Dr. Seuss Day

I have been seeing all sorts of fun ideas to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday (which was on Friday, March 2nd). I would see it, pin it, bookmark them, and then say "oh well, maybe next year." But on Thursday night (March 1st), I realized that if I didn't do anything, I would regret it. My kids love it when I make a big deal about things. I've been pretty lax this year with this kind of thing. I have just been in a funk and I've not really been that much fun to be around.

So Thursday night, I said, "Okay, I'm going to just do this and make this fun for the kids." So last minute, I came up with a plan, got a few groceries on Friday afternoon and I made it happen. And I'm so glad I did, because I think these are the moments that my kids are going to remember. It wasn't that hard to plan a special dinner and I had some fun discussions with the kids and you know - I just love Dr. Seuss and I love that my kids like his books too. The kids were so excited about the dinner and it just went well.

So our Dr. Seuss day actually started with the kids having a great time at school. I came up with a fun EASY hairdo for Beth - actually it came together accidentally, but it worked great and she was excited about it:


They both came home telling me about all the fun reading times, games, treats, and just fun activities that they had at school. Beth got to take her Sasha to school with her and she almost finished her book so she was thrilled. JJ got special treats and had people come read to them and they both just had a great time. So they were already excited about the day when they got home from school.

I met them with a fun after school snack - Cat in the Hat Kabobs! And yes, I saw it somewhere online and it was perfect because it was just strawberries and bananas on a stick! And the kids were delighted - Beth loves Strawberries, so she got more of them. JJ doesn't like Strawberries, so he actually got more bananas and gave his strawberries to Beth. It's actually kind of funny, because JJ loves the flavor of Strawberries, but he just can't stand the texture or feel of them raw. Put them in a smoothie, a cheesecake, candy, etc. and he loves it - so its just a weird texture issue.



While they were eating their snack, we had our normal conversation about school and what was going on in their lives. They watched some tv, played on the DS, played with legos, etc.

Then for dinner, I made Green Eggs and Ham & Bacon (I just made scrambled eggs with bits of ham and bacon cooked right in - colored with food coloring) and I made a fun "Oh the Places You'll Go" Pancake Mountain for each of them. And of course it was all drizzled in maple syrup. The kids got a huge kick out of the Pancake mountain, especially eating the teeny pancakes. Oh and we had Chocolate Milk too!





Then of course we had to watch HORTON HEARS A WHO and have our dessert - Cat in the Hat Jello Snacks! Mine didn't turn out perfect, but they tasted good!




So, I could have done a lot more. So many fun ideas out there, but at least I did something and my kids went to bed happy! All in All - a successful night!

Challenge Saturday - 3/3/12

Please join me for my Challenge Saturday! I'm hoping to offer some kind of challenge every Saturday (except for when we have a Show-OffZ Challenge-then I will just be sharing the challenge layouts).


Who's ready for a challenge? I have a fun one so I hope you have some time this weekend to play!!!!


Today's Challenge is truly EASY PEASY!

Here's what you need to do:

1. Take 2 or more of my ScatterZ elements (from any kit, freebie, etc.) and use them on a layout. Your layout can be any theme, but has to include MY PRODUCTS ONLY.

2. Upload your layout to my FACEBOOK PAGE for all of us to see! If you don't have Facebook - you can email it to me and still participate!

4. You must complete and upload your layout by Sunday, March 4th at 11:59pm EST.

5. If you participate in this challenge you will receive this Spring ScatterZ Duo!




EASY PEASY RIGHT?

I can't wait to see your lovely layouts! I hope you all will participate! Please spread the news and have a great weekend!

Let me know if you have any questions!

High/Low: March 2nd, 2012 + Freebie

My LOW this Week is that I have struggled with a weird time switch. I can't seem to get any sleep at night, but then I want to sleep all day. My time clock is all mixed up and its wreaking havic on my body.

My HIGH for this Week is that it's Dr. Seuss Day! Happy Birthday to him. And I actually got myself together enough to have a fun dinner planned for the kids tonight. We will be having Green Eggs & Ham, Oh the Places You'll Go Pancake Mountain, Cat in the Hat Jello and Fruit Skewers! It should be lots of fun!



I have a freebie for you today - a cluster that coordinates with my ICE. The Freebie was created by my TearZ Crew Member, Holly Weber. Make sure you let her know how much you enjoy it by commenting!


Have a great weekend!



DOWNLOAD LINK

Easy Peasy Challenge on Saturday

Please join me for an EASY PEASY Challenge this Saturday! Come back to my blog here and you will have 48 hours to complete a really easy challenge to get a Spring ScatterZ Duo!

I promise its really really easy! So please come and join in!

Recipe Thursday - Texas Beef Brisket

Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you!
I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!


This week's Recipe:
This has really great flavor! The brisket I bought was a little tough though. I think next time, I might try it in the crockpot and see if it is a little more tender. We served it with baked potatoes that we could just stick it in the oven with the brisket. All in all a really easy meal because I just prepared it the night before and stuck it in the oven the next day.


Texas Beef Brisket
This recipe is from emeals!

2 lbs beef brisket
1 t each onion, celery and garlic salt
2 T liquid smoke
2 T Worcestershire sauce
Fresh ground pepper

*Night before. Place brisket on large piece of aluminum foil. Rub brisket w/onion, garlic & celery salts. Pour liquid smoke over top. Seal up aluminum foil tightly around meat. Can double wrap if desired. Place in refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, unseal & pour Worcestershire sauce over brisket. Sprinkle w/fresh ground pepper; wrap in foil so no steam escapes. Place on baking pan. Bake @275 for apprx 3 hours. Slice against the grain to serve.

Wednesday Sayings - 2/29/12

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you!
I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!


This week's quote:

I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I do know who holds tomorrow.
- Author Unknown

Family History Tuesday - 2/28/11

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering question(s) or idea(s). If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.


Here is this week's journal prompt :

Monday Magic - SPRING Color Inspiration

Each Monday (that doesn't have a new release), I am going to be offering a little Magic to start your week. It might be a fun idea, some inspiration, a tutorial, or just sharing some thoughts - Whatever I feel like! So come back and share your thoughts too!


This week:
Have you ever viewed an image and you were just completely inspired by the colors in it? Many times I have seen a photograph or an ad from commercials, magazines, and just out in the world and just LOVED the colors. Many times that is how I choose a color swatch for my kits.

There are lots of programs and apps and websites out there that can help you choose swatches and/or help you color sample from an image to help you find the colors you want to use. I think this is a great way for you to match colors on a layout. If you have Photoshop/PSE and other programs, there is a color sampler tool that you can immediately take a sample of colors in a photo. I hope that your software can do this - its an invaluable tool.

Another way to create a color swatch is a program that I use called ColorSchemer. I use it lots to create swatches that can immediately be added to Photoshop/PSE for your use.


Well for a little MAGIC to start your week - I have pulled some colors from a beautiful spring photo that I saw on the internet this last week! I hope it provides some inspiration for you in your layouts, in other designs, or just to cheer you up! If you do use this colors swatch, I would love to see what you come up with. Please share it on my Facebook Page!

Also this is a sneak peek of a swatch that I will be using in a collaboration with one of my designer friends at ScrapDelicious - coming in April! So stay tuned!




Have a great Monday!!!

Family Movie Night & John Wayne

I share something pretty special with my Dad. He has passed his love of movies down to me. I remember growing up, some of my best memories were sitting down and watching movies. Sometimes it would include all of my family, but most of the time, it was just Dad and me. We watched a range of movies, but our favorites were westerns and included this guy:


The DUKE - John Wayne.

To this day, I can't really watch a John Wayne movie and not think of my Dad and the memories of watching these movies with him. John Wayne was always a bit of a hero figure for me. I loved that he was strong, Patriotic, great sense of humor, and just always stood up for what he believed in. I think I always compared him to my Grandpa Sorensen too. They were a lot a like. John Wayne died 18 days before I was born and my Dad and I used to joke that I must have met him in heaven right before I came to earth.

John Wayne's grave shares a quote by him that I find profound and something to remember, "Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday."


I don't know when my Dad shared a movie with me for the first time. I pretty much think I was raised on it from the start of my life. I think it must be a family thing - I know my Grandpa Sorensen enjoyed movies and worked briefly on some movie sets and my Great-Grandpa Esplin worked on movie sets in Southern Utah. I know my siblings enjoy movies too, but I think that I can say that I am the only one that enjoys the same old movies/westerns like my Dad (though my nephew, Colby enjoys it too).

One of the traditions that Joey and I have implemented in our family is our weekly FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT. Sunday nights, movies, and family time have been ingrained into my children and if its Sunday and bedtime and we haven't watched a movie together, we get all sorts of reprimands from JJ and Beth. It has been ingrained into their little souls and I guess its my way of carrying on the tradition of the movie lovers in my family. I'm blessed to have married another movie lover and its something that we share together.

We have slowly been introducing a few John Wayne movies to the kids through movie night. I have to honestly say that they aren't exactly their favorites yet - but hopefully it will grow on them. Last Sunday, we watched one of Joey's favorite John Wayne movies, THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE. I hadn't seen it in awhile and I love James Stewart too, so its just a great movie.




I hope the love of movies keeps growing in our family and that one day, it is something that my children will pass onto their children. I admit that there is lots of bad stuff in movies, but I think there is good stuff in movies too. The trick is to focus on the good stuff that can come out of entertainment and can strengthen family ties and can bring you together.

Show-OffZ Challenge for Week 2/20/12

Thank you to the wonderful lady who participated in my Show-OffZ Challenge this week, your bonus will be arriving via email, so check that shortly!

And I hope all of you will try and participate in my challenges! I will either have a challenge posted on my facebook page on Saturdays, or if I have a new release - there will be a Show-OffZ Challenge posted on the Monday and due on Friday night!


This week's challenge was:
I want you to scrap a layout about something or someone that LIGHTS UP your life! Make sure to add some journaling and a photo! You must use MY PRODUCTS ONLY to create your layout! (You can use ANY product by me!)






by Tammy