High/Low: July 29, 2011 + Freebie

My LOW this Week is that I am grumpy and have been a lot this week. I need to get out of this rut that I'm in right now!

My HIGH for this Week is that I have had a lot of design time this week. I'm still the slowest designer on the planet - and the biggest perfectionist - so the kit collection that I am working on isn't quite done. But at least I have gotten somewhere in the creative department this week!


I have a freebie for you today - a scatterz that coordinates with my upcoming THERE AND BACK AGAIN.


Have a great weekend!




DOWNLOAD LINK

Recipe Thursday - Haystacks

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:
Love this classic dish! Something great for a quick meal and to customize for your family!


Haystacks
by Mel from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size chunks (or leftover cooked chicken, cubed)
3 tablespoons butter
½ onion (about ½ cup), finely chopped
3 cloves garlic; finely minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
1 cup chicken broth

I like to add a can of corn, a couple of squirts of lemon juice, bell peppers, green chilis, and sometimes a can of cream of chicken soup.

In a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat and add the onion and raw chicken (if using leftover cooked chicken, don’t add it to the skillet now, you’ll add it later). Saute the onion and chicken, if using, until the onions are soft and translucent and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about one minute, stirring, until fragrant.

Sprinkle the flour over the onions and chicken and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for one minute - this helps get rid of the starchy, flour taste. Slowly whisk in the milk and chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, and bring the sauce to a simmer over medium to medium-high heat. Add the salt and pepper. If you are using leftover cooked chicken, add it now. Continue simmering, stirring the sauce frequently, until the sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.

Serve the chicken sauce over rice with your toppings of choice, such as olives, tomatoes, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, green onions, mandarin oranges and chow mein noodles.

Wednesday Sayings - 7/27/11

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:

A laugh is a smile that bursts!
- Mary Waldrip

Family History Tuesday - 7/26/11

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 :

July Speed Crop

Please join me in the chatroom for a SPEED CROP! You have 2 ways to participate and you get a great bonus! You can also come and just chat with us - everyone who comes will get a freebie!

Come to the Digitals Chatroom (http://www.digitalscrapbookpages.com) on Wednesday, July 27th at 9pm EST! I hope to see you there!

Life 2011: Week 30

Monday, July 18, 2011


JJ had his first orthodontist appointment today! He had a great surprise awaiting him. He loved seeing his name right by the door coming in! We found out that we are going to have to have 2 phases of braces and that we can start the first phase next month. I'm not sure how it is going to go, but hopefully we can get his teeth straight - especially his front tooth.


Tuesday, July 19, 2011


I totally slept through my alarm this morning - so no school for JJ. But the kids took it in stride and had a great pajama day. They played all day together while I picked up the house and got packed for Beth's Girl Scout Camp.


Wednesday, July 20, 2011


Beth and I said goodbye to JJ and Joey and headed off on our Girl Scout Troop Camping Trip (Our #17 Family Fun Activity). We drove high up into the mountains of Park City to a secluded placed called Camp Cloud Rim. It was beautiful! So green and loved the freshness of the air. The lake was glistening and there was even a bit of snow left on the mountain. We got checked in and settled into our Platform Tents. We had lunch and then we got to go on a lovely little hike through the trees and around the lake. Later we were able to have some Troop 2020 time and we all came up with our own Camp names and made awesome beaded nametags! Beth is "Sparkles" and I am "Tweety." We enjoyed lots of Camp Songs and food and getting to know our troop girls better.


Thursday, July 21, 2011


Today was full of activity! We enjoyed getting to know some more of the Camp Staff, sang more camp songs, and ate more great food. We got Art time today. We gathered up some rocks and got to paint and decorate them and then we put our masterpieces back along the trail to the lake for campers to enjoy! The girls LOVED Kanga - the art director (that's her dancing on the table). She cranked up the tunes and the girls danced and danced and danced. Other CIT (Counselors-in-training) girls came in and joined the dancing and it was a real party! I think it was one of the highlights of the whole trip. Later, our troop got water time. Beth didn't really want to canoe. We were the only troop to have Daisy Scouts with us - and we had 3. They had to have a leader with them at all times. So Beth and I decided to just stay near the docks and swim. Beth and her friend, "Butterfly" had an amazing time swimming in the very cold water! I waded in with them a bit and they had a great time. After the other girls came in from canoeing, we all got to shower and then spend some money at the Trading Post. Beth was so excited about her souvenirs. Then we got to learn some knots and have a little free time. Then we made "hobo dinners", which wasn't the best experience since things just seemed to go wrong and it took forever. But the girls really enjoyed the banana boats and smores for dessert. The mosquitoes were really bad today and all the girls got bit pretty bad. But all-in-all it was a good day.


Friday, July 22, 2011


We had a great time getting fun pictures of all our troop in our Camp Cloud Rim Shirts. The Daisy girls all had their little ladybug pillow pals that they got at the Trading Post and it was all really fun. It was bittersweet to pack up and head home. I'm so glad that I was able to go with Beth on this trip. It was great to get to know more of the girls and to just see Beth have such a great time. Plus I loved the cool air and the beautiful scenery of the mountains. We even saw a moose as we were headed out of camp.

It was great to be home though and see Joey and JJ. It was JJ's last day of summer school and he had a lot of things to share and it was good to be with him. JJ and Joey got to spend some good times just being at home and playing games and the Wii. I know JJ just loved being able to play all day.


Saturday, July 23, 2011


It is so good to be back and be with my whole family again. We decided to spend the whole day together. We slept in and then we headed for our #18 Family Fun Activity which was eating at J Dawgs! It is a place that Joey eats lunch at about once a week, so it was fun that he shared it with us. Then we head for Our #19 Family Fun Activity which was touring the Bean Museum at BYU. The kids and I have been there for field trips, but it was fun to take Joey and see all the animals. They even had a live tortoise and python that the kids could pet. It was very fun. My favorite part is seeing "Shasta" the Liger that used to be at the Hogle Zoo. Our #20 Family Fun Activity was going to the dollar movies and seeing "Mr. Popper's Penguins," which was really cute and we all enjoyed it. We then went to our #21 Family Fun Activity which was touring the BYU Museum of Art. Our favorite exhibit was the huge cube made from thousands of Books! Then we came home. I got a nap in and we ate leftovers for dinner. Just a wonderful day together!


Sunday, July 24, 2011


I overdid it yesterday and woke up with a horrible headache that lasted all day. I was able to get Sister King to teach our Primary lesson, so I could stay home. It did finally subside and I was able to enjoy our Family Movie Night. We shared one of my favorite movies as a kid, "Flight of the Navigator." The kids got a kick out of it and so our movie night was a success!


And here is my weekly layout:

Coming Soon!

Lakewater Girl

As I was going through the over 300 photos that I took this week at Girl Scout Camp, I found this beauty of my daughter. Then when I saw the subject of the weekly contest at iheartfaces, I decided I would enter just for fun!

Swimming has been a bit of a challenge for Beth. Until this year, she has been scared of the water. But after a trip to the pool with her cousin and as long as she has a little support from an inflatable device, she will jump and play in the water, even putting her head in the water. So seeing her in a lake, just swimming and having fun, is a wonderful moment for me.

Beth was so excited to swim in "a real lake." Yes, the water was brown, but it was actually pretty clear until Beth and her Daisy Scout friends started swimming in it. I loved seeing the delight on her face as she swam from side to side, going a little farther every time. I have found that when I catch Beth in a moment of pure delight, its always with her eyes down. If I make her look up - the moment is gone. So I have come to love the photos I have with her beautiful smile, even though she's looking down!

Christmas in July 2011 - Day 8

Climb Aboard as we set off on a fun adventure through 15 of our designers' blogs from July 14-25! Visit each of the blogs below everyday for a special Christmas in July present! HAVE FUN!

TODAY is the last day of our train - I really hope you have enjoyed your ride! Thanks for coming!

REMEMBER THE DOWNLOADS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR 24 HOURS STARTING AT MIDNIGHT EST EACH DAY! After the Blog Train is over my freebies will be packaged all together and sold in my stores!


Visit each of the blogs below EVERY DAY to get your PRESENTS:

Alessandra Designs
Amanda Thorderson
Barb Speck
Cilenia Curtis
DeDe Smith <-- You are here
Diana Burton
doinDigital
Elka Romero
Helena Monteiro
Kathryn Estry
Maddy Fernandez
Nini's Notions
Pati Araujo
Silvia Romeo
Tallula Moon



My Digitals store is 40% off from July 18-25, so I hope you take advantage of it!


TODAY, I am featuring an upcoming kit! Georgia and I (Sisters by Heart) are hoping to produce this kit around Christmastime - MISTLETOE MAGIC!



Today's Download:



This link has expired

Christmas in July 2011 - Day 7

Climb Aboard as we set off on a fun adventure through 15 of our designers' blogs from July 14-25! Visit each of the blogs below everyday for a special Christmas in July present! HAVE FUN!


REMEMBER THE DOWNLOADS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR 24 HOURS STARTING AT MIDNIGHT EST EACH DAY! After the Blog Train is over my freebies will be packaged all together and sold in my stores!


Visit each of the blogs below EVERY DAY to get your PRESENTS:

Alessandra Designs
Amanda Thorderson
Barb Speck
Cilenia Curtis
DeDe Smith <-- You are here
Diana Burton
doinDigital
Elka Romero
Helena Monteiro
Kathryn Estry
Maddy Fernandez
Nini's Notions
Pati Araujo
Silvia Romeo
Tallula Moon



My Digitals store is 40% off from July 18-25, so I hope you take advantage of it!


TODAY, I am featuring.....

AMERICANA BEARZ 1 & 2 AND all of the coordinating products






Today's Download:



This link has expired

Christmas in July 2011 - Day 6

Climb Aboard as we set off on a fun adventure through 15 of our designers' blogs from July 14-25! Visit each of the blogs below everyday for a special Christmas in July present! HAVE FUN!


REMEMBER THE DOWNLOADS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR 24 HOURS STARTING AT MIDNIGHT EST EACH DAY! After the Blog Train is over my freebies will be packaged all together and sold in my stores!


Visit each of the blogs below EVERY DAY to get your PRESENTS:

Alessandra Designs
Amanda Thorderson
Barb Speck
Cilenia Curtis
DeDe Smith <-- You are here
Diana Burton
doinDigital
Elka Romero
Helena Monteiro
Kathryn Estry
Maddy Fernandez
Nini's Notions
Pati Araujo
Silvia Romeo
Tallula Moon



My Digitals store is 40% off from July 18-25, so I hope you take advantage of it!


TODAY, I am featuring.....

TWITTERPATED & all of the coordinating products




Today's Download:


This link has expired

High/Low: July 22, 2011 + Freebie

My LOW this Week is that I missed my hubby and JJ the past few days. I'm glad that they got time together and I'm glad that Beth and I had time together.....but its just not quite the same without all of us together. I think we need to go camping more!

My HIGH for this Week is that I spent 3 days with my Bethie Girl at Camp Cloud Rim for Girl Scout Troop Camping. I just got back (like literally 1/2 hour ago from when I updated this post) and I had a great time and it was an amazing experience for my little Daisy Girl Scout. We hiked, we played in the lake, we did some crafting, we ate, we slept (a little anyways), and I think the troop bonded quite a bit. We only had 8 girls out of our 24 girl troop - but I think that made it even more fun! It was really good for me to unplug for a while. I am exhausted though....I think I need a nap before the unpacking and settling back into normal life resumes...


I have a freebie for you today - a stacked paper that coordinates with my twitterpated.


Have a great weekend!




DOWNLOAD LINK

Christmas in July 2011 - Day 5

Climb Aboard as we set off on a fun adventure through 15 of our designers' blogs from July 14-25! Visit each of the blogs below everyday for a special Christmas in July present! HAVE FUN!


REMEMBER THE DOWNLOADS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR 24 HOURS STARTING AT MIDNIGHT EST EACH DAY! After the Blog Train is over my freebies will be packaged all together and sold in my stores!


Visit each of the blogs below EVERY DAY to get your PRESENTS:

Alessandra Designs
Amanda Thorderson
Barb Speck
Cilenia Curtis
DeDe Smith <-- You are here
Diana Burton
doinDigital
Elka Romero
Helena Monteiro
Kathryn Estry
Maddy Fernandez
Nini's Notions
Pati Araujo
Silvia Romeo
Tallula Moon



My Digitals store is 40% off from July 18-25, so I hope you take advantage of it!


TODAY, I am featuring an upcoming kit! Please join me at Digitals in September, when I will be a featured designer, you won't want to miss my daily download kit - INTO THE WOODZ!



Today's Download:


This link has expired

Recipe Thursday - Banana Bread

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:
We are Alton Brown fans, so when I needed to use up some ripe bananas, I had to try his version. Yummy! Alton likes to use the weight of things, so I am including that as well, in case you cook that way.


Banana Bread
by Alton Brown

Wet Works 1:
3-4 Overripe Bananas (340 g)
1 cup Sugar (210 g)

Dry Goods:
1 2/3 cup All Purpose Flour (220 g)
1/3 cup Oat Flour (35 g)
1 tsp Baking Soda (6 g)
1 tsp Salt (6 g)

Wet Works 2:
8 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted and cooled (113 g)
2 large eggs
1 tsp Almond Extract (6 g) - I just used vanilla

1 cup Nuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and line with wax paper.

Combine the bananas and sugar and pix with a potato masher until smooth.

Combine the Wet Works 1 and the Wet Works 2 in separate bowls, then combine together.

Combine the Dry Goods with the Wet Works.

If using the nuts, then fold them into the batter now.

Pour batter into the pan.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until center registers 210 degrees and a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool on stove top for 15 minutes then remove from pan and transer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicking.

Tightly wrap the bread and it will keep at room temperature for about 5 days.

Christmas in July 2011 - Day 4

Climb Aboard as we set off on a fun adventure through 16 of our designers' blogs from July 14-25! Visit each of the blogs below everyday for a special Christmas in July present! HAVE FUN!


REMEMBER THE DOWNLOADS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR 24 HOURS STARTING AT MIDNIGHT EST EACH DAY! After the Blog Train is over my freebies will be packaged all together and sold in my stores!


Visit each of the blogs below EVERY DAY to get your PRESENTS:

Alessandra Designs
Amanda Thorderson
Barb Speck
Cilenia Curtis
DeDe Smith <-- You are here
Diana Burton
doinDigital
Elka Romero
Helena Monteiro
Kathryn Estry
Maddy Fernandez
Nini's Notions
Pati Araujo
Paula Yagisawa
Silvia Romeo
Tallula Moon



My Digitals store is 40% off from July 18-25, so I hope you take advantage of it!


TODAY, I am featuring.....

iPHOTOGRAPH




Today's Download:


This link has expired

Wednesday Sayings - 7/20/11

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:

Whatever you are, be a good one.
- Abraham Lincoln

Christmas in July 2011 - Day 3

Climb Aboard as we set off on a fun adventure through 16 of our designers' blogs from July 14-25! Visit each of the blogs below everyday for a special Christmas in July present! HAVE FUN!


REMEMBER THE DOWNLOADS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR 24 HOURS STARTING AT MIDNIGHT EST EACH DAY! After the Blog Train is over my freebies will be packaged all together and sold in my stores!


Visit each of the blogs below EVERY DAY to get your PRESENTS:

Alessandra Designs
Amanda Thorderson
Barb Speck
Cilenia Curtis
DeDe Smith <-- You are here
Diana Burton
doinDigital
Elka Romero
Helena Monteiro
Kathryn Estry
Maddy Fernandez
Nini's Notions
Pati Araujo
Paula Yagisawa
Silvia Romeo
Tallula Moon



My Digitals store is 40% off from July 18-25, so I hope you take advantage of it!


TODAY, I am featuring.....

iLIVE iLAUGH iLOVE




Today's Download:


This link has expired

Family History Tuesday - 7/19/11

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 :

Christmas in July 2011 - Day 2

Climb Aboard as we set off on a fun adventure through 16 of our designers' blogs from July 14-25! Visit each of the blogs below everyday for a special Christmas in July present! HAVE FUN!


REMEMBER THE DOWNLOADS WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE FOR 24 HOURS STARTING AT MIDNIGHT EST EACH DAY! After the Blog Train is over my freebies will be packaged all together and sold in my stores!


Visit each of the blogs below EVERY DAY to get your PRESENTS:

Alessandra Designs
Amanda Thorderson
Barb Speck
Cilenia Curtis
DeDe Smith <-- You are here
Diana Burton
doinDigital
Elka Romero
Helena Monteiro
Kathryn Estry
Maddy Fernandez
Nini's Notions
Pati Araujo
Paula Yagisawa
Silvia Romeo
Tallula Moon



My Digitals store is 40% off from July 18-25, so I hope you take advantage of it!


TODAY, I am featuring.....

ALL ABOARD! & all of the coordinating products




Today's Download:


This link has expired

New Release Monday + Show-OffZ Challenge 7/18/11

Join me on Mondays 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!

FIRST - I have some news!
I have officially returned to 3Scrapateers and ScrapWow as a designer! I was made an offer that I just couldn't refuse. :) I am very blessed to have the opportunities that I have and I'm excited about returning to these stores!

Also, as I mentioned before - I am now a designer at Polaroid MyMemories! This is a great opportunity and I'm excited to venture out into different areas of digital design! It will take some time to get my products up into these stores - so be patient with me!

Okay - and one more piece of news - my Digitals Store is 40% off right now until the 25th! So I hope you will take advantage!



I am so excited to release additions to my FRIENDZ FROM THE WOOD.
Okay, technically, these are NOT new releases. Once upon a time, these extra products were released at 3Scrapateers as exclusive products. But I am excited to release them AGAIN - this time in all my stores!

I'm sure you have heard about this wonderful little movie that has just been released. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm really excited too! Anyways, I think releasing these additions now just seemed like good timing! What do you think?


So look below for all the previews to this series and go check out all the products in my stores here:

My Blog
3Scrapateers
Digitals
iScrapbook - Should be available soon!
MyMemories - I have submitted these products, along with a great template that is compatible with the MyMemories Software. Hopefully they will be available soon!
ScrapDelicious
ScrapWow


























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 about a time at the movies! It can be any movie - just must include some journaling about going to the movie theatre and must include a photo. If you don't have a photo of you at the theatre - maybe just a image of a movie poster or something. 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, July 22nd and your layout will be shared on July 23rd 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 FriendZ from the Wood: QuickpageZ!




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