Mrs. Camera Happy - Adventures Of A Newlywed

Mom Chop

2012-01-10T20:51:00.000-06:00

For a while now I've been growing my hair out to do a donation haircut. The time finally arrived and I couldn't be happier with the results. We chopped 9 inches of hair off, and it's been donated to the Pink Hearts Fund, which is a non-profit charity, provides free wigs for kids and adults who suffer from medical hair loss due to illness or cancer treatment. I'm glad to know something as simple as getting a haircut can do someone else some good.

Plus now I'm totally ready for a newborn, now that there isn't as much to grab on to! Not the greatest photos, but they get the point across!

39 Weeks and Impatiently Waiting!

2012-01-10T18:48:00.000-06:00

Everyone keeps saying I'm so close, I'm so close. It's almost time. I AM SO IMPATIENT! Everytime I see a baby picture my uterus starts twitching and I get all antsy. I cannot wait to meet this little person that I've been growing for 9 months!

Here is my 39 week and 1 day bump in all it's glory!

Check In:

How far along?: 39 weeks and 1 days

Total weight gain: I was up 30 lbs at my last appt on 12/21/11 - I would add maybe another 2 that will appear at tomorrow's appt.

How big is baby?: Little one is the size of a watermelon this week, still. OB's weight guess-timate is 7 lbs 10 oz at birth. We shall see!

Maternity clothes?: Clothes? Since being put on modified bedrest at 34 weeks it's all about yoga pants and maternity tops!

Movement: Baby is a party animal. She's always moving. And with how little space she has to move most of said movements are actually a little painful at this point! She's not so much able to kick, but when she wiggles free and finds enough room to kick HOLY CRAP does it hurt.

Stretch marks?: Not yet! Maybe this will be the one pregnancy symptom I can get away with not having!

Sleep?: I am tired all the time. My sleep the last couple nights has been awful. I will fall asleep early, wake up 2 to 3 hours later, and not be able to fall back asleep until close to 5 AM. Thank goodness for Angry Birds.

Symptoms?:Can't. Breathe. Shortness of breath has been terrible. I also have blinding lower back pain, and have been having contractions for 3 weeks. Heartburn is still in the running too, and restless leg hasn't gone away. And I literally ALWAYS have to pee. Always.

Food cravings: Popsicles are still my #1
Food Aversions: I love food.

Belly button in or out?: Depends on little one's position! She moved lower the other day and I had an outie for a little while!

What I miss: I miss having energy. I miss not looking like I swallowed a beach ball. I miss feeling good in general. And I miss being able to wear cute clothing.

What I'm looking forward to: I am looking forward to meeting my little girl! I'm so impatient about it that I sometimes randomly burst into tears when she moves, not because it's irritating, but because I just want to hold her and snuggle her and love on her.

Best Moment this week: Nothing new this week! Hoping to pop out a baby any day now!

38 Weeks Down The Hatch

2012-01-04T10:56:00.000-06:00

I can't believe I'm under 2 weeks away from Baby Camera Happy's due date. On the same token, I cannot believe I'm still pregnant. It feels like I've been pregnant FOREVER.

Barebelly Alert!

Bump picture from 1/3/2012

Check In:

How far along?: 38 weeks and 2 days

Total weight gain: I was up 30 lbs at my last appt on 12/21/11

How big is baby?: Little one is the size of a watermelon this week

Maternity clothes?: Clothes? Since being put on modified bedrest at 34 weeks it's all about yoga pants and maternity tops!

Movement: Baby is a party animal. She's always moving. And with how little space she has to move most of said movements are actually a little painful at this point!

Stretch marks?: Not yet! Maybe this will be the one pregnancy symptom I can get away with not having!

Sleep?: I am tired all the time.However I am also uncomfortable to the point where I can't sleep worth crap. I can't breathe when I'm laying down, my back hurts when I'm propped up, and I don't have enough velcro to velcro myself to the wall so that I can sleep standing up.

Symptoms?:Can't. Breathe. Shortness of breath has been terrible. I also have blinding lower back pain, and have been having contractions for 3 weeks. Heartburn is still in the running too, and restless leg hasn't gone away. And I literally ALWAYS have to pee. Always.

Food cravings: Popsicles are still my #1
Food Aversions: onions gross me out.

Belly button in or out?: Still an innie, but it's completely flush with my belly.

What I miss: I miss having energy. I miss not looking like I swallowed a beach ball. I miss feeling good in general.

What I'm looking forward to: I am looking forward to meeting my little girl! I'm so impatient about it that I sometimes randomly burst into tears when she moves, not because it's irritating, but because I just want to hold her and snuggle her and love on her.

Best Moment this week: Nothing new this week! I got my OB appt moved from tomorrow at 2, to today at 2. I also passed my CCHT exam for work, and can officially enjoy being off work without worrying about anything.

First Christmas Cookies of The Year

2011-11-29T15:28:00.000-06:00

On December 3rd, I am having 3 of my good friends, their husbands, and their babies over for a small holiday dinner party. We have all known each other since elementary school, and will all have children super close together in age. I decided on my day off today to do a test run on a batch of cookies I wanted to make for this occasion! They are called Peppermint Kisses, and this recipe was taken from Family Circle Magazine. Start to finish it took me maybe 30 minutes to complete them, and they are delicious! If you like peppermint I definitely suggest trying these!

Finished Product??

YUM!

Our New Casa!

2011-11-29T15:18:00.000-06:00

Moving day on October 15th came and went. It was stressful and tiring, but the end product is totally worth it! The apartment is old, but it's cute, and we are doing upgrades to it that we were told we can take the cost off the monthly rent for the supplies/materials. First - a few before photos!

So, outdated and old fashioned, yes, but we love it! Here's a bit of the work we've put in so far :

We painted the nursery before moving day! The color is called Luminary by Behr. Our nursery bedding is raspberry pink, brown, and orange, and we didn't want a typical pink nursery, so we went orange on the walls and love it!

This closet is right outside the bathroom on a half wall, and clearly visible from the bedroom. There is no door that we could get to stay up on it, so I made the green leafy curtain to contain all of our toiletries.

We've done a few other things, but I have not taken pictures of all of our progress. We did however find time to put the Christmas tree up :)

33 Weeks!

2011-11-29T14:47:00.000-06:00

Baby Camera Happy is 33 weeks and 1 day today.

My belly is protruding A LOT now and I feel HUGE. Like just swallowed a house huge. My lungs cannot expand, and just rolling over in bed or walking to the bathroom to pee for the millionth time in a day makes me short of breath. Baby girl is quite active, and she likes to kick and flop around, especially at bedtime. I cannot believe in under 2 months I will be able to snuggle my outside baby!! I passed my glucose test with no problems whatsoever, so it's been nice not having the added worry of that. :)

Past Events?

October 22 - Our Maternity Photos

November 6 - family baby shower

November 13 - friends baby shower

Upcoming events?

-December 4th - Having a dinner party with a few friends and their babies

- December 9th - Work luncheon/baby shower

- December 10th - Having another dinner party with a few friends

- December 11th - Work Christmas party

- December 25th - Christmas!

- January 9th - First day of maternity leave!

- January 16th - Baby Camera Happy's due date!

Check In:

How far along?: 33 weeks and 1 day

Total weight gain: I was up 25 lbs at my last appt.

How big is baby?: Little one is the size of a Honeydew Melon this week

Maternity clothes?:Oh yes. And I've upgraded to the full panel on my maternity jeans, thankyouverymuch. Got a bunch of hand me down scrubs from girls at work so that I should be able to make it through my pregnancy without having problems with work outfits.

Movement: Baby likes to have dance parties. Upside down dance parties, where her feet dig into my ribs and her head smooshes my bladder. She especially likes bed time!

Stretch marks?: Not yet! Fingers crossed! <--Still this! My belly is shiny and I have quite the linea nigra going though.

Sleep?: I am tired all the time. Not just sleepy, yawn a couple times and deal tired. More like falling asleep on the nurses station at work tired.

Symptoms?: Right now it's rapid pulse, shortness of breath, swollen hands and feet, and pregnancy induced carpal tunnel syndrome. Not to mention continuing on with restless leg syndrome and heartburn so bad that I can throw up foam sometimes. FUN!!!!!

Food cravings: Popsicles. All kinds of popsicles. I can eat 12 freeze pops in a sitting. I especially love the Snapple Sorbet bars from Walgreens. They are delish!
Food Aversions: Seafood (which I normally dont' like anyway) smells so vile to me that it can induce vomiting.

Belly button in or out?: Still an innie, but it's completely flush with my belly.

What I miss: I miss having energy. I miss being skinny. I feel so fat and uncomfortable right now!

What I'm looking forward to: I am looking forward to meeting my little girl!

Best Moment this week: This week started my new, less hours at work due to pregnancy. Love it. It also put me under the 2 month mark in terms of due date!

It's That Time Again!

2011-11-17T07:12:00.000-06:00

Christmas cards anyone?? I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by! It seems like a whirlwind since I got pregnant, and I can't believe in 2 months I will get to meet my sweet baby girl! Unfortunately she isn't set to be here by Christmas, so I had to find other ways to incorporate her into our photo card for the year.

Last year I joined the Shutterfly promotion for free holiday photo cards in exchange for a blog post. I was SO happy to see that they were doing it again this year. Especially since there were so many card designs that I loved. And I'm a big fan of the cards with multiple spots to put your photos, and Shutterfly did not disappoint in that department either!

Two of my faves were:

Mod Merry Ornaments

Flurry Of Snowflakes (available in 4 colors!)

This year I decided to go with this card:

Cheers Filmstrip

They showed up a few days ago and they look amazing as usual. Shutterfly has never disappointed me with the quality of their photo products before, and this year is no different.

In addition to cards, Shutterfly has a lot of other holiday gift options! More and more people are going the route of personalized gifts :)

Some of Shutterfly's Holiday Products available include:

FLEECE Photo blankets (how cool are these?!)

Holiday Greetings

Invitations

And of course my favorite:

Holiday Photo Cards! Go browse through their amazing selection :)

Time's A Wasting!

2011-10-06T13:20:00.000-05:00

When oh when will life slow down for a few?!?! First off, Baby Camera Happy is 25 weeks 3 days today.

My belly is protruding quite a bit more now, I think little one had a growth spurt this week. We had our 20 week anatomy scan, and baby is measuring right on track, and is quite playful! She continuously kicked the u/s wand on my belly as the tech moved it around, and we even got to see her stick her tongue out at us! She's also quite the diva, as her foot was in front of her face, one hand under her chin, and the other hand behind her head. It was adorable, and we love her to bits and pieces already!

In more recent news, we are moving! We found a great old apartment (it's in a big old house that's split into 3 apartments). 2 Bedrooms, 1 bathroom, we get a parking spot in the garage, and the best part? It has a huge fenced in yard and deck, so Riley can be outside playing with the upstairs neighbors dog. We met them on Monday when we did our final walkthrough, and both the neighbors and their dogs seem great! Our moving date is set for October 15th! So there is a lot to be done in a short time span. But it'll be worth it to have a nice separate nursery for Baby Camera Happy to enjoy :) Will post pictures of apartment when we move in, and then as we update it :)

Past events? My birthday was yesterday! DH and I celebrated by staying in, eating chinese food, packing, and watching TV.

Upcoming events?

- October 12 - My glucose challenge test! Wish me luck!

-October 15 - Moving day!

- October 16 - Maternity Photo Shoot

- October 23 - My best friends baby shower (she's due on December 27th!)

- HALLOWEEN!

- November 6th, my family baby shower

- November 13 - My friends shower

- November 18th - BREAKING DAWN PART 1! Can't wait :)

Check In:

How far along?: 25 weeks 3 days

Total weight gain: I was up 15 lbs at my last OB appt.

How big is baby?: Little one is the size of an eggplant this week

Maternity clothes?:A Million times yes. I don't think my tummy will fit into normal clothes for a while!

Movement: Baby is a party animal. She's relatively motionless when I'm up and walking around, but when I lay down to fall asleep she starts kicking, and if I'm sitting and eating she kicks as well.

Stretch marks?: Not yet! Fingers crossed!

Sleep?: I am still tired all the time. I fall asleep with no problems at strange hours.

Symptoms?: Nausea has stayed away pretty well. I have troubles bending over to tie shoes or put on pants or socks. I grunt like an old man when getting into or out of my car. I feel kind of like a turtle, and have begun to master to art of rolling off things when I need to get up.

Food cravings: Changing all the time. My biggest desire the last two weeks is chocolate milk. I have no idea why, since I hate milk....
Food Aversions: Red meat still skeeves me out. And the smell of popcorn is enough to turn my stomach.

Belly button in or out?: Hanging on as an innnie by a thread! It's now very shallow, and wide. I'm glad I took my belly button ring out early on!

What I miss: I miss being able to go out for drinks with the girls, I also miss being able to go out. I'm always too tired to do anything.

What I'm looking forward to: I am looking forward to lots right now. I can't wait to move into the apartment so I can begin the nesting process. I can't wait until October 16th for our maternity photo session. Most of all I cannot WAIT to meet Baby Camera Happy.

Best Moment this week: Our final walkthrough on the apartment, and getting told by the landlords that they had absolutely no issues with us painting :)

Busy Bee!!

2011-08-24T17:06:00.000-05:00

So I'm still horrible at updating, but I swear I'm trying to get better about it! The pregnancy has been progressing smoothly! I am currently 19 weeks and 2 days.

We went in for an elective ultrasound on August 19th, and found out that Baby Camera Happy is .........
A LITTLE GIRL!!

My hubby and I are both very excited as we were hoping our first child would be a girl. Her name is Piper Harlowe, and she enjoys kicking her legs and playing with her umbilical cord.
We are working now on getting the nursery together!

We have purchased a crib for a KILLER deal at Babies R Us ($299.99 marked down on clearance for $99.99)

Cute bedding from Burlington Coat Factory:

In The Woods by Cocalo ($169.99)

We found a glider at a garage sale:

$10.00, we purchased fabric to make new cushions though, as this color doesn't go, and the cushions themselves have definitely seen better days.

We are also getting a free dresser in fabulous condition from a close friend, but I don't have pictures of that yet!

All in all I would say we've gotten a good jump on baby things!

Now if we could only find the right place to move to....

Check In:

How far along?: 19 weeks 2 days

Total weight gain: I was up 9 lbs at my last appointment in August.

How big is baby?: Little one is the size of a mango this week!

Maternity clothes?: Yes please! At work I'm wearing big scrubs, and in everything else it's maternity all the way!

Movement: I felt my first movement last week. I was singing along with Adele in the car, and I'm pretty sure baby was telling me to shut up :)

Stretch marks?: Not yet, but my Linea Nigrea has shown up!

Sleep?: I am tired all the time. Still. I think the majority of this has to do with getting up at 3 am for work.

Symptoms?: Nausea has subsided for the most part. I'm still sleepy all the time. My boobs are getting huge. I call them circus boobs.

Food cravings: Still changing constantly.
Food Aversions: Red meat. Ick.

Belly button in or out?: Still an innie. Although it's gotten a lot wider at this point.

What I miss: I miss being able to go out for drinks with the girls.

What I'm looking forward to: My next ultrasound (September 9th!)

Best Moment this week: This week we are still high on life after finding out little one is a girl.

A Surprise On Mother's Day!

2011-06-02T10:20:00.000-05:00

I know it's been ages. Sorry blog world! There's been a lot happening in my life, and I intend on catching everyone up today!! Which basically means this will be long long long!

Let's start with mother's day. Was just like any other day, when suddenly something amazing happened!

I was in SHOCK! I was questionable about certain symptoms I'd been having which is why I took the tests, but I was definitely not expecting a positive. Let alone 5 of them, since my natural worrying personality couldn't trust just one test. or two. I took 5. All different brands.

I called my primary care doc that day and left a message on the machine there asking if I could come in for a blood pregnancy test, they referred me to my now OB, who I have my first official appt with on June 8. I got 3 beta tests done to confirm the pregnancy! 1st test was at 3 wks, 5 days : 321. Second was 4 wks, 1 day : 1104. The third was at 5 wks 6 days: 27290. The doctors said my numbers are phenomenal.

Unfortunately that didn't keep me away from having a couple trips to the ER. On May 22, out of nowhere my blood pressure plummeted and I nearly fainted. I had also been having some abdominal cramping. We took me up to the ER, where they monitored me, gave me fluids, and gave me an early ultrasound to make sure everything looked okay with the pregnancy. The ultrasound was great, and we even got to hear a faint heartbeat at 5 wks 6 days, which blew my mind! I cannot wait to hear the heartbeat now! The md determined that the low blood pressure was just a symptom of my being pregnant, and told me to monitor myself carefully, and eat salty snacks like pickles if I started to feel lightheaded. So far the blood pressure has been stable. Still a lot lower than it usually is, but not totally unmanageable like it was that couple of days.

My second trip to the ER was on May 25th. I had been throwing up nonstop for over 48 hours. I couldn't keep ANYTHING at all down. even water. Once my vomiting turned to vomiting up a decent amount of blood, my dear husband decided it was time for another trip to the ER. They ran my labs up there, gave me fluids once again, and gave me the most amazing thing ever to happen to morning sickness. Zofran! It's an anti-nausea medication available by prescription that is safe during pregnancy. Dissolve one tablet on your tongue every 8 hours and you are golden. I actually have not thrown up at all since I began taking it. I'm hoping to be able to stop taking it soon. I am weary of any medication during pregnancy, but it's either this, or starve, and at least this way I'm able to get nutrients to the baby.

My Estimated due date is January 16th, 2012. This dates me at 7 weeks and 3 days today. We are very excited, and hopeful for a healthy and happy pregnancy!

Weekly Check In:

How far along?: 7 weeks 3 days

Total weight gain: Won't know until June 8th.

How big is baby?: Little one is the size of a blueberry this week!

Maternity clothes?: I had to switch to maternity bras almost immediately. When they say sore boobs, they mean business! My poor girls couldn't take regular bras another day. I also bought a maternity dress on clearance that can work even if one isn't pregnant. Since I wear scrubs for work and have not gained much weight, I have not deemed it necessary to make the change over to maternity yet.

Movement: I can't wait until I can report something in here!

Stretch marks?: Nothing yet!

Sleep?: I am tired all the time. Not only am I tired all the time, but I find I have the ability to sleep for 14 hours if I don't have to go to work or anything.

Symptoms?: Exhausted, sore sore sore boobies, I'm extremely queasy when I don't have Zofran in my system. I'm peeing at least twice as much as before.

Food cravings: They honestly change daily. Yesterday I decided I wanted a beef sandwich from the pizza place. The day before that the thought of meat made me want to vomit. Today it's been fruit. Bananas and canteloupe to be specific
Food Aversions: Anything sweet. Chocolate, ice cream, candy. ICK.

Belly button in or out?: Still an innie.

What I miss: I'm missing my Coca Cola. I figured by this point I would miss my cigarettes too, but that wound up being easier to quit than I had expected!

What I'm looking forward to: My first official prenatal appointment on June 8th.

Best Moment this week: So far it's been all the time my husband and I have spent together dreaming up names and talking about baby.

Milestone: Baby is about 1/2 an inch long this week. Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs, and the brain continues developing. Baby has an appendix and pancreas.

Monkey Baby Shower Take 2!

2011-02-11T15:15:00.001-06:00

February 5th we hosted a baby shower for my good friend Rachel who is due on March 22nd! She registered for a lot of monkey things, like towels and blankets, so we opted to throw together a monkey themed baby shower! Sound familiar?? Kinda like this one?

The main difference between the two is that for this one, we had to prepare all of the food rather than get it catered. Mama to be can only eat gluten free, so me and my ladies put together everything gluten free!

We reused a decent amount of what I already had from Laura's shower! Figured I would share some more photos!

Above is the first gift bag I've decorated using my Cricut Expression! I used the Create A Critter cartridge!

The setup!

Centerpiece! Flowerpot and monkey came from the Dollar Tree, Coconut bowls and ostrich feathers were left overs from Laura's shower!

Coconut bowls filled with nuts, chocolate covered raisins, banana chips, banana runts, and banana Laffy Taffy!

For the favors we poured soy candles into Earth's Best baby food jars, and adorned with ribbons! They came out fantastical, and they smell terrific!

We hung paper lanterns for decorations and made "palm trees" out of crepe paper. The baby shower plates are from Target

These are the appetizers I chose to make! I know penguins don't really fit the jungle/monkey theme, but they were way too cute to pass up! Cream Cheese Penguins recipes and instructions found here

Mary putting the finishing touches on her amazing deviled eggs!

and Ashley's fantastical gluten free cupcakes!

We ate, then mama to be opened her gifts:

All in all it was a great day! She loved all the little details we put into the shower, and it made her even more excited for baby Ethan to arrive!

Linking up to:

Freebies!

2011-01-06T10:53:00.000-06:00

Who doesn't love getting mail? I know I do, and sometimes it doesn't even matter what it is! However I have found 2 great freebies that I thought I would share with my readers!

First -

Zoya Nail Polish & Treatments is offering:

3 FREE bottles of nail polish when you use promo code FB2011 at checkout thru 01/07/2011. Shipping still applies. (Shipping costs are only $6.95
Restrictions apply. See Facebook page for complete details. Online offer only. Valid Credit Card or Debit Card w/ sufficient funds needed to process orders. Offer valid in continental US only. Offer not valid in conjunction with other offers.

I ordered these three colors:

From top - Robyn, Cheryl, & Jancyn

I can't wait to see these colors in person!

And Second Freebie?

"Like"Go Red For Women on Facebook, click on "Free Dress Pin" and fill in your information to get a sweet free red dress pin to sport!

Crafty Goodness

2011-01-05T21:02:00.005-06:00

I wish I had this many days off in a row more often! I'm actually getting around to all the projects I've been wanting to work on, and it feels GREAT. Too bad the next few weeks will be all work and no play!

Tonight I decided to make some wall decor for my friends nursery.

I started off with two unfinished wood craft squares from Hobby Lobby.

Gave them two coats of white acrylic paint:

I measured the small square on the top to be 4x4, so I cut out two pieces of scrapbooking paper that size. Then I whipped out the good old Cricut, and cut out two images from the Cindy Loo cartridge 3 inches tall.

Then it was time for Mod Podge to secure the paper and cutouts to the wooden squares.

The end-product?

Cute wall decor for under $5!

After those were done, and the glue was drying, I decided to tackle a mini-project!

I love my camera. It's my baby, I treat it as such. However, I was getting very bored with the Canon camera strap. The back, while strong, hurts when it rubs up against your neck for too long, say when you're photographing a wedding. I decided to sew a sleeve to cover the strap, and add a little more excitement to it! It took about 5 minutes to do, which was nice, and it was a perfect fit to the width of the strap.

I'm obsessed with polka dots, so this fabric from my stash seemed fitting! I want to make a few more camera straps so I can switch them out as I please, though next time, I think I will try to put some quilting batting in there too for some extra cushion! All in all, I'm a happy camper, and this will do just fine for now!

What projects are you working on? Care to share? :)
Linking Up To:

Gettin' Crafty!

2011-01-04T23:00:00.002-06:00

For Christmas, my mother got me what I've now determined is one of the greatest toys ever...

The GREEN Cricut Expression! I've been wanting one of these babies for a while now, and I had never seen the color machines! It apparently comes in purple, yellow, and turquoise as well! Today I finally installed the blade kit, and just had a ball cutting random things out to figure out how everything works. There are a LOT of features on these machines though, so I have a feeling it will be a while before I feel like I know what I'm doing with it.

I was feeling crafty today, so I decided to make the burp cloths I have been planning on making for my friends upcoming baby shower on February 5th. I used THIS Tutorial to do this project, and it was super easy and didn't take a lot of time, OR cost a lot of money.

Here is the end product!

Sewing in a straight line wasn't my strong suit tonight, but you can barely tell that they are a little crooked unless you're inspecting them!

Then I brought out the Cricut, and made a little tag to put on the front of them and tied it all together with a green ribbon!

I probably could have been a bit fancier with the writing on the tag, but I got lazy! I still think the bundle looks adorable, and I know she will appreciate it.

I know it's a day early, but I'm linking up to :

May the Odds be EVER in your favor- My Hunger Games thoughts and Dream Cast

2011-01-02T11:55:00.000-06:00

Lately I've fallen back into reading. A LOT. I think in the last 3 weeks I've read 4 or 5 books entirely. Amongst these books that I have read was the Hunger Games Trilogy.

"The Hunger Games (2008) is a young-adult science fiction novel written by Suzanne Collins. It was originally published on September 14, 2008. It is the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy^. It introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where North America once stood. This is where a powerful government working in a central city called the Capitol holds power. In the book, the Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl (between the ages of 12 and 18) from each district to fight to the death. The Hunger Games exist to demonstrate not even children are beyond the reach of the Capitol's power." (This description was borrowed from Wikipedia)

I had heard from many friends and family members that these books were fantastic. So on a whim, I bought the Hunger Games 1st book about 2 months ago. Since then it had been collecting dust on my nightstand, and one day I kind of glanced over at it, and decided to give it a go.

HOLY CRAP. I read the entire first book in 2 nights. I could not put it down, especially once I hit the middle of the book where everything picks up lightning fast. This book was intense! After finishing the first one, I had to wait a few days for Christmas, since my mom flat out told me she had bought me the other two books in the trilogy so I wouldn't be tempted to go out and buy them myself once I read the first one (as I did with Twilight)

Once I got my hands on Catching Fire and Mockingjay it only took me 3 evenings to get through both of the books in their entirety. The suspense DEFINITELY did not stop in the first book, I found myself reading faster at certain points in both novels because I NEEDED to know what happened next, and I needed to know it fast.

I definitely think these books are more for an older YA audience. They are extremely violent, and disturbing even in some spots. I am looking forward to seeing the movie when it comes out, which according to random sites on the internet should be sometime in 2012. Gary Ross will be directing it.

While reading these books, images of the characters were running through my head based off of the descriptions given, so I created my own dream cast!

Katniss Everdeen-narrator of the story, 16 years old

Camilla Belle (Ellen Page was my runner up, although she's a bit more pale than I was picturing!)

Gale Hawthorne- Katniss's friend and hunting partner

Ben Barnes (with Penn Badgley as a runner up)

Peeta Mellark-District 12 tribute for the games

Alex Pettyfer (with Chord Overstreet from Glee as a runner up)

Haymitch Abernathy - Former games winner, raging drunk

He may be a bit too old looking, but I think Phillip Seymour Hoffman would do a fantastic job at the role. (Robert Downey Jr. as a runner up)

Primrose Everdeen - Katniss's 12 year old sister

Bella Thorne, although her hair is darker than I was picturing.

Rue - Tribute from District 11, 12 years old

Yara Shahidi, she may be a bit too young though..

Effie Trinkett- escorts the tributes from district 12 from the reaping all the way to the capitol, kind of an airhead

Kristen Chenoweth would be my top pick, with Amy Poehler as a runner up.

Cinna - District 12 tributes stylist, responsible for public appearances

Groany groan groan, I know he was in Twilight, but I think he would make a great Cinna! Peter Facinelli is my top pick for this one, with Jared Leto as a runner up.

Caesar Flickerman - popular Capitol reporter who is famous for conducting interviews for the Hunger Games for more than forty years

Neil Patrick Harris would be my top pick for this. I haven't even thought of a runner up!

President Snow - Ruler of Panem and the Capitol. Needs to be both terrifying but mildly likeable as well

Victor Garber is my top pick. He looks friendly enough, but can also look extremely creepy!

Glimmer - Female tribute from District 1

Kaley Cuoco fits the description for me

Clove - female tribute from district 2

Malese Jow

Foxface - Female Tribute from District 5

Evan Rachel Wood

Cato - Male tribute from district 2(very large and strong)

Groany groan groan again, but a brunette, clean-shaven Kellan Lutz fits the description for me! (plus this picture is too droolworthy not to post on here)

Those are all the characters that stood out to me in terms of descriptions.

Anyone else read these books and come up with their own dream cast? I'd love to hear!

Twilight Saga Eclipse DVD Release Party - 12.04.2010

2011-01-01T22:32:00.001-06:00

I decided that I wanted a night of girlish fun, and opted to host a small Twilight Eclipse DVD Release party with some of my good friends on December 4th, the day the DVD came out. Those who know me know that I LOVE planning events, small or large, so I had a field day preparing for this! Last minute 4 people got sick, or their kids got sick, or the snow kept them from being able to make it out, so the party became quite small, which was fine! We still had a fabulous time!

First came the invitations:

Pardon the sad job of blurring out addresses and phone numbers! I designed these invitations in Photoshop. The actual Twilight cast photos were found mainly on http://www.collider.com as high resolution files. The embellishments such as the chess piece and the heart were purchased from http://www.mygrafico.com as a set called "Nightfall". Once they were all set, I ordered them through http://www.vistaprint.com and they were beautifully printed, and for a great price!

For the favor bags I opted to make Twilight bookmarks for each guest, complete with pictures and quotes from the movie and books, and those same graphics from http://www.mygrafico.com. I ordered the vinyl bookmark sleeves, and the bookmark tassels from http://www.capaper.com, and proceeded to print them out on my photo printer at home.

I also made keychains to clip onto the bags for a little extra flair! The crystal heart charms and beads as well as all the jump rings and clips and chains were purchased from Hobby Lobby, and the silver wolf charms were ordered off of Ebay.

The finished Swag Bags! Red bags were purchased at the Dollar Tree (2 for $1) I printed out the image on photo paper and used glue dots to secure it to the front of the bag, and then clipped the keychain on. What were these bags filled with you ask?

Each bag contained:

1 package of Team Edward stickers & 1 package of Team Jacob stickers, the bookmarks from earlier, a package of Eclipse Gum, a few Vampire lip chocolates, a tin of Eclipse Band Aids, a couple of mini buttons, some Eclipse pens, and two Antibacterial Hand Sanitizers from Bath & Body Works in Twilight Woods and a seasonal scent called Vampire Blood.

The table centerpiece was by far one of the things I had the most fun slapping together. The vase and red and black vase filler both came from the Dollar Tree, The big chess pieces and ostrich feathers came from Hobby Lobby. I love ostrich feathers, and find that I use them every time I throw any sort of party or get together.

I printed out images to glue dot over the wine labels for a little something extra.

Eclipse, Red, & Black!

Some casual snacks and baked mostaccioli were served. Unfortunately the pasta wasn't very interesting, so I forgot to take a picture of it. Aside from that we had red and black chips and salsa, veggie tray, deviled eggs and cookies.

The apple shaped sugar cookies were a hit!

And what would a Twilight party be without some special guests?

I got all 4 cardboard cutouts from one ebay auction, and for insanely cheap prices compared to what they sell for individually.

All in all it was a great night! And I had a lot of fun putting it all together :)

Resolution

2011-01-01T19:45:00.000-06:00

WOW! What a busy month! Work was hectic, then with the holidays and all that, I'm glad it's calm now!

I can't believe 2011 is here already! Where did 2010 go? Seems like it flew by.

My Resolutions and/or plans for 2011?

-Update this much more frequently

-Finally make my decision on if I want to go to nursing school this year, or if me and Hubby want to try to conceive this year

-Finally start creating all these crafts and projects and ideas that I have, instead of just hoarding the supplies to do so!

-Start cranking money into savings

Let's hope I can accomplish all of those things!

Anyone have any resolutions for this year?

Be expecting plenty of updates over the next couple of days, because I have a lot to catch up on!

I hope everybody had a fantastic holiday!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-12-08T19:03:00.000-06:00

WINNERS!!

2010-11-27T18:39:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay! But it's winners time!

Since there was only one person entering on the Lemon Pepper Panko and autographed cookbook giveaway, Congratulations Vanessa! An e-mail will be going out to you in just a few!

Annnd for the Hershey's Moderation nation, random.org picked comment number 2!

Congrats to Cheryl F. The Lucky Ladybug! Email will be going out in just a few minutes!

You ladies have 48 hours to respond! Thanks for reading and entering!

All prizes will be shipped by myblogspark :)

It's The Most Wonderful Timeeee Of The Year! Holiday cards ahoy!

2010-11-18T18:08:00.001-06:00

I have a confession. I have never once sent out photo cards for any occasion. I have always loved receiving them, and this year, I'm going to do it! We are taking a family photo and I am going to be sending out actual photo cards, instead of the plain ol' cards you can buy from the store. And I'm excited. We just need our first snow, because I can't have a family holiday picture without snow! And I think there is a better chance of snow coming before us actually getting a christmas tree set up.

What woke up this need you ask? I discovered through Kate over at Some Dreams Come True that this year, Shutterfly is offering 50 free photo cards to bloggers! This is a great opportunity to see if I will be joining the ranks of the photo cards this year, as I have been impressed with everything I've ordered from them thus far.

The first step for me was to browse the internet and see what was out there! I could just make my own in photoshop, but I'm so busy I forget to sleep half the time. I've ordered from Shutterfly in the past, prints of photos, and a photo book, and the quality has always been superb! And their holiday cards do NOT disappoint! So many designs to choose from! I'm going to have a hard time deciding! I made some test cards on the site, since we don't have our actual photo yet, and I love the way they turned out!

Everyone loves wedding photos!

Or maybe cards with our dear dogger Riley!

The possibilities are endless. I hope that we are able to take our photo soon, so that I can get to the task of choosing my design! Or designs... since I'm really indecisive sometimes!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly http://bit.ly/sfly2010

You can also make tons of fun gifts for friends and family to go with your cards, such as:
Calendars and Personalized Mugs.
Who doesn't love something a little more personal?

I received a promo code in exchange for creating this post, but all the opinions are my own.

Also, if you haven't entered yet, I have 2 giveaways going on right now that end this coming Saturday, and VERY low entires on them = higher odds of winning!

Lemon Pepper Panko and Chef Chiarello Cookbook Giveaway!

Hershey's Moderation Nation Giveaway!

Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko and Chef Chiarello CookBook Review & Giveaway!

2010-11-15T17:12:00.001-06:00

Another giveaway?! Really?!?!

The chef’s secret is out – panko is in! A longtime secret of Japanese cuisine, panko is now a pantry staple for creating perfect crispiness in any dish. This October, Lemon Pepper will join the ranks of Progresso’s line of panko bread crumbs, which includes Original and Italian flavors.

Whether frying, baking or broiling, this culinary superstar adds a flavorful crunch to create simple, savory recipes. Made from the soft, tender centers of the bread, Progresso Lemon Pepper Panko combines the perfect crunch with effortless flavor to give any dish that extra punch. The large, flaky crumb has a coarser texture than traditional bread crumbs, delivering a lighter, crunchier coating or topping. I have been using panko in place of breadcrumbs in my recipes, and you can most definitely tell the difference, taste and appearance wise!

A chef known for creating delicious dishes with fresh, premium ingredients, Chef Michael Chiarello uses panko as his go-to bread crumb for a crunch that won’t quit. An Emmy-award winning TV chef and cookbook author, Chef Chiarello is the tastemaker behind Bottega Napa Valley Restaurant, NapaStyle and Chiarello Family Vineyards, and appears on The Cooking Channel and Top Chef Masters only on Bravo.

Chef Chiarello is helping cooks everywhere use Progresso’s panko to make flavorful, flawless recipes including Crispy Seafood Salad, Mama Chiarello's Stuffed Eggplant and Turkey Scallopini and Squash Ravioli with Cranberry Brown Butter. His cookbook Bottega features some drool-worthy recipes that I cannot WAIT to make, such as Potato Gnocchi Ravioli with Egg Yolk and Sage Brown Butter and Roasted Branch of Brussels Sprouts with Fennel Spice. YUM! Don't those sound delicious?!

Visit the Progresso website for additional recipes, tips for cooking with panko, video and a coupon for $1 off any panko flavor.

Be sure to check out the Progresso's Wine & Dine with Chef Michael Chiarello Sweepstakes. Now through December 31st, participants can enter for the chance to win a trip for two to Napa Valley to attend the Spring Bud Break Party, an annual dinner and wine tasting event taking place on May 7, 2011. In addition to two tickets to the party, the grand prize also includes roundtrip airfare and hotel accommodations. Visit www.progressobroth.com for the sweepstakes rules and entry form.

The book is not only beautiful, but FULL of delicious gourmet recipes. The Lemon Pepper Panko is delicious, and a welcome addition to Progresso's line of panko! Who doesn't love nice crunchy food?!

The kind people at General Mills and MyBlogSpark provided me with a prize pack containing a package of lemon pepper panko, and an autographed copy of Chef Chiarello's cookbook Bottega to facilitate my review.

Not only that, but they are also providing another prize pack to one of my lucky readers!

How To Enter:

(mandatory entry, +1) - Become a public follower of my blog (if you're already a follower, just state that in a comment as well)

(2 entries) - Tell me what kind of dish you would create with lemon pepper panko?

(2 entries) - Post my button on your blog, then come back and leave the link where it is posted!

That's 5 chances per person to win this amazing prize pack!

Contest will end on Sunday, November 21st, at 9 PM CST, and is open only to US residents!

Good luck!

DISCLOSURE: The information and giveaway were given to me from General Mills through MyBlogSpark. I was provided with a gift pack for my participation.

MyBlogSpark: Hershey's Moderation Nation Giveaway!

2010-11-15T16:53:00.001-06:00

Who is ready for a giveaway?!?!?!

Between your busy schedule and responsibilities with work, friends and family – it may be challenging to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle, especially while on the go. However, what if you had free easy-to-follow advice and resources right at your finger tips?

I was approached by My Blog Spark & Hershey's to review the site www.TheModerationNation.com , and was provided with a free prize pack including a Moderation Nation T-shirt, a Food Journal w/pen & a bag of Hershey Kisses.

With Moderation Nation, a new national program created by the Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition, (HCHN) in collaboration with the American Dietetic Association, you can now have access to a variety of tools that will help you achieve moderation – and you don’t even need to give up your favorite foods!

The Moderation Nation Web site (www.themoderationnation.com) provides a host of new tools for you and everyone you know, including:

Recipes and Expert Tips. Here you’ll find advice from Cheryl Forberg, registered dietitian (RD) for NBC's The Biggest Loser, award-winning chef and New York Times best-selling cookbook author

Additional recipes and tips from Regina Ragone, Food Director at Family Circle magazine; Keri Glassman, author of the O2 diet; and Liz Ward, author of Expect the Best Pregnancy.

Moderation Menus. Seven-day meal plans – with snack ideas – that will help you plan out your week. Each menu is based on an individual lifestyle, such as Single, Adults with Kids and Adults with No Kids.
Balance the Meal. This cool balancer tool allows you to input your main dish and its preparation method; in return, you’ll receive ideas for complementary side dishes that round out the meal smartly. Trouble making decisions anyone?? I know I have that problem!
Useful Facts. Here you’ll find everything from a “portion distortion” guide - providing cues on what actual portion sizes should look like – to a grocery shopping fact sheet – to a guide on how to start and maintain a food journal.

Some of these recipes sound to DIE for! Such as Cheryl Forberg's Caponata (Roasted Eggplant Salad) and Keri Glassman's Banana Pops! Will definitely be trying a few of these recipes out!

My favorite thing on the website was definitely the Perfect Portion fact sheet, which give you portions, and a visual aid to help you maintain those, such as a deck of cards for 3 ounces of meat. Great tool to have around!

Would you like to win one of these prize packs?!
The lovely people at MyBlogSpark and Hershey's have offered an additional prize pack up for grabs to one of my readers! (Same prize pack I received!)

Here is how to enter:
(Mandatory - 1 Entry) - Become a follower of my blog (current followers count too! just leave me a comment saying you follow!)
(2 entries) - Go to The Moderation Nation website, look around, come back and tell me what your favorite feature is, or what you think you will benefit most from
(2 entries) - place my button on your blog, and come back and leave a link where I can find it!

Please leave separate comments for each thing completed. That gives everyone 5 chances to win!

* Disclaimer: I was provided with a complimentary prize pack from Hershey/MyBlogSpark to use for my review, but my opinion is my own. I received no monetary compensation for this review. Hershey/MyBlogSpark is providing the Prize Pack for the giveway *

Contest will end Sunday, November 21st at 8 PM CST, and is only open to US residents!

Good luck! <3

Life... or Something like it!

2010-11-05T10:31:00.000-05:00

BUSY. Anyone feel me?! Life has been crazy between trying to maintain a social life, and working full time hours and going to school. It leaves me with ONLY Sunday off during the week.

The new job is going swimmingly. My orientation is officially over at the end of next week, so I'm pretty excited, as well as nervous to be working without direct supervision, but I know I can do it.

I'm planning to have a DVD release party for the Twilight Saga : Eclipse release on December 4th. I have been gathering supplies, and sent out my invitations yesterday. It should be a blast! I will definitely post pictures when it's all done! Red and black and feathers, OH MY! Definitely looking forward to that night!

I've already got the bulk of my christmas shopping done. All that is left is grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. And my work magically gave me Black Friday off! I have not been off on Black Friday in 6 years. I'm looking forward to all the leaks of the ads. I've been eyeballing me the Cricut Expression, and my fingers are crossed that there is a good deal on them that AM!

I have to run now though! I leave you with a picture of Riley on Halloween! I know it's a bit late, but everyone likes cuteness right?!

He makes such a cute banana split!

Other Halloween photos:

My wolf pumpkin! I'm amazed it came out as decent as it did!

Me and the hubs with our pumpkins :)

Have a great day all!

XOXO

Have I Mentioned....

2010-11-05T10:20:00.000-05:00

Just how much I adore Swagbucks!?!

I joined back in May of this year, and have been stockpiling amazon.com giftcards since then. Originally I was going to save up for a Wii Fit package, but I changed my mind not long ago. Today it happened

I placed my order!

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

Granted, it's not an expensive lens by any means, but it has had fantastic reviews from everyone I have spoken to. So I ordered it this morning!

Total Price: $99.85

Amazon.com gift cards earned through Swagbucks: $70.00

Leftover balance from old gift card won via blog giveaway : $1.06

Total cost for me: $28.79

I could not be more excited!

And Swagbucks has made it even easier to earn! They recently launched Swagbucks TV, where you can watch videos (and they're actually entertaining videos! Not lame advertisements) While you are watching videos, you may be randomly awarded with Swagbucks! My first day watching vids, I earned 15 Swagbucks within 15 minutes. And there are plenty of other ways to earn too!

If you havent' already signed up, why not give it a try? I love getting deals, and with being able to earn all these gift cards, it makes it easier for me to save money :)

Click the link below to sign up if you are interested!

KT Tunstall - Tiger Suit

2010-10-13T17:02:00.000-05:00

Do you remember the songs "Suddenly I See" and "Black Horse & The Cherry Tree" from 2004 and 2005? I used to love these songs! I find it hard to believe that it has been so long since they were released and played regulary on the radio!

KT recently released a new album called "Tiger Suit" The first single off the album is called "Fade Like A Shadow" and it is ALREADY a top 20 radio hit.

I found this album different from her other music! The older songs were more pop/rock ish, whereas the release of Tiger Suit brings a new musical journey with it.

"Tiger Suit heralds the beginning of a new musical adventure for KT. Organic instrumentation is blended with dance-friendly Nature Techno” to encapsulate the album’s collision of raw, upfront rootsiness and sleek electronic textures, the results of which she has dubbed “

I was given the chance to review this album. I listened it in the car on the way to work at 6 AM, and I was blown away by it! It's very different from the older stuff, but in a good way. I found myself bobbing my head and drumming on my steering wheel all the way to work. It's definitely more funky. I especially liked the track "Glamour Puss", which had I been standing, I would have been full on dancing, instead of what I refer to as "car-dancing" Though in my case, I'm sure car dancing looks just as silly as my standing up dancing would have....

KT Tunstall is going on tour this fall from 10/31 - 12/01!

The album is available in stores now!

This review is through the One 2 One Network, however all opinions are my own. I was sent this CD to facilitate my review, and will be entered into a drawing to win a gift card by participating.

Update

2010-10-06T16:46:00.000-05:00

I swear I am trying to get better about updating this more frequently!

My new job has been going amazing. Everyone is really nice, and I am learning a ton of things that I would never have learned otherwise. I've been workin on the 7 am to 330 pm schedule. The week of October 18th, my shift switches to 4 AM to 12:30 PM. Eeeep! I'm going to be in bed by 6 pm those nights I'm sure!

School started this past Saturday for the dialysis technician classes. I was AMAZED by the variety of people registered. HUGE range of ages, nationalities, occupations etc. It's really exciting. All of them are nice too, which is good, since I hate doing things like taking classes when I don't know anyone.

Yesterday was my birthday. The big 2-8. It was just a typical day for me! Up early for work, go home, take Riley to the dog park, watch whatever TV show is on that night, and pass out. It was nice getting birthday wishes from everyone though! I always feel like if I'm not around at any social events, people will forget about me. Haha. At the dog park, a dog ran full force into my knees, while they were both locked. Needless to say, my knee that was already bad, is about the size of a grapefruit today. Thank goodness I got my health insurance through work already, so I can go get it looked at if it doesn't fix itself over the next couple days. For those of you that are friends with me on Facebook, thank you for the birthday wishes :)

This week is flying by! Friday night after work I have a continuing education class for my massage therapy license, Saturday night is bowling league, and Sunday I am having a small group of people over for a BBQ / get together since it's supposed to be beautiful, and my birthday decided to be on a Tuesday this year, which kills the going out aspect.

So that's what has been up with me! Sorry this post isn't more exciting. I plan to do a lot more picture posts in the nearby future!

How is everyone doing?!

Apples Apples EVERYWHERE!

2010-09-19T17:06:00.001-05:00

Fall is rapidly descending upon us here in IL! Hoodie weather has arrived!

And fall means apples. LOTS of apples.

Me and my mother took my two nieces up to pick some apples at Homestead Orchard in Woodstock, IL yesterday, and they had a great time! Don and Barb are extremely kind and funny, and they had a delicious variety of jams and salsas in their shop! Homestead Orchard is a quiet place in the country to pick 20 varieties of apples, pie cherries, pears, and red raspberries. I'm looking forward to going back in late October to pick my personal faves : Braeburn apples!

We are making pie filling to freeze and turn into pies and cookies in the upcoming weeks, but even with doing that we have a ton of leftover apples!

This is the part where I'm asking for some help! What are your favorite apple recipes?! Aside from apple pie, and Kolacky cookies, we are fresh out of ideas!

I'm so ready for Fall!

(They had a lot of pumpkins too!)

Pillsbury Sweet Moments Winner!!

2010-09-19T16:47:00.000-05:00

Thank you all for your entries! The winner has been chosen and e-mail is going out shortly!

Comment #14 was:

Following Pillsbury on twitter @bethwillis01

bethwillis01@gmail.com

Congratulations Beth!You have 48 hours to respond, or else a new winner will be chosen! Thanks!

Update

2010-09-19T16:30:00.021-05:00

I know this is a lot of updates in one day, but I'm trying to catch up.

I've been very sick with a MISERABLE cold and sinus infection all week, all peaking with a sinus headache last night so bad I was in tears. I'm feeling much better today! Or is that the Vicks humidifier with menthol in it talking? Haha.

I did not let being sick stop me from going to work though! My official first day was on Monday, September 13th! So far I am absolutely loving the job. The people are all very friendly, and I've been wanting to work in healthcare for a long time now, but couldn't buckle down enough to go back to school. I read an entire textbook on the job of a dialysis technician over this past week. It's the same book we will be studying in my class that starts on October 2nd. And this job does tuition reimbursement, so I will at long last, be able to go to school to get my RN in the not too distant future.

Another perk of this new job is definitely the wearing of scrubs. I have never been required to wear a more comfortable outfit to work in my entire life!

Our fall bowling league also started a couple of weeks ago. It's a money league, which means that there are a lot of reaaaallly good bowlers. We came in 1st place for our summer league out of 8 teams, so far in this league we are 15th out of 22 teams. Not so good, but we're improving every time! This league is every other Saturday and is a couples league, two guys, two girls. It's also the Miller/Bud couples league, which means DISCOUNTED PITCHERS OF BEER. Be still my heart, for I love me some beer and bowling.

That's about all that has been going on with me! Hope you all are doing swell :)

XOXO

-V

Only A Few Hours Left!! My first giveaway!

2010-09-16T19:43:00.002-05:00

Wow! I have very few entries! Only a few more hours folks! Check out the post below to enter for a chance to win an awesome prize pack!!

Pillsbury Sweet Moments & My First Giveaway! *CLOSED**

2010-09-09T12:38:00.002-05:00

Pillsbury introduces two new ways to enjoy life´s little luxuries with Sweet Moments Bite-Size and Molten Lava Brownies! Pillsbury Sweet Moments, now available in the refrigerated baked goods section of your local grocery store, are perfect for indulging any time of the day. The Bite-Size Brownies, which are layered with either rich caramel or fudge and chocolaty coating, are just the right size to grab and go for a quick pick-me-up. They´re ready to eat, so are ready right when the craving strikes - no preparation necessary! And, at 60 calories per brownie, they´re just enough to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Thanks to MyBlogSpark, I was sent an AMAZING "Sweet Moments" prize pack including a VIP coupon for a free Sweet Moments Product, as well as a chocolate themed gift set. The gift set included a loofah, chocolate bath salts, mint chocolate foot scrub, milk chocolate body lotion, and cocoa chocolate shower gel. Not to mention the packaging was seriously adorable! The chocolate lotions and scrubs smelled amazing as well :)

With my VIP coupon I chose the Sweet Moments bite-size Brownies in Chocolate fudge.

I have quite a sweet tooth, but I never have time to bake or anything along those lines. These Sweet Moments bite size brownies were perfect! I could just grab one, pop it in my mouth, and enjoy! It didn't take any time away from my already busy schedule to boot! If you are a chocolate lover, these should be right up your alley! These were delicious, and I loved the ease of them. I could pay bills, do homework, cook dinner etc, and still be able to enjoy chocolaty goodness!

I am happy to tell you that thanks to the people at Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark, one of my readers is going to win the same prize pack I did! A VIP coupon for your choice of Sweet Moments product, as well as a chocolate spa kit.

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment here telling me what time of the day you could use a quick pick-me-up

EXTRA ENTRIES:

+1 - Follow my blog publicly via Google Friend Connect

+1 - Follow Pillsbury on Twitter (leave your username here please)

+3 - Add my button to your blog (Leave a link to your blog please)

That's 6 total entries per person!

Contest is open to residents of the US.

If you already do any of the above, you qualify. Please leave a separate comment for each of the extra entries you complete. However, you must first leave the required comment for the mandatory entry. Giveaway will end on September 16th at 11:59pm (CST). The winner will be selected using random.org. Winner will be notified via email upon selection, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. If there is no response within the 48 hours, an alternate winner will be chosen using the same method.

Disclaimer: I am participating in a "spark" through MyBlogSpark on behalf of Pillsbury. I was sent the items above in order to help my honest review of the products. I was in no other way compensated for this review, and all opinions in this review are 100% my own. Winner's prize pack will be fulfilled by the sponsor.

A New Adventure

2010-08-26T15:41:00.000-05:00

It's official!!!

I was offered a new job yesterday, and I'm starting work on September 13th! The job is at a dialysis clinic, and I will be working as a patient care technician. I'm sad to see the people of my current job go, however, this opportunity is better than anything else they have to offer me.

So that's why there are no updates. I've been doing interviews, phone calls, registering for classes, and finishing out my two weeks! I'm very excited. Tomorrow I'm going to take my drug screening test, change my last name at the local college, and then go shopping for some scrubs.

Those of you that know me in real life, know how much I ADORE pajama time. Scrubs are like pajamas, and it's acceptable to wear them to work, which makes me a happy little beast!

Be on the lookout for my first blog giveaway coming soon! As well as more updates now that I will be working steadier hours!

XOXO

-V

Tagged!

2010-08-17T18:20:00.000-05:00

Crystal over at Soup Baby tagged me again! I have to answer her 8 questions, and then come up with 8 questions of my own and pass them on to 8 more people. So here goes!

drienne at All these things tagged me so here goes I have to answer her 8 questions and come up with 8 of my own. Then I have to tag 8 people.

Crystal's Questions:

1. What colors are your living room walls? They are currently a pinkish pale white
2. Hairy or smooth men? I'm indifferent! I used to think smooth men looked better, but my hubby is a little hairier, and I don't mind it at all!
3. What was the best gift you ever gave? Oohhh... thats a tough one! My mother had been talking about wanting a "mothers ring" the one with all the birthstones of her kids in it for 4 years. I finally caved and got her a super nice one, and she still refuses to take it off.
4. What is the farthest place you have traveled? Cancun, Mexico for our honeymoon
5. Day sleeper or night sleeper? I can sleep whenever! I love sleeping.
6. What is the most daring thing you have done? When I was 18 I randomly jumped a train to Ontario Canada to spend 2 weeks with a friend.
7. If you were told you had to evacuate your house and only take 3 things - what would they be? EASY! My dog, and 2 cats.
8. Kraft or Velveeta? Velveeta! It's just so much creamier.

Now for my 8 questions:

1. How old were you when you had your first kiss?

2. What was your absolute favorite vacation?

3. If you could get a job doing anything at all, what would it be?

4. How many pets do you have, and what are their names?

5. Would you rather make a LOT of money doing a job your hate, or make miniscule amounts of money doing something that you love?

6. What is your favorite book, or author?

7. What is one goal you want to achieve this year? Have you achieved it already?

8. Team Edward or Team Jacob? Or Team " I don't like Twilight"?

Annnd I'm going to tag:

1. The Pursuit Of Happiness

2. In A Yellow House

3. Some Dreams Come True

4. The Life of NesJas

5. Tara's View Of The World

6. Welcome To Our World

7. Bitsy Baby Photography

8. Life At The Zoo

Life

2010-08-01T19:10:00.000-05:00

WOW! I had a 3 day weekend, which is a rarity for me, and it was FULL of things to do!

Friday night I took my mom to see Eclipse, since she had been bugging me to go see it with her. It's funny the random things you notice the second time around watching a movie in the theater!

Saturday I woke up early to hit some garage sales with my mom. We didn't have too much luck, but I did score a few books for a STEAL. Saturday afternoon I went to my friends sons 13th birthday party, which wound up being a good time. Left there early to get to my bowling league by 6:45 PM. About halfway through the last game of the series, I get a frantic call from my husband.

My poor pupper got SKUNKED! Not only that, but hubby had to leave for work 15 minutes after that call. I rushed through the remainder of the last game (we have safely secured our first place victory for the league!), to head home. My friends told me tomato juice was the best way to get rid of the stink, so I stopped and bought some on the way home. Once I got home, I called my bro over to help me bathe the dog in tomato juice, which BTW, is really fricking gross if you hate tomatoes. After we do that the dog seemed happier, so my bro left. This morning I finally get some advice from people who know better, and went and got some skunk odor removing stuff from the pet store, and we used that, and then gave him a good old fashioned bath a couple hours later.

I'm glad to report the dog no longer smells like burning rubber. He has a faint hint of the smell still, but not NEARLY as awful as it was before. He also got a snazzy new collar out of the deal, since his smelled terrible.

Another good remedy for getting rid of the smell after a pet has been skunked is hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. I purchased both of those things today to have on hand, JUST in case this happens again, which I sincerely hope it doesn't.

In better news, I had a second interview for a job I applied for a month or so ago. My friend that works at their sister site called me to tell me that the manager loved me, and that it's looking good, but I won't hear anything until she gets back from vacation. Please cross your fingers for me that I can land this job, because it's more of a career, which is what I'm looking for! I'm almost 30, it's time to find something I want to do for the rest of my life.

Hope all is going well with all of you! More updates to come later in the week, after I make Riley his new bed, since he decided to lay on it all covered in skunk.

XOXO

Meet & Greet Monday

2010-07-19T16:40:00.000-05:00

Today is a complete rarity for me. I have not had a Monday off of work since October 2009. And I'm off today. I am truly baffled by this! Definitely not complaining!

Through Swaptree I have received about 6 books now.

I started reading Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin first, and I LOVED it! Have any of you read it?? Did you also feel a little dirty rooting for Rachel? Or am I alone there?

The day after I finished Something Borrowed, Something Blue, also by Emily Giffin, showed up. I read the ENTIRE book last night. I couldn't stop!

Aside from that life has been pretty boring! Not a whole lot going on!

If this is your first visit - HI!! I'm usually not so boring, so feel free to poke around some of my past entries!

Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid Daily Sunblock

2010-07-15T17:53:00.002-05:00

Great Protection!

I recently had the pleasure of trying out Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid Daily Sunblock. I burn really easily in the sun, but I hate how greasy and sticky most sunblock or lotion makes my skin feel. Neutrogena UltraSheer was great! It has an SPF of 70, which is a must if you are fair skinned like I am. I put it on an hour before a day long trip to the zoo, and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't make my clothing or anything else stick to me! It was very lightweight, and after applying it to my body, I decided it was comfortable enough to put on my face as well. 9 hours and one additional application later, I had a great trip to the zoo with my husband, without crawling into the car burnt to a crisp at the end of the day. I have definitely found my go to sunblock in Neutrogena UltraSheer Liquid Daily Sunblock.

Are you a book junkie?

2010-07-13T13:15:00.001-05:00

How about a music or movie junkie? I know I am, and on the Swagbucks website I noticed a Special Offer link for a site called Swaptree.

How it works? Users sign up (it's completely free!) and then they add items to their "Have" list on the site. These items are ones you are willing to put up for trade in exchange for other items. You also create a "Want" list, where you search and add titles or items that you want.

Swaptree then notifies you if an item you want is available for trade for an item that you have. The only cost to you is shipping costs, but Swaptree steps it up with the option to add a credit card to your account, and print postage straight from the website after a trade has been accepted! This postage label can be printed on regular computer paper and packing taped to a bubble mailer (you can gets packs of 2 that pefectly fit books and DVDs at the Dollar Tree for $1), and then all you have to do is drop it in the mailbox and it's ready to go.

Swagbucks offers a nice amount of swagbucks when you complete your first few trades. I just signed up for Swaptree last week, and have completed 4 trades so far. The first trade I was given 100 Swagbucks. And then 40 each for the following 3 trades. That is 220 swagbucks just for trading out old books and movies, for books and movies I would rather have!

By using Swaptree I have decreased my carbon footprint by 35 pounds and saved $23 just by trading 4 items.

Be sure to sign up for Swagbucks first if you are not already a member:

Then click on Special Offers, and Swaptree should be along the top banner!

I received my first two items yesterday:

I decided to read Something Borrowed first and am about 5 chapters in :)

One Year Wedding Anniversary Weekend - Day 2

2010-07-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

Day 2 was spent at....Milwaukee County Zoo!! I love zoos, as mentioned a couple posts down. I'm always fascinated by all of the animals and watching them! It was a perfect day weather-wise. About 85 and sunny. Got realllllly hot towards the afternoon, but it was manageable :)

This was one of the cutest things I had ever seen in my life! Baby came swinging over to Mama, grabbed her face and tipped it upwards. So precious :)

Some cool looking birds!

Milwaukee County Zoo was a great time! We will definitely be going back there! We have always loved Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, but this is nice for a change of pace :)

One Year Wedding Anniversary Weekend

2010-07-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

Neither of us was able to swing much time off work to celebrate our anniversary. We both managed to get a weekend off, and decided to head 2 hours north up to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the weekend.

Saturday we woke up early to take Riley to the dog park for a little bit, before we dropped him off to spend the night at my mother's house. It is always so hard for me to leave Riley. I know it's bad, but I always wind up crying for the first half an hour after we leave him. I just feel bad I guess, and I love him to pieces!

We hit the road to Milwaukee at about 9:30 AM. Our first destination? The Miller Brewery tour! We drove straight there, and managed to arrive with perfect timing, 10 minutes before the next tour was set to begin, so we looked around the lobby.

Then the tour started!

We watched a 12 minute video and began the walking through the brewery part.

Soooo much beer.

The above are decorations in the caves, and it was so neat down there!

Then it was time for some samples!

Hubby here is drinking Batch 19, which they told us was a pre-prohibition recipe, and it was DELICIOUS.

We enjoyed relaxing in the beer garden for a bit, and then headed back out.

We snagged a Milwaukee map from the brewery, and decided to check out Boerner Botanical Gardens, as we love Chicago's botanic gardens. So I plugged the address into my trusty iphone and off we were!

There was a wedding there that day, so we didn't get to check out a few areas since we didn't want to disturb any of that. Pretty wedding colors though! :)

After the botanical gardens we headed up to the hotel to check in and relax. I wound up falling asleep for about 90 minutes, and then we headed out for the dinner I've been waiting for!

I had read about this place on the internet, and we originally wanted to stay there, but opted to stay at a Hampton Inn, since it was closer to all of our other destinations. We had dinner here though and it was the best dinner I can remember eating! I had Shepherd's Pie and Root soup, and I wish I could have brought some back home with me!

If you love potatoes like I love potatoes, you must eat here!

After dinner it was back to the hotel, where we busted out the year old wedding cake!

It was surprisingly just as delicious as I remembered it being.

After cake we went swimming, and then went back to the room to hang out and watch movies.

Day 2 will be a separate post, since I know this was painfully long!

2010-07-12T10:38:00.000-05:00

Crystal over at Soup Baby passed this award onto me (on my wedding anniversary to boot!) Thank you :)

So now I'm supposed to tell you 7 things about me as well as pick 3 people to pass it on to.

1. I am like a little kid when it comes to going to the zoo. I get all excited and run around all day like a crazy person!

2. I just celebrated my first wedding anniversary this past weekend.

3. I am a licensed massage therapist, though I haven't had much luck finding places to work doing it. I'm currently trying to get a home based business going.

4. I have never been to Hawaii.

5. We are hoping to have a baby in the next year or so. Not trying but not-not trying :)

6. I love my dog perhaps a bit too much. I generally cry a bit when we have to leave him for a weekend.

7. I am hoping to go back to school next year to get my CNA, and then eventually head on to nursing school after that.

Who do I want to pass this on to?!

1. The Life Of NesJas

2. In A Yellow House

3. Some Dreams Come True

Happy Anniversary!

2010-07-10T06:00:00.014-05:00

A year ago today, July 10th, I married my best friend. After a hugely long engagament, and a WHOOOOOLE lot of planning, it finally happened. It rained in the morning, but cleared up outside by 1 PM, and was nice for the rest of the day and night. I cried and laughed and smiled more that day than any other day I can think of. I love you hubby!

XOXO

Happy 4th Of July!

2010-07-04T11:30:00.000-05:00

Ahhh 4th of July! I love fireworks! Going to a graduation party today, and watching the fireworks from almost a front row position in a neighboring town, should be a great time! And hoorah for a day off work!

One year ago today, it was 6 days short of my wedding day. I recall being so stressed out and nervous, but I allowed myself time to go out on the 4th to NOT think about the wedding for a little bit. It was so fantastic to relax (as much as I could) I cannot believe how fast this first year has flown by!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Getting To Know You

2010-06-27T14:56:00.000-05:00

I sincerely apologize for my lack of updates this week. I've been really sick, and sleeping a lot. I'm starting to feel better, but still waiting on lab results from the doctor to get to the bottom of what is wrong! And on top of that, my car? The one I just put a new engine in a couple months ago?

Definitely broke down again Friday night, and wouldn't start. It has been towed back to the repair shop, but they weren't open all weekend. So I'm stuck with my brothers death trap until mine is fixed. I know I should be grateful that he's willing to let me use his car, but he hasn't gotten in repaired in years, so now it has no AC (not a big deal for me), no BLINKERS, the stereos don't work, and the brakes are going. Lucky for me I remembered the arm signals they taught us in drivers ed, but people don't pay attention to those anymore. I've gotten more middle fingers and car horns honking at me this weekend, than I have had in all the years I've been driving! My fingers are officially crossed for a quick and easy repair.

I'm linking up to Getting To Know You this week!

The Questions
1.If you had 5000.00 to spend on plastic surgery what would you have done?

I would probably get a nose job. I've always hated my nose. Either that or a breast reduction. These suckers are obnoxious!

2. Do you watch Soap operas and if so what is your favorite and why?

I don't. When I was younger I used to watch Days Of Our Lives though

3. Favorite clothing brand?

I don't have a favorite brand per se. I don't care where it comes from, if it's cute, and not ridiculously priced, I'm a happy camper.

4. An afternoon shopping spree at your favorite store or maid service for a year?

I would take the shopping spree. Our house doesn't get messy enough to warrant a maid service!

5. would you ever vajazzle?

Not going to lie, I had to google this, and quite frankly I'm a little creeped out by the whole idea of it, so I would have to say no...

6. Favorite Disney Princess?

Snow White

7. Last movie that made you bawl your eyes out?

I didn't bawl my EYES out, but I did have a good cry at the end of Remember Me. And anytime I watch a Lifetime movie I'm usually guaranteed to bawl...

8. Have you ever broken any bones and if so what?

I've broken a toe in soccer when I was younger, but other than that I am break free!

In A Yellow House - Photo Challenge 6/16/2010 - NATURE

2010-06-14T22:40:00.000-05:00

This week the theme of the photo challenge at In A Yellow House is NATURE! I love nature photographs, so I can't wait to see the pictures :) Here's my contribution, though I was torn between this one, and a flower picture that I really like:

But this duckie picture makes me smile every time! This little guy was just hanging out splashing and swimming around, so I had a photoshoot with him! I love how vivid the colors came out :)

Weekend Getaway

2010-06-13T20:27:00.000-05:00

Despite the horribly rainy weather, it was a great weekend in Galena, IL! The wedding got JUST enough of a break where they pulled off the ceremony outside, with some sunlight, and it went away soon after that! I had a fabulous time! Me and my hubby decided to go back there this fall for my birthday, because it would be absolutely breathtaking there when all the leaves are changing colors!

He took me on a few of the back roads of Galena to see the sights, and it was BEEEEEAUTIFUL! The photos aren't the greatest because it was rainy and grey the whole time, but I brought back a couple to share :)

Sooo much greenery, and hills and valleys!

PLENTY of cows hanging out.

Chickens hanging out by the side of the farm

Winding gravel roads

And who WOULDN'T want to live there?

Definitely looking forward to going back for my birthday this year :)

In A Yellow House - Photo Challenge 06.09.10 - SUMMER

2010-06-08T22:39:00.000-05:00

This weeks challenge at In A Yellow House is SUMMER! I haven't been out much to get pictures yet, as I've been working a ton, so I'm picking an older fave of mine from 2007 to use!

Me and my friends have the most relaxing weekend getaways ever. I love this shot of my good friend napping after a long day of hanging out at the beach! I also love the reflection of her boyfriend in her sunglasses! Makes me smile :)

Check out In A Yellow House to enter your own photo and link up!

Twee Poppets Tuesday Tag-Along, June 8, 2010

2010-06-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

Linking up to Twee Poppets Tuesday Tag Along again!

Today was the end of my streak of working for 13 days straight without a day off. Needless to say I'm exhausted.

In brighter news, my team in the bowling league took first place this last Saturday night, AND I bowled my highest game EVER! a 177! My second highest was only a 151, so I was insanely proud to get that high of a game!

Wednesday my best friend has her c-section appointment ! I get to be an auntie again, and I couldn't be more excited for ANOTHER new baby :) We will be going out of town this coming weekend for a wedding in Galena, IL, which is a couple hours south of where I currently live. I've never been to Galena, but I have heard it looks like a mini-Ireland, and that it's breathtaking, so hopefully I will find time to take some photos while I am there!

My dress went in for alterations this morning. I decided to get it hemmed to me in flip flops, that way I don't have to wear super high, uncomfortable heels all night, but I can still wear them until my piggies start hurting. My dear hubby's birthday is coming up on the 10th, and I bought him a fancy new dress shirt and tie that he's excited about. He's tired of only having 2 nice shirts to choose from!

Hope you are all doing well!

In A Yellow House - Photo Challenge June 3rd, 2010

2010-06-04T21:54:00.000-05:00

I know I'm a little late to jump in, but I've been too busy to do much of anything! Today was the 10th day straight that I've had to work. And my next day off isn't until June 8th. I'm exhausted! This week the photo challenge theme is RED! I have a lot of red photos... But I chose one of my faves of all time!

Don't mind the watermark! I'm too lazy and tired to dig out the disk with the original file on it, rather than the copy that will be going up on my website once I'm done putting it together!

Summer Swagbucks Promotion!!

2010-06-04T21:41:00.001-05:00

Swagbucks is starting the “Summer of Swag” week this coming Monday, June 7 with at least 5 different swagcodes being given throughout the day! Swagcodes can be entered in at the swagbucks homepage to give you extra swagbucks in addition to the ones you might get during your internet searches!

Besides going code crazy on Monday, a different bill will be highlighted every day – BIG bills, too. As an added bonus, every day the featured bill will be awarded to every 7th win on Swagbucks! On Monday, that bill will be the 25 Swag Buck bill!

If you are hesitant to sign up, here's a little incentive! Go to Swagbucks and use the code SUMMEROFSWAG when signing up for an extra 20 Swag Bucks to get your account off to a nice cushy start. The code is good until midnight on Friday, June 11th.

If you haven't heard anything about Swagbucks, it is basically a search engine that randomly awards you Swagbucks for searching the internet as you would normally do. Swagbucks can then be redeemed at the Swagstore for all kinds of fabulous prizes. I joined not too long ago myself, and have already earned a $5 gift card to amazon.com, although there are PLENTY of options to choose from to redeem your bucks if you're not an Amazon.com junkie like I am!

If you haven't signed up yet, now is a great time, with lots of easy opportunities to build up your Swagbucks and earn yourself some funtastical prizes!

Click here for the Swagbucks blog post!

Twee Poppets Tuesday Tag-Along, June 1, 2010

2010-05-31T22:08:00.001-05:00

Linking up to Twee Poppets Tuesday Tag Along again today! I apologize for the lack of updates over the weekend, but I'm in a work marathon, and my next day off is June 9th, which is also the same day as my friend's c-section appointment! I'm all excited to be an "auntie" again!!

Tomorrow is our weekly Girls Night Out with my friends, and I'm trying this recipe from Bakerella! I was told all we need now is wine and sweets. Granted mine won't look as nice as these I'm sure, as I work tomorrow, and only have about 2.5 hours to prepare them! Picts to come of my attempt!

If you're stopping by for the first time, HELLO! :)

Check out Twee Poppets to link up!

Blog Hops Ahoy!

2010-05-28T17:11:00.000-05:00

Friday is a great day for blog hops! I'm always looking to make new connections, and for new blogs to read for entertainment and inspirations!

If you are visiting from any of these, HELLO! Thank you for coming and looking around my blog :)

Wedding Dress Blog Tour

2010-05-27T15:53:00.000-05:00

I was going down my blogroll catching up on some blogs. I went to check in over at Tara's View Of The World, and noticed a blog post called the Wedding Dress Blog Tour, (Mclinky at Shasher's Life), and decided it would be fun to join in, especially with our 1 year anniversary creeping up!

Without further ado: Here's my wedding dress! It was worn on July 10, 2009, in a Chicago suburb. It rained that morning, but it cleared up by noon!

I absolutely loved my dress. I was comfortable, and felt like a princess at the same time!

Simple and to the point. I went in not even wanting any lace on my dress, and upon seeing all the all lace dresses, I completely changed my mind.

I am keeping my dress. I don't have the heart to sell it. It's hanging in the closet in our spare room right now, I should probably take it to get it preserved..actually..probably should have done that a while ago!

So there you have it! Care to join in the Wedding Dress Blog Tour? Click Here for the instructions and McLinky!

Photo Of The Day

2010-05-26T11:48:00.000-05:00

Not much to update on - So I bring you my current favorite photo!

Such a happy boy....

Twee Poppets Tuesday Tag-Along, May 25, 2010

2010-05-25T11:17:00.000-05:00

Linking up to Twee Poppets TTA again today! More and more blogs keep showing up on it, and I love me some reading material!

Current projects : Sorting through all our STUFF to see what I will be putting up for sale at our garage sale at the end of June. Setting up an appointment to get my hair done. Heading to the chiropractor in a few. General cleaning. And of course, the desk is still a work in progress. Although it's almost done. Need another trip to Home Depot :)

In A Yellow House - Photo Challenge, May 26th - Your Town

2010-05-24T22:41:00.000-05:00

Joining in the fun of the In A Yellow House photo challenge!

This weeks theme is Your Town - Some thing or place unique to your city or state.

I've decided on this picture:

It's not my specific town (although I did live there for a year!), but I LOVE this clock tower that they put up relatively recently, compared to the area surrounding it.

The Twilight Saga Eclipse Official Full Trailer (HD)

2010-05-22T22:31:00.000-05:00

Anyone else really excited? I actually saw my first preview on TV the other night, and my hubby laughed hysterically when I rewound the DVR to watch. I'm very much looking forward to this out of all the movies. Eclipse was my favorite of the series :)

Cancelled TV Shows

2010-05-20T11:18:00.000-05:00

With all the finales to the shows I watch wrapping up over the next couple weeks, I decided to take a peek and see which series won't be returning for the fall season. I have to say, it makes me sad.

FlashForward on ABC is being dropped! I love that show, and cannot wait to watch the finale, but it's going to be bittersweet now that I know there won't be a second season. I know not many people got into that show, but me and my hubby loved it, and watched it religiously. I guess there is nowhere left for them to go plot wise though :(

Also, Melrose Place on the CW won't be returning. Granted, this show wasn't so great. Tons of drama yes, but it was also kind of boring at times. Had I not watched from the first episode, I probably wouldn't have gotten sucked in. I really would have liked to see an actual ending to the show though, not just a mediocre finale.

IN happier news however, the following are shows that have already been renewed! And a lot of my faves are on that list.

Bones, Glee, 90210, Vampire Diaries, CSI, Greek, & Dexter

What TV shows do you like? Any recommendations? I have 2 to replace now :)

In A Yellow House - Photo Challenge, May 19th - Black & White

2010-05-19T08:01:00.000-05:00

This week the challenge is black and whites, and again I had trouble choosing a photo! I think I'm just indecisive these days really! In the end, I chose those one:

This was taken at a beach in Michigan City, Indiana. (Hopefully we're going back later this year) I love the beach!

Twee Poppets Tuesday Tag-Along, May 18, 2010

2010-05-17T23:01:00.000-05:00

Joining in the fun again!

Not much going on tonight. Got home from work an hour ago, trying to figure out what to do next with my desk project! Can't wait to find some more fun blogs to read!

Winner :)

2010-05-17T22:27:00.000-05:00

Riley's photo from a few posts back won the photo challenge over at In A Yellow House!!

He will be so excited to know that his humiliation was for the greater good :)

Or he will just sleep, and be excited tomorrow. Oh dogger how I love thee :)

INTRODUCING

2010-05-15T22:39:00.000-05:00

The Desk! It's here at last. One big old computer desk, CHECK. It is going to be a huge project for sure!

Check out that dust! And the lovely bubbles my dear nieces spilled all over the top of it. Definitely in need of some new drawer pulls and knobs. One is broken, and the rest are just ugly!

Here it is after a good scrub down. Which is all I could do today, since I just got home from work 20 minutes ago! I'm glad I started cleaning it before I went to work, or else it would have taken much longer. With the help of some water and some disinfectants, the bubbles and dust are no more.

Next step: PAINT!

Hopefully I will find some time next week to paint it up all nice. Then comes the fun parts!

Excitement!

2010-05-14T23:24:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow while I am at work, my hubby and my cousin are going to pick up the old desk at my mother's house that will become my craft/sewing desk after I fix and clean it up! They are under strict orders not to do anything to it, as I want before and after pictures of this process!

Is it sad that I'm this excited over this?

In A Yellow House - Photo Challenge, May 12th - Pets!

2010-05-12T11:57:00.000-05:00

Another Wednesday another photo challenge over at In A Yellow House

This week the theme is pets. This is a tough one for me, because as we've all seen now, I'm pretty much obsessed with taking pictures of my dogger. I love him wayyy too much! After much debating, I've settled on one of my favorites of Riley. It's from his adoptaversary this past April, and it makes me smile.

He wasn't really down with the party hat, but this shot was just oh so adorable!

Hop on over to In A Yellow House and join in on the fun!

Makeover!

2010-05-12T11:49:00.001-05:00

Alas it has arrived! My blog makeover!! I love it love it love it! Huge thanks go out to Strosgirl Designs for not only a great blog layout, but a great experience as well. If you're thinking about changing the look of your blog, go check out Strosgirl Designs! You won't be disappointed!

In home news....we've been stuck with a piano in the office since we moved into this house. Apparently, it's impossible to get rid of a piano without paying someone to take it away. I tried giving it away. I offered it up for free on Craigs List...tried to sell it at a yard sale. NOTHING.

We finally got fed up and me and the hubby pushed the bad boy out to the garage. I am very excited about it! Now we can bring in my desk that I plan on turning into my crafting/sewing table! Now I just have to recruit my cousin with a truck to take me to get the musty old desk out of my mom's garage. The desk itself looks like it has been through a warzone, but it's solid, and has cabinets. I've got big plans for it. Once it's ready, It will make its debut, and then I will have the space I need to focus on the bajillion craft projects just waiting in my massage room/spare bedroom.

And how are YOU doing? :)

Gluten Free Quick Chili!

2010-05-11T18:00:00.000-05:00

I used to hate cooking. I really did. Since getting married, for some reason I love it! It would be a lot easier if my dear sweet husband wasn't such a picky eater. He complains about everything. Drives me batty! He's sleeping right now (he works overnights, but tonight he is off), and dinner is cooking and should be ready by the time he wakes up! I love chili. And spicy foods. So I figured I would share my chili making with you!

This is an adapted recipe from the Celiac Sprue Association website. I however, did not make this batch gluten free, as I didn't have gluten free tomato sauce in the house! Gluten Free tomato sauce is super easy to find if you need to use it :)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1/3 cup milk

1 medium onion (I used a white one), chopped

1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce

1 16 oz. can of kidney beans

1 T. chili powder

That above ^ is the recipe directly from the website linked above. The following are what I add to my chili.

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 orange bell pepper

1 yellow bell pepper

I like my food to be colorful, I'm sure just using one kind of pepper would be delish too!

1 can diced green chiles

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 T. crushed red pepper

1 or 2 green zucchini

This time, I added some frozen corn into the mix. And I always double or triple the amount of chili powder used.

(See how colorful? Fun!!)

Directions:

-Saute onion and ground beef in a large skillet until browned.

-Drain the excess oil

-Add the remaining ingredients (I usually put the remaining ingredients in a large pot and then move the meat and onions into it. With all the added ingredients, it's a bit much for any skillet!)

-Simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour

-Enjoy!!

Twee Poppets Tuesday Tag-Along, May 11, 2010

2010-05-11T16:26:00.002-05:00

I've decided to participate in Tuesday Tag Along again! I found so many great blogs last time I couldn't resist!

We took Riley to the vet for his 1 year appointment today! He was such a good boy. He sat, let them do the blood draw, and do all of his vaccines and boosters without a fuss! Even the vet was impressed. So mommy and daddy went and bought him a new toy. He's very excited and not paying attention to either of us now!

I'm actually cooking a meal tonight. I'm making my Gluten free chili again! Perhaps I will take some picts and throw the recipe up here once it is done!

Big exciting blog changes are coming soon! Thanks to Strosgirl Designs!

I look forward to finding new blogs to follow!

hitsthespot.etsy.com

2010-05-09T17:25:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I won a blog giveaway on:

Sharing Savings With You for some delicious looking Truffles courtesy of Hits The Spot.

(Thank you again both of you ladies!!)

After discovering I won, I was given my choice of what kind of truffles I wanted.

My options were:

Truffle Flavor (inside): vanilla or chocolate
Truffle Coating (outside): milk, white, mint, peanut butter, or colored white chocolate
Drizzle: milk, white, or colored white chocolate.

I wound up choosing chocolate truffles, dark mint with milk chocolate drizzle. I'm hardcore about my chocolate as you can see!

They arrived the other day and I was blown away by everything down to the product packaging! And I loved the touch that the personalized sticker added.

I couldn't wait to dig in, so I opened one up and it was heaven. The truffle melted in my mouth, and had just the right amount of mint! Not to mention they looked great!

I'm trying to take my time on them, but I have a huge feeling I will be ordering from Hits The Spot whenever I am in need of some seriously delicious sweets! Go there and check out her shop. Guaranteed to make your mouth water!

In A Yellow House - Photo Challenge

2010-05-08T23:36:00.000-05:00

I am seriously excited by the number of photo challenges I can find on blogs! I decided to play along with another one:

In A Yellow House

The challenge this week was for food photos, so I decided to just pull a photo from a few months back to share for this week, since it's late, and I'm lazy...;)

Plus I love how the lighting turned out in this picture! And it reminds me that I want to make my 3-Bean Ravioli Minestrone soup again soon....

Mega Swagbucks Friday!

2010-05-07T22:20:00.000-05:00

Are you using Swagbucks yet??

I just recently got into it after reading a lot about it over the blog-averse! It's free to join. I've already gotten $10 in amazon gift cards just for entering swagcodes and doing internet searches! It's pretty fantastic. Fridays are the Mega-Swagbucks days where over the course of the day they give out approximately 40,000 swagbucks! To get yourself a $5 Amazon.com gift card it's 450 Swagbucks, which does not take long at all to stack up to! They have a lot of other prizes to choose from and sweepstakes you can enter with your Swagbucks as well.

Just figured I would share. You can click the image above to go to the site if you wish to sign up!

Shoes are a girls best friend!

2010-05-07T21:56:00.000-05:00

Finally it's happened! I have an ENTIRE WEEKEND Off of work. This hasn't happened in a really long time! After work I went out bowling with my friends (averaged a 136 over 3 games, 157 highest game) It was nice, I haven't been bowling in over a year, and usually when I go out with friends I'm worried about how I'm going to feel waking up for work the next morning.

Today was also payday. I love payday. Remember those dresses from one of my old posts for the wedding I'm going to in June? Well I've decided on wearing this one..however it being a long dress and me having short little legs, I needed a pair of heels that were more than my normal 2 inches high!

Then I found them...

Hopefully the color is accurate. I found these on AMI Clubwear's website for $16.99. With a 30% off coupon code. So $23 including shipping (which was HORRIBLY priced at $12) Not a bad deal. And I don't really have any colored dressy shoes. They are all black or red. Literally. Except the ones I wore to my wedding. Those are white. Plus... the open toed-ness of these shoes gives me a good argument to go get a pedicure!

Hellooo Blogger Friends!

2010-05-05T12:15:00.000-05:00

I'm entered into a travel photo contest to win a new camera bag (it's badly needed!)

I could use some votes, if anyone is willing to help! Only one of the 3 photos has votes so far, and it's not mine! haha

I'm photo #3 - Almost Paradise

Travel Photo Contest

All you have to do to Vote is leave a comment stating the number and name of the photo you are voting for, and be sure to include an e-mail address so they can make sure nobody is voting more than once!

Thanks!

Simplicity Photo Challenge : Flowers - Blog Hop!

2010-05-04T15:15:00.000-05:00

I found a great site called Simplicity on the Tuesday Tag-Along, and found a photo contest! I love photos, so I really enjoyed looking through the pictures that have already been submitted. So I figured I would throw my hat into the ring!

Here's my submission!

Taken May 2009 at Chicago Botanic Gardens

"Music is What Feelings Sound Like"

2010-05-04T11:23:00.001-05:00

For as long as I can remember music has played a huge part in my life. I remember being a youngin, no more than 10 I would guess, and being on the playground with two of my friends that lived in the same condo my father is now, and we would sing sing sing. Then when I hit 4th grade, I decided to join band. I tried out all the different instruments. My parents were rooting for the flute or the clarinet. I was torn between the trumpet and the trombone. I wound up choosing the trumpet. I remember thinking they were a little disappointed in my decision. As it turns out, they were just gunning for the quieter instrument.

I loved my trumpet. I played it all day every day. And I was GOOD. I mean GOOD. Once I hit middle school, I was placed in all the bands. The sixth grade band, concert band (7th and 8th graders), and the jazz band (extracurricular, practiced before school in the mornings). I got solo after solo in the songs we were playing atthe school concerts. I won solo contests, and had medals and trophies galore. I had never seen my parents more proud of me. I picked up playing the french horn, and the keyboard bass as well. Just couldn't get enough music!

Then it happened. In 8th grade, I got the dreaded braces. The trumpet players kiss of death. Playing hurt so bad that I wound up finishing out 8th grade, and leaving band behind to enter high school. Once I got to high school, I opted for choir, since it didn't hurt to sing.

This all being said, I found a connection with music, and to this day still love finding new music!

Some of my favorite bands?

Damien Rice (#1 - love to pieces!)

Iron & Wine

Terra Naomi

Tsunami Bomb

Bright Eyes

Postal Service

Death Cab For Cutie

Stray Cats

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

I just got my iphone a month ago, and have yet to load a full aresenal of music on it!

Anybody have any suggestions or recommendations on bands or artists they love and can't get enough of?

I'm all ears. I'm craving something new!

Tuesday Tag-Along 5/3/10- Hosted by Twee Poppets

2010-05-04T00:32:00.000-05:00

I've decided to take part in Twee Poppets Tuesday Tag-Along Blog Hop this week!

For those who haven't visited here before, welcome! I am Mrs. Camera Happy. I'm relatively new to the blogging world, but have been getting more active in it recently! I look forward to new blogs to read and comment on :) Thanks for visiting!

Dress-Tastic!

2010-05-01T19:26:00.000-05:00

A few of you Nesties out there probably remember me hunting for a dress a week or so ago, and I came up with this super cute one :

Which I still adore and will for sure be able to wear repeated times!

But I found such a great dress, that I wound up buying another one. It was on clearance at JCPenney as well for $44.99. I had a $10 off a purchase of $10 or more mailer come in, so I used that, getting the dress for $34.99. Can't beat that! Annnnd here it is. I know it's dressier than I need, but it's so pretty that I had to own it!

Color me excited!!

Revlon Photoready? Count me IN!

2010-05-01T12:09:00.000-05:00

I've never had perfect skin. When I have no breakouts, my skin tone is very uneven. My skin is very inconsistent as well, so it's just a PITA in general. Then I heard about Revlons new PhotoReady makeup line, and wanted to try it. So I took my $2 off coupons from the newspaper, and went up to Walgreens to get it. It wound up being Buy 1 Get 1 50% off. Which led to me buying both the foundation and the powder. (spent about $16 total)

I'm kind of insane about reading reviews about products before I buy them. And I was sad to find mixed reviews for this. Some people really hate it, and some people swear by it. But I'm a makeup junkie, so I couldn't resist trying it out for myself!

The bottle itself is a very generous size, and it has a pump on it, which I love! The product has a little bit of shimmer to it, but I barely noticed it at all once it was on. The foundation is smooth and lightweight. Doesn't feel sticky at all. It advertises as " Complete Coverage", which I agree it has, but it manages to do it without looking totally fake and caked on.

All in all, I love this product! I've been using it for about a week now, and plan to continue using it.

A New Baby Is Always Exciting!

2010-05-01T11:36:00.000-05:00

Been a busy few days! It's really nice to finally have a few to sit and relax, after catching up on some much needed sleep!

Baby Luca came into this world on April 28th at 8:02 AM. 8 lbs, 3 oz. and 20 inches long. I'm so excited for my best friends to finally have the baby they have been trying for for 3 years now :) I'm also excited that he was wearing a Chicago White Sox onesie when I arrived :)

There he is! The lil peanut! I love his little smushy face!

We may be doing his photoshoot today to get some pics for his birth announcement, but we will see how mom, dad and baby are doing first, since they just went home last night.

Still waiting to hear back on the job I applied for a couple weeks back. The meeting that was supposed to be last week Thursday, got moved to just this past Thursday. My fingers are still crossed!

Riley got to play with the hose again the other day. MAN how he loves that hose. It was nice and hot out, so we figured let's let him have some fun!

Can't wait until we have the yard fenced in! Hopefully this spring :)

Life and Such

2010-04-25T22:41:00.000-05:00

This past April 22nd was our doggie Riley's adoptaversary! We celebrated by bringing him a couple small gifts and taking him on 3 long walks during the day! He's so adorable, I just had to play with him a bit!

I can't believe it's already been one year since we adopted this little guy! He's such a great dog!

Posing for this picture was not something he planned on doing! Scratching his neck under his collar however did work.

Today I hung out with my mom. She wanted some help couponing at Target so I obliged! She wound up saving a lot of money, so I think I finally opened her eyes to never paying full price for anything, since she is always so stressed out about money! While we were there I found a few goodies on clearance, which sprouted my plan for what I want to do with the kitchen! We have to get rid of the awful purple floral wallpaper.

My current kitchen items and gadgets are all red. I have salt and pepper shakers and small canisters I found at target about 6 years ago that are beige with cherries all over them (I love cherries!) But I didn't want an all red and beige kitchen.

Then it happened:

I found these large canisters on clearance for $2.48 each! My mom thinks the colors clash and look terrible together, but when I saw them next to each other on the shelf, I found the combination oddly appealing! So I snatched both them, and a matching aqua paper towel holder ($3.74 on clearance). It will be nice to incorporate another color into the kitchen, so I am definitely looking forward to expanding a little.

And how was your week?!

Bored Inc!

2010-04-22T17:38:00.001-05:00

I'm not going to lie, there are so many tshirt sites on the internet to buy shirts from, that Bored Inc somehow slipped right past me! Then I stumbled upon a giveaway for a Bored Inc shirt at Cake Mom (Thank you again!!!) , so on a whim I decided to enter, and I won! Much to my surprise, as there were over 120 comments.

I chose this shirt:

Mainly because it cracked me up and made me smile. There are a TON of adorable and hilarious designs and sayings to choose from, in everything from t-shirts to belts to tote bags to magnets to onesies for babies. A couple other faves:

It showed up today while I was at work! The shirt is amazingly soft and the print is crisp on the front. I put it on to make sure it fit, and it fits perfectly. Then my dear husband came out of the shower and cracked up.

All in all, if you haven't heard of Bored Inc, you should for sure check them out for all kinds of adorable-ness!

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

2010-04-21T23:26:00.000-05:00

Smile.ly—Be Heard. Be Happy.

Has anyone checked this out?

It's a great site and it's completely free to sign up!

What it is, is a network of consumers who participate in social media programs and receive different products and services. They talk—the world listens.

As a member you get to be among the first people to learn about new brands and products, and in some instances to even try them out.

I just joined myself!

Potential Job offer!

2010-04-19T15:32:00.000-05:00

I've been working in retail for the last year, after getting my massage license and being unable to find any work in that field. My friend works at a renal dialysis clinic, and her boss asked me to fill out an application there to become a Patient Care Technician.

I find out the end of this week, if I will officially be offered the job.

This job would mean so much to me and my hubbs. We've been struggling monetarily for months now. My hours at work dropped off, his did too, so we were barely working and not bringing in enough money.

Please keep your fingers crossed for me!

I've wanted to begin working in the healthcare field for a while now, and this could be a great step into it for me!

UBP2010 After-Party

2010-04-17T19:28:00.000-05:00

So the UBP 2010 is officially over! I had a fabulous time, and I'm very much glad I participated in it! I've gained a few new followers, found a ton of blogs I was excited to follow, and hopefully can form many more friendships through it all!

Blogs I found out about through the UBP:

1 - Chi-Annie: at the table - I haven't had much luck finding bloggers from roughly the same area as I am in, and I came across this blog :)

2 - Handbags & Handguns

3 - Bitsy Baby Photography - I love photography and this blog has some amazingly beautiful shots in it!

Now that's just 3, but I have found and begun following WAYYYY more than 3. I look forward to updates from all of you in your blogs!

Tagged!

2010-04-15T00:39:00.001-05:00

Kate over at Some Dreams Come True tagged me in a couple of fun posts! I'm going to do what she did and combine them into one post :)

First - a handwriting game. Grab a piece of paper and write down:

1. Name / Blog name
2. Right handed, Left handed or Both
3. Favorite letters to write
4. Least favorite letter to write
5. Write: The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
6. Write in CAPS-CRAB-HUMOR-KALEIDOSCOPE-PAJAMAS-GAZILLION
7. Favorite song lyrics
8. Tag 7 people
9. Any special note or drawing

And Secondly - some questions!

1. Who is your style icon?

I don't really have one, but I do generally love the way Alyson Hannigan dresses!

2. What is your favorite book?

I'm a big fan of the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty

And of course the Twilight series (I'm addicted!)

3. Favorite Party Theme?

Luaus are always fun! I love 80s parties though!

Me & 3 of my friends went to Awesome 80s Prom in Chicago before I met my now husband.

4. Go to Halloween costume?

I generally just pull out an old costume and tweak it a little bit. This bee one has been pretty popular for me!

5. Extravagance You can't live without? Not sure if this counts, but my camera!

6. Living person you admire? My best friend David. He was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2006. Went through chemo and radiation for months, and he is doing just fine now.

7. Greatest Fear? Either losing somebody I love,drowning, or not being able to have children.

8. Trait(s) you deplore in yourself? I am constantly worried about something, sometimes for no reason. This leads to me biting my nails. A LOT. Hate it. Ack!

9. What talent would you most like to have?

I would LOVE to be able to play the guitar.

10. What is your greatest achievement?

Ya know.. I'm not entirely sure I know. If I had to answer right away, I would say passing all of those horrifying anatomy classes during massage school. Ironically now I LOVE reading about anatomy and learning more things, and am debating on going BACk to school :)

Same group of bloggers tagged! Hope to see some fun answers soon!

2010 Ultimate Blog Party

2010-04-09T22:43:00.003-05:00

Heard about this through a fellow July 2009 bride (Go say hi to Kate), and I loved the idea! So here goes!

I'm Vicki, and I'm 27 years old. I married my dear husband On July 10, 2009. As you can see, he hates buttoning jackets. We are currently trying to have a baby. I am a state licensed massage therapist, and a manager for a retail store (SUUUUCKS!), but the economy definitely isn't helping that situation. I do side work as a wedding and event photographer. I'm relatively new to the world of blogging, but I'm having a great time learning and exploring, as well as reading other blogs and getting inspirations for everything. I LOVE photography, and generally wind up posting a lot of pictures in my posts. Since wedding planning disappeared from my world, I've begun crafting to fill the void it left. I love to be creative, and I love planning things.

We have 2 cats, Glitter (7) and Hendrix (11), who I have had since before I even met my hubbs.

Glitter above, Hendrix below

We also have one dog. His name is Riley, and we adopted him from animal control in Chicago on 4-22-09. His adoptaversary is coming up! We have loved every moment of having him. Most people think I'm a bit insane for the amount of photos of him I have.

Riley loves playing in the hose when it's hot outside!

In case this post didn't give it away or anything, I have a tendency to ramble...and jump from topic to topic. Keeps my little world interesting!

If there is anything you want to know, do not hesitate to ask, I'm hoping to make some new blogger friends! :)

Thanks for looking!

XOXO

-V

Top 3 Prizes would be :

US39 - Be My Guest certificate ($250 value) for one lucky winner, (2 night stay for a family of four) at any Hilton Garden Inn.

USC3 - A $50.00 Target Gift Card.

USC8 - $55 E-Gift Card for Amazon.com Gift code will be emailed to the winner and can be used for purchases from Amazon.com.

Other Faves:

US48, US36, US23, US18

Spring has Sprung!!

The $20 Challenge

2010-04-08T17:41:00.000-05:00

My dear husband doesn't understand the joy of couponing. His argument is that couponing just makes people buy things that they don't need, or won't use, just to get a deal. Which I guess could be true, although I know many people that get free items via couponing and then donate them to animal shelters, hospitals, or send them to Iraq. So I don't know. He decided to give me $20 to see what I could do, saying that everything I bought had to be something that we need or would use. I chose Target and Meijer as my stores of choice for this challenge, and off I went.

Meijer

The Goodies:

2 Betty Crocker Warm Delights : on sale for 99¢ each

Used 2 75¢ / 1 coupons (SS 3/28/10)

Cost: 24¢ each

2 Snuggle Exhilarations Sweet Blossom and Pomegranate fabric softener sheets (70 count)

Priced at $3.48 each

Used 2 $3/1 coupons (SS 3/28/10)

Total cost: 48¢ each

3 Boxes Of Barilla Pasta

On sale for 89¢ each

Used Meijer Mealbox coupon for $1 off 3

Cost $1.67

2 V-8 VFusion Juices

On sale 2 for $5

Used 2 $1/1 printable coupons- Found Here

Used Meijer Mealbox $1/2 coupon

Cost: $2.00

Always Pads

On sale for $4.95

Used BO GO (12-22 count) free coupon from 4/4 PG

Cost : $2.99 for both packages combined.

Cost Wrap Up!

Meijer Promotions Savings : $2.02

Meijer Ad Savings : $6.20

Coupon Savings: $14.45

Total Savings: $22.67

Final Price: $9.36

Amount remaining from $20 challenge - $10.64

Annnnd onto Target!

The Goods:

4 Banquet Frozen Dinners (yes, healthy I know!) :

Priced at 89¢ each

Used $1.50/4 coupon - Found Here

Cost: $2.06 for all 4

Degree Invisible Solid Men's Deodorant
Priced at $1.97 each

Used $1.25/1 Coupon - Found Here (as well as some other good coupons!)

Cost: 72¢

1 Package Ball Park Angus Beef Franks

On sale for $2.49

Used 75¢/1 Coupon found on http://www.coupons.com

Cost: $1.74

4 Pack Activia Yogurt

Price Drop to $1.87 per 4 pack

Used $1/1 coupon from SS 3-28-10

Cost: 87¢

Trial Size Clean & Clear Morning Burst facial scrub

Priced at 97¢

Used $1/1 coupon from 3-28-10 SS

Cost: FREE

Trial Size Johnson's Lavender & Chamomile lotion

Priced at 97¢

Used $1/1 coupon from 3-28-10 SS

Cost : FREE

Trial Size Tide 2x Laundry detergent

Priced at 97¢

Used $1/1 coupon from 4/4/10 PG

Cost: FREE

Tums Extra Strength 750 (116 tablets)

Priced at $3.89 on sale

Used $1/1 printable - Found Here

Cost: $2.89

1 Jar of Ragu

Price Dropped to $1.87

No coupons, had just run out at home!

Cost : $1.87

$0.05 credit for bringing my reusable shopping bag

Cost Wrap Up!

Total saved : $9.55

Final Cost: $10.62

Amount left in $20 challenge : $0.02

I'm waiting for him to get home and see my victory now!

XOXO

-V

Laura's Baby Shower - March 28th, 2010

2010-04-07T17:40:00.000-05:00

After a month or so of going back and forth on decor and invite ideas, Laura's baby shower has come and gone. She absolutely loved it, and I got a lot of compliments on the color choices and the decorations. Figured I would share some pictures of it, as I found all my inspiration by peering onto other people's blogs :)

The food and gift tables as well as the banner that I had printed using graphics from My Grarfico - Alisha McConnell

Balloons - We had blue hearts saying "Baby Boy" a handful of Mod Monkey balloons, and some banana bunch balloons.

Plastic Coconut bowls filled with Banana runts

The Welcome posted I designed and printed using vistaprint.com

The favors - cleaned out baby food jars with the labels removed. Hot glued fabric and ribbon to the lid, and printed out labels. The jars are filled with pastel colored Sixlets candies, and more banana runts

The awesome frame my boss made! I didn't get a picture after we put the ultrasound picture in it though :(

The cake was delicious! Bought the sitting baby cake topper at Jo-Ann Fabrics, and the little stuffed monkey from Target's toy section

The centerpieces for the table. The planter pots doubled as prizes for the raffles we held during the shower. I wanted something that was reminiscent of a palm tree, but wasn't one of those tissue paper ones, so ostrich feathers took that place and I love love love how they came out.

A bundle of monkeys for the "head table" i.e. the family table.

Presents galore!

All in all the shower was a success! everyone had a great time and baby Luca has officially been showered! He is scheduled to arrive at the end of the month!

XOXO

-V

Saving Money! Coupon Crazy :)

2010-04-04T12:17:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a while :( I've been neglectful to this blog. Life went back to being chaotic again!

This week started K-Marts Super Doubles event. Doubling coupons is fabulous, although their new 5 coupons doubled limit kind of kills it a little. Luckily it's close by home, so it's not out of the way to go up there and take advantage of the sale!

I went to K-Mart this morning with my stack of coupons in my hand. I walked out with this:

I know i know, microwave steamer bags take all the nutrients out of the steamed veggies I love so much, however since we are always on the go, they are more practical for us to use, and we love them nonetheless.

I walked out with:

3 packages of Large Ziploc Zip 'N Steam bags : $2.89 each at the store.

Used 3 of the $1/1 coupons from the 3/28 SS insert
Final Cost: $0.89 each after doubling!

Hartz Crunch N Clean dog biscuits : $3.99 each
Used one printable $2/1 coupon (Found Here)
Final Cost: FREE

1 Dove Ultimate Visibly Smooth deodorant: on sale for $3.79
Used printable $2/1 ( Found Here )
Final Cost: FREE

Left me enough money to pick up that cute red shirt in their $1.99 Winter clearance clothing!
Total Saved: $7.38
Final Transaction Cost : $5.56

Annnnd Walgreens:

There weren't too many completely awesome deals at Walgreens this week, however I did score a few goodies for a small price!
1 box 30 Tuf trash bags : $2.99 after coupon in Walgreens ad
1 package Pilot Frixion gel pens : Sale for $1.19
Used $1/1 from Walgreens April coupon book
Total: $0.19

Walgreens storage bags:
$0.99 after in ad coupon

Dawn hand soap:
Normal price : $1.99
Used $0.99 coupon in Walgreens ad
Used $0.50/1 coupon from 4/4 PG Brandsaver
Final cost: $0.49

Total savings: $8.70 (includes sales, and coupon savings)
Final Cost: $5.03

So it was fun. I like saving money, especially since we're just not making enough right now! And we will be well stocked on the things we run out of after this week is over :)

I'm working on putting more things up in my Etsy shop as well.

I'm actually thinking about learning how to make soaps and candles, but we shall see.

I wish there were more hours in a day!

XOXO
-V

Fun Times With Etsy!

2010-02-28T22:33:00.000-06:00

After having such a blast designing invitations for the two baby showers, I opted to try designing more things. Turns out, I really enjoy it! So I am now starting to offer digital files for sale on Etsy!

Of course I will be listing more items than just digital files in the future, but this is a ton of fun for now!

Hop on over and take a peek if you would like!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/anewmrs

Hope everyone is doing fantastical!
XOXO

5 years later....and 4 days early

2010-02-21T23:54:00.000-06:00

MY CAR IS FINALLY COMPLETELY PAID OFF!!!

I thought it would never happen!

I did a happy dance in the bank lobby after I wrote the check.

Just had to share my excitement about that!

Progress

2010-02-16T14:57:00.001-06:00

Baby shower #1 has been rapidly progressing! Today I went and booked a room through my city's village hall. It's actually in the basement of the village hall building, and it's a nice big open classroom. Has a wall of mirrors, and glass doors on one side of the room to let the sun shine in. It's beautiful, and with all the decorations we are going to pack in there, it's going to look amazing.

I designed the banner, the welcome sign, and the invites, and ordered them through Vistaprint.com, since I couldn't find any decorations I found suitable to match the invitations in the store.

Invitation one side

Invite opposite side

Door Sign

Vinyl Banner

Monkey & Balloon graphics all courtesy of a purchased graphic collection from http://www.mygrafico.com

Overall I am very happy with how things are coming along. The next two steps? Food + cake. Then centerpieces and the remainder of the decorations.

I am also trying to come up with a cd of good songs suitable for a baby shower. Any and all suggestions are welcome!! I would love your help!

XOXO

-V

Baby Fever!

2010-02-09T16:29:00.002-06:00

I just recently found out that I will be hosting 2 baby showers, one for each of my best friends (both were my matrons of honor at my wedding as well). I'm very excited to be an auntie x 2.

The first one will be for Laura, and is scheduled for March 28th. She is doing the Lambs & Ivy Cocoa Safari theme as the babys bedroom, and wanted a monkey themed baby shower. She also did not want much of anything blue. I know this makes her sound really picky, but she's not. Just didn't want the generic blue everywhere baby shower for baby Luca.

First off let me tell you. A monkey baby shower, not the easiest thing to find! All the monkey balloons and decor I could find were either for Luau parties, or birthday specific.

Then, in a google search, it happened.

I did a search for "monkey mylar balloons" in google, and lo and behold. Here it is. Granted, it has some blue in it. But it's more of an aqua. And it has the yellow and brown she wanted (she wanted green too).

Then for more searching.

I came across this blog.

www.hostessblog.com

And she had 2 posts for the "Mod Monkey" baby shower. One post had her decorations and setup, and the other one had a lot of downloadable pdf files for others to use (only for personal use, not for reselling)

So I downloaded the pdf files to see if I could make them use the colors she liked as well, since it was a lot of aqua and yellow.

Here is the finished product : a door sign to put on the outside of the door.

A HUGE thank you to Jenn at www.hostessblog.com for making a monkey themed baby shower possible for me :)

I personally love the way it came out. I think the colors all work really well together, and give me a lot of room to play with the rest of the decorations. I think she was envisioning paler colors, so I hope she will like this! Though I am still debating on taking the yellow circles out of the monkey and painting them brown to make it more uniform. I'm not sure. What do you guys think?

I also loved her idea of using banana runts candies in the decorating, so I will probably do the same there.

Along with that monkey balloon, I also found this balloon:

So I will order a few of those for some whimsy as well. My work has helium tanks, so all I have to do is have them blown up there for $0.50 a pop. I'm also probably going to pick up some yellow flower balloons from the Dollar Tree, and then just some plain colored ones for more fun.

Dependant on the venue I want to host it at (still waiting on a call back from my village hall to see their rules and application process) I also wanted to make these in brown, aqua, yellow, and light green to hang from the ceiling.

Above picture courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

The part that I am stuck on is decorations more specific to a baby shower. Maybe an It's A Boy banner or a baby shower banner. I'm worried about this theme looking more like a birthday party than a baby shower.

Does anyone have any cool ideas for handmade banners? Or know of any websites that sell them? All I've been able to find is blue ones, and the occasional full on pastel one, but I want something a bit brighter.

Cut to a few hours later. I came across an AMAZING site with AMAZING graphics for purchase, and found an adorable monkey more suitable for a baby shower! If you are looking for fabulous graphics at fabulous prices check out http://www.mygrafico.com

Here is the door sign in the new design...

now to choose which I like better!

Thanks!

Hope everyone is doing fantastical

XOXO

-V

One Down!

2010-01-26T17:33:00.000-06:00

Sunday I went to my mother's house so we could do a test run on one of the purses we want to eventually sell. I needed a new bag, so we made one for me! It turned out great. It's really roomy, and I love that I got to pick the fabric out :)

There is the finished product!

Annnnd a random cute picture of Riley through the screen wanting to come back inside!

New Year, New Business Venture

2010-01-20T18:46:00.000-06:00

After many sewing lessons with my mother, and just general crafty experimentation, we have decided to try opening an etsy shop together. I'm very excited about this! I've wanted to have some creative outlet to clear my mind on the days I am off from my other jobs, so this seemed like the best thing for us!

I'm having so much trouble coming up with a name! I didn't think it would be that hard, but it for sure is!

We went and hit Joann Fabrics, and Hancock Fabrics big sales last weekend, to stock up on some fabric, and we are starting the actual sewing tomorrow. We are going to start out with purses. Totes, clutches, and hobo bags. We can watch how that goes, and then expand later on!

Once we have built up a decent amount of items, we are considering entering some of the craft fairs around our area in IL. My boss crochets, and said she would be willing to split booths/tables with us to lower costs for all parties involved if we want, so that was a sweet offer!

I've been slowly catching up on all of your blogs. I'm sorry to have been so absent lately!

Hope everyone is doing well!

XOXO
-V