Sketch & ScatterZ - February 2011

Come and participate in my February 2011 Sketch & ScatterZ Challenge at Faith Sisters!

This is this month's scatterz element you can get if you participate in the challenge!




I hope you will participate!

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Life 2011: Week 5

Monday, January 24, 2011


We got a small snowstorm this week. It can just be so pretty to see the world covered up and all the mistakes hidden. It feels like a time of evaluating and making changes and just starting over.

Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home. ~Edith Sitwell


Tuesday, January 25, 2011


JJ ended up having a high fever all night and had the beginnings of a cold. And since it snowed and I didn't want to drive in it today - Beth stayed home from school as well. We had a pajama and movie day. I felt so sad for my little buddy. He still wasn't feeling well in the evening, but we didn't want him to miss the Pinewood Derby, so we went any way. JJ's Colts Car did great and he won 1st place from the Wolves den. He had a great time, and I'm glad we didn't make him miss it. Today was his last activity as a Wolf...he will go into the Bears den tomorrow.


Wednesday, January 26, 2011


Happy 9th Birthday to my JJ! He had another bad night and still wasn't at his best today. But he felt so badly that he was sick on his birthday. So we decided he could go to school for half of a day so he could still have his little party at school. We made dirt dessert to share with his classmates and he got to do a little show-and-tell of his favorite things and watch a little bit of "How to Train a Dragon." After my crop tonight, we let him open his gifts - he got an awesome Toy Story 3 Train Lego Set and some other legos. He was so excited about having an Ice Cream Cake this year. I'm glad he had a good day, even though he was sick.


Thursday, January 27, 2011


JJ was still sick today, so he stayed home again. After we took Beth to school, we spent time building his Train. It was a fun project to do together and I enjoyed having just one-on-one time with him. After we picked Beth up from school, both kids spent all evening playing with legos. It was great to see JJ share with his sister.


Friday, January 28, 2011


We kept JJ home one more day. This is our regular after school activity - Beth doing her homework and JJ watching some TV for some down time. Beth went to bed with a fever and coughing, so it looks like she is sick now.


Saturday, January 29, 2011


I got to go to our niece's baby shower today. Alicia looks beautiful and even though she has had a really rough pregnancy, I feel very happy for her. She only has 10 weeks left before her little boy, Brody will join their family. Alicia and her sister, Chelea just hold a very special place in my heart. It was good to visit with both of them and Tina.

We took JJ to celebrate his birthday tonight and we were excited that Cody, Becki and Mallory came with us. ARRRG MATEY! We went to Pirate Island and ate food and played in the arcade. The kids had a great time!


Sunday, January 30, 2011


Beth had an awful night of fever and coughing and JJ had a bit of a fever still too. So the kids stayed home from church today with Joey. It was my turn to give the lesson in primary and it actually went really well. I always love lessons on the Prophet Joseph. Joey was wonderful tonight and made dinner so I didn't have to. We had frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets - the kids loved it. I sure hope they get better soon.


And here is my weekly layout:


I used my contribution to the Digitals Cupcake Couture Kit to create this layout!

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Show-OffZ Challenge | Week 1/24/11

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

This week's challenge was:

I want you to scrap a layout about where your heart is - who or what do you love? You must use MY PRODUCTS ONLY to create your layout! (You can use ANY product by me!)

by dekek

by GreenfieldOriginal

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High/Low: January 28, 2011 + Freebie

My LOW this Week is that JJ has been sick and I've not felt well and that just nothing got accomplished this week.

My HIGH for this Week is that even though we were sick and nothing got accomplished....I had a great moment yesterday with JJ. As we put together his birthday present - a Toy Story 3 train lego set - we talked and laughed together - just he and I. It's been awhile, since it has just been the two of us and I think he loved it as much as I did. I love you my boy!


REMINDER: Today is the deadline for this week's Show-OffZ Challenge! I would love for you to participate!


I have a freebie for you today - a clustered ribbon that coordinates with my FRIENDZ FROM THE WOOD.

Have a great weekend!



DOWNLOAD LINK

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Recipe Thursday - Cheesy Italian Chicken

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 was a fun meal for the kids to help with! You can put it all in a ziploc bag and have the kids mix it! And its easy to clean up too!


Cheesy Italian Chicken
by Mandy from Gourmet Mom on-the-Go

1 gallon ziploc bag
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenderloins (I actually just used boneless, skinless chicken - cut up)
1 cup Italian salad dressing
8 ounces cream cheese
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 cup milk
1 medium orange bell pepper, chopped (I actually added a bit of red, orange, and yellow)
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups cooked pasta or rice (I used small shells - but you could use anything)
1 cup chopped tomatoes (optional, for garnish)
Fresh parsley (optional, for garnish)

** I actually topped it with grated cheese


Gather all your ingredients and place in a ziploc bag.

Now for the fun! Let the kids mix, mash, and get everything combined.

To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 45-55 minutes until chicken is tender and no longer pink.

Serve over rice or pasta. Garnish with chopped tomatoes and parsley, if desired.

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January Speed Crop tonight!!!!

Please join me in our first speed crop of the year! I make it easy on you and let you choose 2 different ways to participate!

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Wednesday Sayings - 1/26/11

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:

Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own.
- Carol Burnett

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Family History TuesdayZ | Special Objects

Here is this week's journal prompt :

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. 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.

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New Release Monday + Show-OffZ Challenge 1/24/11

Join me every other Monday for my new releases! Also on New Release Mondays I will be posting a Show-OffZ Call for your layouts - so please don't miss that at the bottom of this posting!


Today I am re-releasing ATTACHED AT THE HEART
So I worked really hard all week to have a new collection done - but guess what - it just didn't happen. Maybe in the next couple of weeks, I can actually start finishing some of these kits! So instead, this week, I am re-releasing my ATTACHED AT THE HEART. There are a couple of stores that it will be new too - plus I have a couple of NEW coordinating products to go along with it! It was fun to work with the kit again and it is the perfect time for it to come back out! Enjoy!










Get it now:
Blog
Digitals
Faith Sisters
iScrapbook
ScrapDelicious





Here's how it works:

Each Monday with the New Releases, I will be posting a Show-OffZ Challenge. You will have until Friday to do the challenge and if you get your layout sent in, you will receive either a coupon to my store or a specific product (each posting will tell you what you are getting)! I will share all the Show-OffZ of the Week on Saturdays!


THIS WEEK'S SHOW-OFFZ CHALLENGE:

I want you to scrap a layout about where your heart is - who or what do you love? You must use MY PRODUCTS ONLY to create your layout! (You can use ANY product by me!)

Email me (dedesmith32@gmail.com) a copy of your 600x600, 72dpi Layout by 10pm EST on Friday, January 28th and your layout will be shared on January 29th on my blog (it could be later depending on my time)! Please include the name that you want listed with your layout.


This week (if you participate), you will be receiving the ATTACHED AT THE HEART: ALPHA:



Thanks and I hope you will join in the challenge and come back every other Monday for new releases and a new challenge!

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Life 2011: Week 4

Monday, January 17, 2011


Evenings this week (for JJ and Joey) are dedicated to getting their pinewood derby car done. I can't believe its that time already. Today JJ and Beth didn't have school and Joey didn't have to work, so they got started and made some good headway on their "Colts" car. With some excess paint - Joey was showing the kids about mixing colors.


Tuesday, January 18, 2011


Beth and I finally used her "free kids meal" at Del Taco today. She earned it with being Student of the Week in November, but we finally got around to taking her there for lunch today. We had fun chatting - just the two of us. Beth loves "crinkley fries" and she even got a fun tree-shaped one!


Wednesday, January 19, 2011


I've spent a lot of time this week, procrastinating the house cleaning and everything else, trying to get my SCRIPTURE HEROEZ done. Unfortunately, I haven't made much headway in that either. But we did have some wonderful news today. Kori had her baby boy this afternoon. Tammy was able to visit the hospital tonight and send us a little picture and it was so fun to see him. We all can't wait to travel down and hold him. We are so glad he arrived safely!


Thursday, January 20, 2011


Beth had to tell a story in her class today. She was allowed to have pictures/props but no words to read. She has been practicing hard and we have really enjoyed the picture book, "The Red Book." She was excited to share it with the class and she said that it went well!


Friday, January 21, 2011


We were excited to have Mallory come over and visit with us for a couple of hours tonight. We always love having her here and it was fun to see her play. I can't believe how big she is getting! She's a doll and the kids love to play with her! It was definitely a highlight of our week to have her here.


Saturday, January 22, 2011


We went to the Winter Palooza today! The kids got to meet up with some of their favorite characters - Spiderman and Cinderella! They got to play on the awesome bounce houses, play in the game trailer, Beth got her nails done, and we wandered around the fun booths. It was a fun activity to get away from the house for awhile! We went to lunch at Olive Garden and it was just fun to spend time together. After we got back home, we just played some Wii and took a long nap. Joey and JJ had to go to the Pinewood Derby Car Weigh-in and they got that done before Joey had to go back to work to solve some problems he was having. It was a good day.


Sunday, January 23, 2011


It felt like a pretty crappy week, even though there was some good highlights. Joey and I both just had a hard week with our work stuff and getting things completed. It all kind of blew up in my face tonight - literally. At about 1am - our water heater decided that it was not going to shut off by itself and it got too hot and it sent all the pressure, steam, and water out of our closet and into my bedroom where I was working. Joey was still at work and I just kind of panicked. I couldn't get a hold of him and I couldn't find a flashlight. I finally had to resort to using the flashlight app on my phone and crawl under the trailer to turn the water off. After that, I pretty much called it quits on my computer stuff and went to bed. When we got up this morning, we had no water pressure so we had to use my heat embosser to defrost some of the pipes. I guess it was a good thing we have the 2-5pm Church schedule this year. We were able to get that all worked out and still have showers and get to church. I sure hope next week is a better one!


And here is my weekly layout:


I used JK Designs' Snow Drift & Frosty Chill to create this layout! If you haven't checked out the My Creative Life at ScrapDelicious. You really need to! It has some really valuable Project 365 Information and I'm excited to be using it this year!

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High/Low: January 21, 2011 + Freebie

My LOW this Week is that I didn't get enough done this week. I kind of failed in my housekeeping goals and didn't get enough done on my next kit collection. But I suppose that all can be remedied next week!

My HIGH for this Week is that some of the other goals that I have made were accomplished this week, like we had scriptures every night as a family. It's nice to know that at least I got one thing right this week! It's hard to make these goals a habit, but once they are...I know my life will be tons easier!


I have a freebie for you today - a border cluster that coordinates with my TIMELESS Kits.

Have a great weekend!



DOWNLOAD LINK

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Recipe Thursday - Peanut Butter Bars

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:
I remember in college, my roommates and I loved to make up a box of peanut butter bars. So good! When I saw this recipe - I had to try it and it turned out great. I remember the boxed peanut butter bars - it was a soft frosting on top. this one is hard - but still wonderful! And you don't have to bake it!


Peanut Butter Bars
by Sara from Our Best Bites

1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1 lb (3 1/2 C) powdered sugar
1 1/2 C creamy peanut butter
1 C (2 sticks) real butter, melted
1 12oz bag chocolate chips (milk, semi-sweet, or dark, you pick!)
2 tsp shortening

Tip from a reader on Our Best Bites: Instead of adding shortening to the chocolate topping, add a scoop of peanut butter. That will prevent the top from getting solid and it will taste yummy!

In a large mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar and peanut butter and butter and beat until combined. Press into a parchment (or waxed paper or foil) lined 9x13 pan.

Place chocolate chips and shortening in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring after each one, until melted and smooth. Pour chocolate over peanut butter mixture and spread out evenly. Place pan in the fridge just until chocolate is set and then cut into bars. Tip: If the bars chill until the chocolate is too hard to easily cut, use a sharp knife and score the cuts first, then gently cut through. Can be stored in the fridge or at room temp. They will stay firmer if stored in the fridge.

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Wednesday Sayings - 1/19/11

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:

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.
- Louisa May Alcott

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Family History TuesdayZ | Grandparent Memories

Here is this week's journal prompt :

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. 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.

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Life 2011: Week 3

Monday, January 10, 2011


Beth has really enjoyed being a part of Girls Scouts. Twice a month we head over to the Girl Scout building and JJ and I hang out (a lot of drawing and Angry Birds on my phone) while Beth does her thing. Today she was excited to make a butterfly out of a clothespin and coffee filters!


Tuesday, January 11, 2011


So we have been without a sink faucet in the bathroom since before Christmas. We kept thinking we would wait and buy a really nice one, but in the end, the $10 plastic one won out. Can I just say how grateful I am to have running water in the bathroom again!!!!


Wednesday, January 12, 2011


Doing homework in a princess dress is just much more pleasurable!


Thursday, January 13, 2011


We have started using our chore charts again. It's been kind of a struggle to use them for some reason. Hopefully we get back in the habit!


Friday, January 14, 2011


I have spent lots of time at the computer this week, trying to get back to designing. But as I look back at the week - I am feeling good about the things I have accomplished. One of those things, was on Monday, when I actually prepared and gave a lesson on Faith for our Family Home Evening. We have gotten in the habit of doing more activities together, which is important, but I wanted to bring more teaching into our family this year. I spent most of my day on Monday getting ready but I think the lesson went well and I'm excited to teach my kids the gospel.


Saturday, January 15, 2011


I made my first small goal today - I have lost 5 lbs since Christmas! It's a slow process, but its felt really great to workout every day. I love my Wii Fit! Joey participated in a Constitution class all day today. The kids enjoyed having another pajama day and playing together, while I did a bit of cleaning up and a lot of designing.


Sunday, January 16, 2011


Another movie tonight from my growing up years. Super Fuzz was always a fun movie to watch and Joey and I were both excited to show the kids it for Family Movie Night. We served Meatballs and Rice in a RED SAUCE for dinner. In the movie, Dave (the main character)'s super powers stop when he sees the color red. The kids enjoyed it!


And here is my weekly layout:


I used JK Designs' Snow Drift to create this layout! If you haven't checked out the My Creative Life at ScrapDelicious. You really need to! It has some really valuable Project 365 Information and I'm excited to be using it this year!

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