One word for the year

I've decided to jump on the "one word" bandwagon with Ali Edwards. Here's a post about it: http://aliedwards.typepad.com/_a_/2007/01/one_little_word.html

My word for the year is:
CALM

Why? Because I need to learn to stay calm and not get so rattled by things I can't control (traffic, etc). I need to learn to relax and not be constantly doing something. I plan to make a sign to put in my scrap room to remind me of it - but for now I took Ali's suggestion and just wrote the word on a post-it note.

What's your word?
Jenn

Scrap Totals for 2007

For some reason, despite all the holiday happenings, December seems to be a good scrapping month for me. Maybe it's the dark, cooler evenings, I don't know. I managed to do 62 pages just in December! Here are a few more:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/malleybean/sets/72157603587314101/detail/

My total for 2007 is 276 - my goal was 300, but I'm not complaining! I also did a handful of altered projects, which I love doing.

Same goal for 2008 - and already have 4 pages done!
Jenn

Christmas & Brayden Update!

Christmas was a fun but exhausting day - we started off opening presents at home (got an ottoman for my chair, and lots of other goodies), then off to BIL's for Christmas lunch and time with Rob's family, then 90-minute drive to my parents' house for Christmas with them, my sister, niece, and nephew.
Brayden is doing so good, he's a chubby little guy! He smiles and laughs a lot. He's teething so he just chewed away on my hand. I guess it tasted yucky, because he'd chew, then make a funny face, then chew, then giggle lol. Lexi had a great day, and was thrilled to receive her Fur Real Parrot from her mommy. Here's both kids with my sister (their mom), then a pic of just Brayden:

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Jenn

I Scrapped!

I finally did some scrapbooking! I did 7 pages between last night and today. Here are 6 of them:

First time my niece Lexi met her new baby brother, Brayden, when he came home from the hospital at 3 weeks old.

Brayden's pouty face (4 months old).

First time I held Brayden - he was still in the hospital and two weeks old.

Thanksgiving 2006.

Thanksgiving 2007 at our house.

Thanks for looking! :)
Jenn

House paint!

We got our house painted last week and are very happy with the new color and the quality of the work. We used Dynamic Painting (http://www.dynamicpaintingusa.com/). One of their painters came out one morning to pressure wash the whole house, driveway, and walkway, the next day he was here filling cracks, then over two days painted the whole house. Here are some pics.
This one doesn't show the color real well, but you can see how nice it looks!

This is our front door. I'm getting used to the color, it seems to have looked nicer on the paint chip lol. It's a color I like, just not sure I like it with the house color.

This is the back of the house. You can get a better idea of the color in this picture.


If you need your house painted and want to see ours in person, feel free to stop by! And I don't know if they give anything for references, but mention Rob's name (ROB RYAN) just in case lol :)
Jenn

A bit cheesy, but I love my new ring!

WARNING - YOU MAY BECOME NAUSEATED AFTER READING THIS POST!

I got this ring kind of as an anniversary gift from Rob, except I bought it myself because I'm the one with the Kohl's CC.

Our wedding colors were navy (sapphires), silver (white gold), and white (diamonds). Plus I liked the infinity style of the ring - together forever (HURL). It was just perfect to celebrate 10 years together!
Jenn

Our anniversary/touristy weekend

As of Thursday (Thanksgiving), Rob and I have been married 10 years! We didn't get to take a trip or anything, but we did spend the last couple days together being tourists. Friday we went to MOSI after leftovers for lunch, and really enjoyed the Shipwreck exhibit. Here are a couple pics. The big globe below with the red dots shows all the shipwrecks that have been found through 1983. The next pic was on the ceiling; I'm not sure what it is but it was found in a shipwreck. The gold pic is a bunch of gold coins found in a shipwreck.






We walked around the rest of the museum, the butterfly garden, and then watched Polar Express on the IMAX screen. That was a cute movie; we hadn't seen it before. Weird on such a round, giant screen! After MOSI we had a nice dinner at Olive Garden, using gift cards we got as anniversary gifts.



Saturday Rob took me to K2 Scrapbooking to pick up my prize for finding their cool ad in the January CK mag, then we had lunch at Sarasota Brewing Co (doesn't hold a candle to TBBC!), and spent the afternoon at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. The Gardens were so pretty, we both enjoyed looking at the flowers and unique plants. The day was gorgeous, so we loved being outside too. Except when I commented how the bit of humidity in the air made my hair go nuts - and Rob agreed then said "and look at all that gray! I thought you dyed your hair when you got it cut?". How RUDE lol! I informed him that highlights were expensive so they only happened every few cuts lol. We bought a few plants to kill (we have seriously black thumbs in our house lol), then had dinner at Red Lobster using those gift cards - two free dinners in a row! I'll end by sharing some pics of the Gardens.

My Baby Nephew's Getting Bigger!

Rob and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house for my family, after a yummy meal at his brother's house with his family. Baby Brayden (now 4 months old) didn't eat turkey of course, but he was quite the little ham! The first pic is of his hair growing in - he looks like an old bald guy!
The next pic is the best I could catch of him and his pouty face. He's just adorable - already knows how to get his way!
For those who don't know, Brayden was born 10 weeks early but is now a happy, healthy, 12-lb. little boy! Isn't he just adorable?!?
Jenn

Scrapbooking Shop Hop

I had a wonderful day today - I took off down I-75South around 9:30 to hit as many scrapbook stores as I could for the Gulf Coast Holiday Shop Hop http://www.gulfcoastholidayshophop.com/. The weather was perfect, my iPod was cranked, and a glass of sweet tea was beside me. I made it to six stores, getting 20% off at each for my purchase of a $15 totebag/passport. I loved My Scrapbook Shoppe and Scrapbooking And Beyond and plan to visit again :)

They all had make-and-takes - here's the one from Scrappin' Sisters - it's a 4-page pop-up mini book. So cute!

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

I have seen TSO several times in concert - and never get tired of their music or the elaborate light shows they put on. I went with my friend Lisa and my parents (we unfortunately didn't get to sit with them though), and Lisa and I had awesome seats. I took several pics before the ushers started getting all worked up over people using cameras - they never said no photos, so of course I took some! Wish I had been able to get more, but oh well, some is better than none. :) Anyway, the show was fabulous and lasted for THREE HOURS! The lighting was really cool, and included lasers and pyrotechnics. Here's a pic - if you ever get the opportunity to go see them, I highly recommend it!
Jenn