Friday, March 30, 2012

High/Low + Freebie | March 30, 2012

My LOW this Week is that I just feel really tired this week. I can't seem to get enough rest. Not sure what is up but I'm ready for my sleep schedule to get balanced!

My HIGH for this Week is that I got to spend some time with my sister and her family and my brother and his family last Saturday. They came to Beth's soccer game and we got to visit and then we spent some time at the park too. Fun day!

I have a freebie for you today - a stackz that coordinates with a kit that I have not finished yet - THERE AND BACK AGAIN. Have a great weekend!
DOWNLOAD LINK


High/Low & Freebie Friday | www.designzbydede.com
High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Recipe Thursday - Ranch House Crockpot Pork Chops w/ Garlic Mashed Potatoes



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 is another recipe I loved and so did my family. The pork chops were so tender and it was just very savory and a great comfort food with the mashed potatoes. I actually mashed my potatoes like I usually do - with sour cream, cream cheese, and butter and then just added the garlic to it! Try it now!

Ranch House Crockpot Pork Chips w/Garlic Mashed Potatoesby Becky Higgins


6 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick
1 packet dry Ranch Dressing Seasoning
10 oz. can Cream of Chicken Soup
I like more gravy so I tripled the sauce and doubled the pork chops. I also just shredded the pork chops instead of leaving it in big chunks.
4 lbs peeled, cubed potatoes
5 Tbsp. real butter
1 c. fresh grated Parmesan cheese
6 cloves roasted garlic
1 – 1 1/2 c. warm skim milk (any milk will do, I just happened to use skim)
1 Tbsp. salt, or to taste
1 tsp. fresh cracked black pepper, or to taste

1. Place pork chops, Ranch seasoning and soup into a medium sized crock pot over high heat for 4 hours or low heat for 6 hours.

2. Place potatoes into a large pot of cold water. Place onto stovetop over high heat and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and transfer to the work bowl of a stand or electric mixer. Mix on low until potatoes are mashed then add butter, parmesan, garlic, milk, salt and pepper. Season to taste if needed. For thinner mashed potatoes add more milk, slowly until your desired consistency.

3. Scoop mashed potatoes onto serving plates and top with pork chops and soup gravy from crock pot. Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Wednesday Sayings - 3/28/12


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:

In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.
- Alex Haley

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Family History TuesdayZ | Favorite Season

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.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Brotherly Protection





I want to remember these amazing little moments that make life worthwhile. I love these 2 kids so much. How did I get so blessed to be their Mom?

On Sunday, March 4th, JJ and Beth were playing a game that they love to play with their Dad. Joey is the tickle monster and he has to stay in his chair at his desk and the kids have to try and get around him without being tickled. They have to be pretty sneaky to get by him. They could play this for hours. It sometimes moves to other rooms and especially on our bed, but in this instance they were in the living room.

After playing for awhile, JJ started helping Beth get away, even though it made him get captured by that tricky Tickle Monster. As he was being tickled he called to Beth, "How about I always be here to save your life!"

That sounds pretty good to me. I hope they will always protect and love each other.

Friday, March 23, 2012

High/Low | March 23, 2012

My LOW this Week is that I realized again how SLOW SLOW SLOW I am as a designer. My perfectionism and stuff is just not helping get stuff done!

My HIGH for this Week is that I got to see The Hunger Games with my cousin, Heather! I usually end up going to movies on my own - which isn't a bad thing, I actually kind of enjoy that - but it was so fun to actually have someone to go with! And I really enjoyed the movie!



High/Low & Freebie Friday | www.designzbydede.com
High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Recipe Thursday - Garlic Chicken Farfalle



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 LOVED this recipe. It had amazing flavor and my kids loved it too! We will be making this a part of our regular family dinners!

Garlic Chicken Farfalleby Becky Higgins


16 oz. Farfalle pasta
1 c. heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed OR garlic salt
1 Tbsp. pepper*
1/2 c. butter
1 lb. bacon, crumpled
1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 oz) Lawry’s mesquite marinade with lime juice

*Seems like a lot of pepper, but it has a wonderful flavor when everything mixes together. If you’re apprehensive, do less pepper. You can always add more.

Crock pot chicken and bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit, and shred (I pull it apart). Set this aside. About a half-hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, parmesan cheese, and crumpled bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir through. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded parmesan cheese on top.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Wednesday Sayings - 3/21/12


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:

Laughing at our mistakes can lengthen our own life. Laughing at someone else's can shorten it.
- Cullen Hightower

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Family History TuesdayZ | Favorite Character

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.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

So Interesting!






My daughter loves to read. That should come as no surprise to my family since her parents are both read-a-holics. I have really enjoyed seeing Beth come into her love of books. She has her favorites - she's really into the Rainbow Magic Fairy books and the Magic Treehouse books right now. But she also loves when a new issue of the Friend comes and she basically reads it from cover to cover.

But there is something that she doesn't enjoy reading as much - Baggie Books. Her school has a reading program where they achieve different levels of reading by bringing books (in ziploc bags) home to read to their families. She gets a new book every weekday to bring home and read. These are small readers that get harder/longer as they level up. Actually Beth is on the higher achievement now and brings home 2 books to read every day. Anyways, she's never really too enthused by these book choices. She still reads them out loud and does a good job and sometimes she does enjoy some of the stories. But a few weeks ago, she brought home a book that interested her so much. It surprised me a lot - enough for me to stop what I was doing (making dinner) and actually sit down next to her and discuss it.

The name of the book was Telling Stories Through Art



and she kept reading it and exclaiming things and showing me the pictures. Almost every paragraph ended with "Wow. That's so interesting!" It was adorable to hear that coming out of her mouth. I probably shouldn't have been so surprised that the history and paintings of indians would interest her. Growing up, many of my family vacations were to visit historical sites and indian ruins. It's something that my Dad really enjoys and I always enjoyed it too. But its also something that I haven't really shared with my children before. I've never really visited with them about historical sites and stuff and obviously its something that I need to remedy. Beth hasn't stopped talking about the indian carvings and paintings and how she wanted to see some "for real." I am definitely going to have to do some research and see if there is some places we can visit. How neat to see that Beth is experiencing a new interest in history. I can't wait to visit some new places with her and I hope this love just grows. I think it will be really fun for her to learn and grow through the history of our country and the history of the people on earth and even the history of the people in the scriptures. I'm excited to share more of this with her!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Challenge Saturday | 3/17/12

Today's challenge will be featured on my FACEBOOK PAGE! So head on over there - if you haven't liked the page yet, go ahead and do that - and then get to the challenge! You will be receiving a great duo of Paddy DayZ ClusterZ for completing the challenge and you will have today and tomorrow to complete it! So please come and join me!

Friday, March 16, 2012

High/Low + Freebie | March 16, 2012

My LOW this Week is that I am still slow going after having a vacation from life last weekend. Can't seem to get myself back to normal.

My HIGH for this Week is that I actually accomplished a little something in the design area. Didn't actually complete anything, but a little something got done and that's always nice.


I have a freebie for you today - a stackz that coordinates with my HAPPY GO LUCKY Collection! Have a great weekend!
DOWNLOAD LINK


High/Low & Freebie Friday | www.designzbydede.com
High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Recipe Thursday - Cheesy Mexican Chicken & Rice



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 thought this was pretty good. It was slow coming together for me but I think that is just because I forgot that I needed to cook the chicken and the rice first. I think the only thing I will do different next time is use sour cream instead of the greek yogurt. I think it would add better flavor and would just work with it better!

Cheesy Mexican Chicken & RiceThis recipe is from Cozi


2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled or broiled and shredded
4 cups cooked brown rice
3/4 cup frozen corn
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup plain greek yogurt (you can use sour cream)
1 4-ounce can green chilis
1/2 cup chunky salsa
1 cup grated cheddar & monterey jack cheese (low-fat cheese works too!) + more for topping if desired
cilantro for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for cilantro and mix thoroughly to combine. Make sure the yogurt and cheese is stirred in throughout the entire bowl. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

2. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and top with extra cheese if you would like. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Easy Peasy Challenge on Saturday

Please join me for another EASY PEASY Challenge on Saturday, March 17th! This time it will be on my Facebook Page, so come on over and join us!

Wednesday Sayings - 3/14/12


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:

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.
- Plato

Monday, March 12, 2012

Monday Magic | Value Your Dents

This week:
I had an amazing weekend at a conference that was focused on blogging, storytelling, and family history. Three things that interest me so much. I have so much information that I would like to share with you from this conference. I will be applying much of it to the way I blog, to the way I design, to the way I scrap, and share. It might take me a little while to get all my thoughts organized and the changes made, so bear with me. But I am going to be sharing things from the conference in several posts coming up.
I fully intended to share something from the conference today, but as I went through my notes, I actually came upon something that I really wanted to share today. The inspiration for this came to me at the conference (during a break), but it actually came from inside of me and not from something anyone said. And its interesting because as I researched this concept a little bit today, I realized that many bloggers have already come to this conclusion, but it hadn't occurred to me until now. Maybe it has already resonated with you, but I think its worth thinking about!



In the movie, Cars 2, Mater made a point of letting everyone know that his dents were some of his most prize possessions. Mater embraced those dents as part of his life and he didn't want to get rid of them.

We should be proud of our “dents” in life. We have trials and we don’t come out of them unscathed....but the dents show that we lived, that we made mistakes, that we tried, and in the process we learn, grow, change, endure, and become better people. We should value our dents and thank our Heavenly Father for them, because they are the spots where his blessings shine most brightly in our lives. Our dents are what makes us who we are.

There was a time in my life where I was definitely emotionally scarred. Teenage years can be rough, and mine was. I had to face ridicule, judgement, and teasing from my classmates every day. It took my self-esteem completely down to nothing. I even contemplated taking my own life. It got so bad that I couldn't even see past all of the sneering to see that I really did have true friends on my side. I felt very alone in the world. Eventually, I made it through and discovered amazing friends and realized that I, along with everyone else has a divine nature. We are children of a Heavenly Father and we are all important and special. I have since forgiven those who caused me such grief growing up. I have realized that much of it was my own fault for not rising above it and letting it happen to me. I didn't ask for help, thinking that I could do it on my own. I have learned so much since that time in my life, but I am still scarred. My self-esteem is kind of like a rollercoaster sometimes, but when I look back, I can see how far I have come. I can be happy that life is a learning process. This memory is just a little dent that I wouldn't trade, because the knowledge that I have gained has been worth it.


What are some of the dents you are proud of in your life?





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!



Sunday, March 11, 2012

February 2012 Round-up



Since I have decided to take a little break from Life 365 this year, I have decided to participate in monthly Round-Ups instead! I've been following The Scrapbook Lady for years, and I have always admired her Round-ups. It was about time that I give it a try!


FEBRUARY 2012

What reading/learning did I do this month? (books, blogs, magazines, ebooks, podcasts, classes, etc.)

I actually set down with the February Ensign and read through it this month. There is so much inspiration and enjoyment in this monthly magazine. Note to Self: Read the Ensign cover to cover every month.

I am still on an audiobook kick. It has really helped me to get through those household mundane tasks that I procrastinate so much. So here is what I have been listening to this month:

Uglies by Scott Westerfield


Since the movie is coming out next month - I wanted to re-read these ones!
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins


Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (Haven't finished yet)



I also actually set down and read a book too. It's one that I have read before, but I wanted to re-read so I can get into the new series that is based off of this book.

Towers of Brierley by Anita Stansfield



Beth is my little reader. She is still into reading the Magic Treehouse Books, Secrets of Droon Books, Rainbow Magic Fairy Books, and lots of other smaller books. She has also been enjoying a bit of history and asking questions about the history of things. I've enjoyed seeing this new interest in her.


What entertainment did I watch/listen to this month? (movies, tv shows, plays, music, concerts, etc.)

Family Movie Nights: A Bug's Life, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Big Miracle

The kids: Phineas and Ferb, Arthur, & My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

Joey: Castle, John Adams, House, Alcatraz, The Sting, Downton Abbey

Me: Monk, Chuck, Downton Abbey


What fun things did I do with my family and/or friends?

I attended a little blogger meet 'n greet at a local store. It was a fun night of good food and visiting and meeting others. I enjoyed getting out of the house for a couple of hours and being a part of it.

For Valentine's Day, the kids celebrated at their schools. They really had a good time with their class parties. I was in charge of the craft at Beth's party and the kids loved putting together their own little "love note" mailboxes. We had a casual night at home. We ate heart pizzas and watched a movie.


What gifts did I give and/or receive?

I received several wonderful drawings from my kids this month - especially around Valentine's Day. The kids really love drawing and coloring and making pictures and cards for Joey and I.

I received a wonderful gift from my hubby. We didn't really celebrate Valentine's Day or anything....but he did say I could go to a conference that I have been really wanting to go to. So now I have registered for the Story@Home Conference next week. I'm so so excited to have a little time off from being a mom and wife and just have 2 days to myself to enjoy the conference.

What special or unusual purchases did I make?

Nothing in particular this month.


What illnesses or health concerns did I have?

I'm still working out my anxiety and depression. I have good days and bad days. I'm getting a little sick of the roller coaster it has been but hopefully it will settle down and let me live my life.


What were my accomplishments this month?

I managed to get a Valentine's Kit in the store this month!

I also managed to get a pretty good blog schedule going with something posting everyday. I've tried to stay active on my Facebook page and hopefully I'm connecting with people.

My biggest accomplishment was applying and being accepted to do some freelance work for Pebbles in my Pocket. It is so exciting to have another place to be creative and get my name out there. I've done a few things so far and hopefully I'll be doing more next month!

I started couponing! It's been a hard thing to learn and I'm still struggling with it but I had my first shopping trip where I saved about $25.00. I'm still working out my organization and planning but hopefully I'll get there!

JJ got another silver arrow point and moved from being a Bear to Webelos. He's enjoying Scouts and has had a good time each week.

Beth is still doing really great at school and keeps earning awards for her reading. She also got a Viking Valor this month at her school which earned her a free meal at Burger King.


What were my disappointments this month?

My struggle with depression and anxiety is still getting me a little down. I've really had a bit of a hard time with getting myself together. I guess I just gotta keep moving forward and hopefully things will change.


How did I do on my goals for the month? (Or any current short or long term goals)

At the beginning of the month, I made some goals that I am still trying to implement. It's been slow starting, but the last week or so, I have been doing better. I'm going to try and make these habits that will help my family grow together.

Scripture Study everyday with the kids and personally

Daily Lessons - I haven't done so good about having big family home evenings and I decided that I do better teaching my kids by the little things. So each weekday, I have a small lesson that I plan out to talk about with the kids. This could just be a quote, a picture, a scripture story, etc. The kids have been enjoying watching some of our Living Scriptures movies and doing the quizzes at the end and I really feel like more of the scripture stories are being remembered now.

I also have planned out my menus/grocery shopping/couponing and I hope to get better at this.

Where I failed miserably this month is my fitness. I got out of practice of doing my daily exercising and I need and want to get back on track and lose some weight.


Anything else noteworthy to include?

I feel like this was kind of a slow month. We didn't do a whole lot of things outside of the normal schedule at home. I guess I need to spark up the household activities a little bit next month.



Friday, March 9, 2012

High/Low + Freebie | March 9, 2012

My LOW this Week is that I didn't have time to do any design work or have computer time this week.

My HIGH for this Week is that I am currently at the Story@Home Conference. I have really looked forward to this weekend and I am excited to learn and be inspired in my quest to be a better blogger, storyteller, and family historian.


I have a freebie for you today - a stackz that coordinates with my A LITTLE BIT OF COWBOY CHARM! Have a great weekend!
DOWNLOAD LINK



High/Low & Freebie Friday | www.designzbydede.com
High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Recipe Thursday - Chicken Poulet



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:
Poulet in French means Chicken. So basically the name of this dish is Chicken Chicken. I really liked it, especially since I could put it all together the day before and just add a couple of things and stick it in the oven. Makes it so easy! My daughter didn't like it so much but that is because she hates stuffing - the rest of us liked it though!

Chicken Poulet (Chicken Chicken)This recipe is from emeals!



1 box stuffing mix (I just used Stove-top)
1 stick butter
1 c hot water
1⁄2 c mayo
1⁄3 c green onions, chopped
1⁄2 c celery, chopped
2 1⁄2 c cooked chicken, diced
2 eggs
1 1⁄2 c milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Combine stuffing mix, melted butter, hot water, mayo, green onions and celery; place half the mixture in greased baking dish. Add cooked chicken on top; then the rest of the stuffing over this. Beat eggs and milk; pour over chicken. Refrigerate overnight. Take out 1 hour before baking. Pour mushroom soup over top; bake 40 min @350 degrees. Add cheddar cheese; bake 10 min.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Story@Home Conference

I am so excited to have some time to myself this weekend. Tomorrow night I get to head off on my adventure to the Story@Home Conference. I have been hearing about it for awhile and really wanting to go, but I figured that we wouldn't have the money to do it or it would just not work out, so I kept it to myself. About a month ago, in a moment of weakness, I commented to Joey how I wished I could go. He looked at me and said, "Why can't you?" I mentioned the money and other things and he just said, "You should go." And so I got registered and even though its only an hour away in Salt Lake City and I could drive home at night - I'm lucky enough to have a hotel room for 2 nights. I have a wonderful husband and I'm feeling extremely blessed. The kids are calling it my "Mommy Vacation" and I guess it is. I'm really blessed to have a couple of days to just learn and grow through the conference and have time to think and just hopefully rejuvenate my spirit. I think this is going to be just what I needed to get over the funk I'm in right now.

So all week, I've actually stayed away from the computer. I've been planning and organizing. Shopping and cleaning and just getting the household ready to have me gone. I realize I'll only be gone for 2 days, but somehow I will feel better if I feel its all left in control. I just have a couple of things to finish up and get packed and then tomorrow after work, Joey is going to drop me off at the Trax station and I'll be on my way to my Mommy Vacation. I even got a cut and a few highlights put in my hair today. I'm extremely blessed!

I just have to again say thank you to my wonderful husband. Joey is planning on working from home on Friday so he can get the kids off to school and be there when they return home. I'm sure they are going to have a blast while I'm gone. Joey has been so amazing about this - really wanting me to go and making it work. I just feel really blessed and thankful that I'm going to have this time. Because really - how often does time away happen? Hardly ever...

So, there will be no Challenge this Saturday, but I'll have something for you next week! I hope you all have a great weekend! I'm sure I'll have lots to share later on!

Wednesday Sayings - 3/7/12


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:

The only thing that overcomes hard luck is hard work.
- Harry Golden

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Family History TuesdayZ | Family Recipe

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.