me!!!  So if your in the Wilmington area you can see or purchase my stuff in Carolina Beach at Island Time Drop-n-Play or in Wilmington at Rockin Roller Salon and Boutique.

I went back to my teaching job last week after a very long break in December.  It was nice to be off but it was also nice to get back and see me students .... that is until Friday.  I can't and won't go into detail but one of my students cussed me out.  Fun times.  I understand my students have special needs but still....

My mom and step dad had us over to their house on Saturday to play Settlers of Catan.  It's the second time we've played it and it's a lot of fun.  I would never have thought I would like it but I do.  Now I just have to beat my mom.

My son lost another tooth the other day.  I must say he is a real baby about pulling teeth and it drives me nuts.  But I got to play tooth fair of course.

My daughter had her second dentist appointment yesterday.  I didn't get to go to the first because I was working and I major mommy guilt over it.  But I got to take her this time and I was so impressed with how good she did.  She sat so still and cooperated so well.  The hygienist kept telling me how awesome she was doing. She looked like such a big girl.

Ten on Tuesday

1. What did you get for Christmas?
I got lots of great stuff!  Most notably a gift certificate for a hair cut, a new pot and a Cricket cutting machine.

2. Have you taken down your Christmas decorations?
All but the tree and the outside lights.

3. What did you do for New Years Eve?
Not much.  James and I watched Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2 then had some champagne and watched the ball drop.  It was nice though.

4. Do you like accents?
I do except when James uses them in store on strangers because he thinks it's funny.

5. What kind of television do you have?
The one in the living room is a Sony Vizio. The rest of the TVs I have no clue.  I only know that one because I'm sitting in front of it.

6. Did you make any changes at the beginning of 2012?
Sort of.  I decided I was going to try and be more proactive with my Etsy business this year.  And I'm off to a good start ....  stay tuned!

7. What’s the last book you read and do you recommend it?
I think it was Mocking Jay the last book in the Hunger Games Trilogy.  I loved them so much that I've had a hard time picking up a new book and getting into it.  But I am in the middle of My Booky Wook by Russel Brand and it's just started to get good!
Oh and yes I would totally recommend Mocking Jay and all the Hunger Game books!  They are really, really good!

8. Do you stay current on celebrity gossip?
No,  I used to but I stopped getting Us magazine so I lost my easy access to celebrity gossip.

9. Do you know the words to Bohemian Rhapsody? Gangstas Paradise? Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
I know all the words to Bohemian Rhapsody and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and could sing them on command without the song playing.  I could sing Gangstas Paradise if the song was on meaning I know it but not that well.

10. What is your favorite education television show?
If we are talking kids educational TV shows then it would be Sesame Street.  I grew up watching it and it's not annoying like a lot of the other kids TV shows I am forced to watch.

Day 25 of 25 Day Photo Challenge: Christmas!

Day 25: Unwrapped

As you can see I couldn't choose just one photo.  This one is the mess after just our little family opened up our stuff!

 Noa & Marley posing in the mess.

One of my favorite gifts.  Noa made this little piece of art in school and wrapped it for me to open.  It's a clay sculpture of two fish, an octopus and a hook.  I just love the colors and the octopus and that Noa made it!

I hope you all have a very merry Christmas and may peace and joy be with you this holiday and in the new year!

Day 24 of 25 Day Photo Challenge: Christmas!

Day 24: Xmas Eve

My kids get to open one present on Christmas eve.  I choose to let them open books.  But they were thrilled by them (my kids love books!!).  It was such a nice night.  My mom and stepdad came over for dinner.  They brought shrimp cocktail for an appetizer and I fixed feta pasta and a salad and then we had my homemade cookies for dessert.  We all sat down and played a board game then the kids left out milk and cookies for Santa and went to bed!

Day 22 & 23 of 25 Day Photo Challenge: Christmas!

Day 22:  Cookies

I had to save this for today because I didn't make cookies until today.  This is one of my favorite things to do for Christmas.  I love making the dough and rolling it and cutting the shapes out, then decorating them with the kids.  Oh and I used blue because I somehow ran out of yellow food coloring and I needed .... wanted a third color.


Day 23: Sparkle

My son made this at school because they studied all the different celebrations that go on in December and how other countries celebrate.  So they made a sparkly Star of David.  This was also the first year we got to celebrate a night of Hanukkah with some friends of ours who are Jewish.  It was so nice for the kids to get to experience a true celebration with the lighting of the Menorah and traditional Hebrew Prayer,  Latkes, and jelly doughnuts.

Day 20 & 21 of 25 Day Photo Challenge: Christmas!

Day 20: Memories

Ok so I am cheating a bit with this one.  I went back into my photo library and found this picture of my son Noa when he was about 4 months old.  He looks so happy to have that Santa hat put on him.  For his first Christmas we traveled to Colorado where my mom was living at the time.  It was such a fun trip and it was his first Christmas.

Day 21: Bells

It's always been a tradition in our house to have bells hanging on the front door.  Not sure where I got the tradition but I like it.  It always sounds merry when someone comes in the door.

Ten on Tuesday

1. What is your favorite online-only store?
AMAZON!  I love Amazon.  You can find anything and everything and most of the time it's just about the cheapest place to find it.

2. Do you enjoy wrapping gifts?
For about the first 5 presents then I'm over it and just want it done.

3. What is the temperature in your city today?
I think it got up to about 60 today. But since I am writing this Monday night that's what it was.  It's fore casted to be 68 tomorrow,  I mean today!

4. What time do you eat dinner?
Usually between 5:30 and 6:00.  My kids are starving by then.

5. Will you be making New Years Resolutions?
Nah.  I never stick to them anyway.  So why make them and then just feel bad.

6. How old is your oldest pair of shoes that you still wear?
After giving it some thought I really only wear shoes that are a few years old.  Now that's not to say I don't have some really old shoes from high school (purple Doc Martens which I still love and refuse to give away) still sitting around but I don't wear them anymore.

7. Do you have any restaurant phone numbers saved in your phone?
Nope.

8. What is your favorite and least favorite letter to write in cursive?
Favorite L.  Least favorite Z.  I still don't know how to do it right.  I hate cursive anyway.

9. Do you know any good riddles?
James just told me one today that I thought was good.  What has holes in it but still holds water?










A SPONGE!

10. How do you feel about snow?
I love it and I wished we got just a tiny bit more here but I'm not sure I would want a ton all winter long.  Like maybe one good snow a year.  We can go a few years without snow.

Day 19 of 25 Day Photo Challenge: Christmas!

Day 19: Reindeer

So now that I am looking at this I think it might actually be a moose as opposed to a reindeer.  Oh well...  they are kinda close right?  But anyway James and I bought this on our trip to Alaska back in 2000.  We have a tradition of buying an ornament from every place we go one trip to.  Our kids also pick out an ornament on each trip.  They will then get to have all their ornaments when they get married and have their own family.