Disneyland Paris 2012–Part I (finally)

My husband was looking at the blog and asked me when I planned on posting photos from our final trips in Europe, because, well, you know our trip to France was last March!  Gah!  I must confess that I haven’t even edited them let alone had them printed. 

I do have a few photos from Disneyland ready to be printed so I figured I would share some here. 

We had some fantastic weather and an amazing husband/daddy who splurged on a few experiences for us since this trip was the girls’ birthday present.  Our first night there we had dinner at Café Mickey.  The girls liked their food but the characters,um, they were not so sure.  You’ll see a few photos without Lolo because she was too scared to sit over there!

The food was good here.  We had read some reviews where people slammed it but we enjoyed it.  The girls had chocolate mousse for dessert and it was a huge hit!

Another evening we went to a dinner show, Buffalo Bills Wild West show.  Wow!  That was sooooo much fun!  We got cowboy hats to wear and we did a lot of yee-hawing!  The girls were so into this show and the food was delicious, too!  It was some serious cowboy food with chili, cornbread, chicken, potatoes and dessert. 

The show was super interactive and had cowboy games where you cheered on your team (based on the color of your hats) and our team won.  The show was for sure one of the highlights of the trip. Besides, little girls yelling yee-haw for days straight is too cute and a solid indication that they enjoyed the experience.

These photos are not great but we couldn’t use the flash because it could distract/startle the animals.

We had such an amazing time on this trip!  The girls were at a much better age this time and really enjoyed every moment.  I loved their enthusiasm and excitement at everything we did and it was contagious.

I’ll have just one more post on Disneyland Paris sometime this week and then I’ll share our visit to Normandy!  I feel in love with the Normandy countryside and our American history is so rich and intertwined with French history in that region that it was a true learning experience for us.

Winter Weather

The weather has been an extreme roller coaster of temperatures so far this winter and I think it has some of the wildlife confused!  I have had a ton of robins visiting my yard lately and the freezing rain didn’t keep them away this morning.

Now if only the cardinal and his lady bird would not fly away when I try to take their photos I would be a happy photographer!

Project Life Weeks 1 and 2

I fell flat last year on Project Life and have about 2months finished.  While I loved the process and the end result I just couldn’t maintain it while we were in transition due to our move.  I gave up on it and just decided to start fresh for 2013.

This year I will be mostly using the Seafoam kit with bits leftover from the Clementine kit and some of my own stuff as well as printables that I come across.

Week one is a mix of different projects as I was waiting for the Seafoam kit to come available. The title card is from the Seafoam kit, the Love card is some rub-ons from my stash and the Today card is from Technique Tuesday.  The Happy New Year and 2013 die cuts are from Silhouette.

Week 2 is just as simple, I don’t think I am going to make these weeks difficult.  I want to document our lives without being too product crazy.  Some weeks I may be more creative but I imagine simplicity is what will help me stay current with this.

Aubrey brought her second quarter report card home so I photo copied it and stuck it into a 8.5x11 page protector.

I had these fun little coffee stickers sitting on my desk for a few months.  I picked them up from the Target Dollar spot and was waiting for something to add them to.  I just grabbed a grid card and stuck them on there. 

The photo with the EEEEK! journaling was made using one of Cathy Zielski’s mini templates.  I love these for small prints! 

I have week 3 finished but need to wait for better light to photograph it.  Does anyone have tips for helping these photos look better?  I have such a hard time photography through the page protectors!

On another note, I just sold my Cricut Expression so I could purchase a Silhouette Cameo!  It was such a tough decision for me since I loved the Cricut but the flexibility of the Silhouette better suits me right now.  At least the Cricut stayed in the family since my aunt bought it off me so I can have visitation when I feel the need for some super cute Create A Critters! 

December Daily Update

As usual, this month has flown by and totally gotten away from me.  I think my goal for 2013 is going to be better time management. I need it! 

I am still trucking along with my December Daily album but I will have to play catch up after Christmas.  I am going to work on it more today.  I am halfway through the month though so at least I am not starting at the beginning.

I took these photos over a week ago and haven’t had any time to get them added to the blog.  I changed my format after a week of feeling uninspired.  I picked up a Snap! album from Archivers and I love the everything about these albums.  So far I have left the cover plain.  I don’t think I will be adding anything to it.

My title page is simple:

Days 1 & 2:

My December Daily albums tend to be repetitive.  I always end up putting the photo in the same place and then adding simple journaling.

Day 3:

This year I am adding quotes and song lyrics to my album.  This idea for the Elf quote came from the Write.Click.Scrapbook. blog and I loved it.  My mom is letting me borrow her Silhouette so this projects is easy. 

I will share some more pages, eventually.  I need to make a list of things to do and stick with it.  I really am terrible with time management these days.  I have let so many things slide that I normally wouldn’t and I end up being angry with myself.  Grrr!  It is such a terrible cycle to be stuck in.

Merry Christmas!

December Daily 2012

December is only 2 days away and I just finished the cover for my December Daily album.  Not that it took me a long time but I am getting a late start this year. 

I am sticking with an 8x8 format this year.  Inside the papers will be mixed in size with some small page protectors, transparencies, and envelopes tossed in.  I am looking forward to digging into this project even though my foundation pages are not in the book yet.  Baby steps!  I will be working mostly from my stash this year which isn’t what I normally do so I am looking forward to the challenge.

There are so many new things for us to document this year after living in Germany for the past 4 years.  Since the girls were itty bitty when we moved overseas they get to experience the American traditions for the very first time.  I am amazed at the small things I missed while we were abroad and yet I find myself already missing some of the German traditions.  Christmas markets, fun and affordable Haribo advent calendars, the cookies! 

Do you make a December Daily album?  Are you wondering what I am talking about?  Check out the über talented Ali Edwards’ blog and get the scoop!

Easy Christmas Card

As December is only a few days away I figured I better get my butt into gear and working on some of my Christmas cards and my December Daily album.  November flew by and I am not quite ready for the next month. 

A simple card without bulky embellishments that I can mail without extra postage or fear of damage before it reaches its intended recipient was a must for me.  To me the card is simple and elegant.  It shares an important message without having to add very much to it.  

A little bit of info on the card here.  I used watercolor paper and watercolor paints to paint the background blue.  After it dried completely I used a gorgeous stamp set from Hero Arts and black Staz On ink.  The nativity and the phrase are not attached so you have a bit of versatility here.  I then used a clear and yellow Stickles to outline the star and halo over the manger.  I mounted it on white card stock and then stamped  “Praying You Have A Blessed Holiday Season “ inside. 

Easy enough to mass produce if that is your thing.  I usually make 2 or 3 different designs and then make a few of each.  I only send about 30 cards and with a nice coupon from Shutterfly for 10 free cards I only need to make 20 to mail out.  I will make a few extras for my daughters teachers and a couple neighbors. 

I hope this card inspires you to try painting your own background.  It was super easy and I love the watercolor background against the black ink. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

There’s No Place Like Home

 

Hello friends!  It has been too long since I have sat down and written a blog post.  I could make up a hundred reasons why I have neglected my blog but I’ll be honest and say that I just haven’t felt like blogging!

We have been getting settled into our new home and routines over the past 3 months.  In October we went to NY State to visit my brother while my oldest was on her fall break.  I love being in NY, even the small, rural area in which I grew up.  Even though I only have a handful of family members still there, Western NY will always be my home!

While we were there we took our girls to Letchworth State Park.  I grew up just 15 minutes from here and we went there often.  After traveling in the Pacific Northwest and a bit of Europe this place is still gorgeous and one of my most favorite places in the world.  The Genesee River runs through the park and after 10,000’s of years has created a stunning gorge with 3 waterfalls.  In the photo above the train trestle sits high above the Upper Falls.  Sadly, the trestle is supposed to be removed much to the dismay of many.  It is a symbol of the park to a lot of people but it is old and the railroad doesn’t want to maintain it any longer.

 

The third photo is of the Middle Falls, the largest in the park.  The last photo is taken from “Inspiration Point” and it offers the very best view of the Upper and Middle Falls.  The fall colors were gorgeous and I am glad we were able to visit during this time.  I miss NY the most in the fall.  With many hills covered in gorgeous and vibrant colors I haven’t been anywhere that offers such a stunning show of Mother Nature at her finest.

We had a great visit with my family and I cannot wait to see everyone again now that I am back on the east coast!