Layout of the Day

This past Saturday, my sister and I spent several hours scrapbooking at Archivers. I was able to finish 17 pages (15 layouts) and will be sharing them in the coming weeks. Here is the first one: pictures from Nikolas' preschool Christmas show. He was one of the wise men (or Magi). I used a related bible quote and included the program from the show which featured his artwork on the front.

All the paper (except the journaling cardstock) and letter stickers are from the Exotic East line by Imaginisce.

3rd Newbery Winner

I just finished Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! by Laura Amy Schlitz. If you follow my blog, you might remember that I made a resolution this year to read twelve Newbery winners. The first two left me wondering if I was wasting my time. This third selection was going to determine if I continue with this resolution. This selection was a tad different then the first two. The author, who is a school library, wrote a selection of monologues for her students to perform as part of their study of medieval life. Each chapter features a different child who lives in a typical medieval village. I haven't given up on this resolution yet and will be reading another Newbery winner in April.

Spring is Coming

This past week we were able to enjoy a taste of warmer weather. Wednesday we played outside for a while. Nik rode his big wheel and we practiced T-ball.
Thursday the weather was even nicer, so we took a trip to the zoo and took the annual picture with the gorilla statue.

By Saturday, blustery temperatures had returned, but thankfully that did not damper our church's Easter egg hunt and pancake breakfast.

Sunday was Gary's debut with the church's drama team. He has the part of Sorrow in a four-part Holy Week play called "Inner Turmoil." He did an excellent job to a packed house, which included my sisters and nephews. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the performances later this week.

Layout of the Day

Here's a two page layout I just finished today. The photos in the left hand page has been sitting on my work table for several weeks waiting for inspiration to strike. The photos were taken at the Breakfast with Santa event at Brookfield Zoo and the right hand pages include the letters from Santa Nikolas recieved on St. Nicholas Day and in response to Nikolas letter and list sent to the North Pole after this visit.

All the pattern paper is from the Candy Cane Lane collection from Imaginisce. The title on the left is rub-ons and the one on the right was made with the Silhouette.

The Two Left Feet Party

Disney (in partnership with Career Builder.com) is searching for the first ever Disney CMO (Chief Magical Officer). They recently selected the 10 semi-finalists. After seriously considering all the candidates, my votes (you can vote as often as you like) are going to Patrick Hurd. Nikolas and I love his submission video—so funny. You can check out the other candidates at the bottom of his submission. When this round of voting is over the field will be narrowed down to three candidates and another round of voting will begin. Remember vote early—vote often. It’s the Chicago Way!

Resolution Update

Here is another update on my progress on the four resolutions I have for 2008:

I resolve to take more pictures! I did take more pictures in February then I did in January. They include photos from an outing with another couple, snowman pictures, Nik’s Valentines party at school and some of his swimming lessons. This is a good thing because I just planned a crop night with my sister so I will have stuff to scrapbook. I just have to get them developed.

I resolve to read the Bible in a year. I have kept up with the daily readings and am currently four days ahead of the schedule. I would like to be a full week ahead to prepare for the next illness or distraction that may put me behind.

I resolve to read 12 Newbery Medal winners this year. I just finished Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins. As I mentioned in the previous post, the selections I have made so far have been unimpressive and I plan to read one more this month and decide if I want to continue. If I decide to bail on Newbery, I will probably continue with classic children literature. I also watched the movie Holes this month, which is based on a Newbery book. It just happened to be playing on Toon Disney last weekend and I had time to sit down and watch it—it was a interesting story.

I resolve to lose 20 pounds. Thankfully, I was able to lose the 2 pounds I gained in January. I have only exercise a couple of times this past month. I got on my Disney dance pad a few times and did a Denise Austin workout while Nik was at school. Hopefully, the warmer weather will help motivate me to get moving.