a better shot of "the haircut"

And a new banner courtesy of Mr Jake (he has better drawings - clowns of all things - scary! but this one is of the four of us :D)

check me out...

This weekend, I:

Cleaned the house REALLY well (I am a crazy-sucky housekeeper...this is big for me...I vacuumed under the couch and between the cushions...I dusted (even MOVED stuff to dust underneath :p)

Made a yummy lasagna dinner [;-) Shelby]

Almost got all my laundry caught up

Started our taxes

Purged a TON of scrapbook supplies

Paid bills

Got a bunch of packages ready to mail

Scrapbooked a quick, simple page



And finally...cried for my lost baby



The concensus:



...It's growing on me (and sorry about the blurry pics - he will NOT sit still...and not because he doesn't want his picture taken - in fact, he DOES...he just wants to see it right away and runs for the camera viewfinder when the focus beeps rather than when the shutter clicks :p)

how cute is this kid?

My cutie pie nephew Tyler..."slamming" in our backyard yesterday...it was SIXTY AND SUNNY here, people!

This morning it's raining but I have to go to work anyway so I'm fine with it :D

Had an awesome dinner Saturday night at Mongolian thanks to Jeremy and Jenni...still full from that one I think :p

And did you SEE the Sopranos last night?!? I don't watch any show regularly but I've been waiting for the new season of the Sopranos to start for months. Totally didn't see that one coming! LOVE it!

Have a great week!

reasons 30 isn't so bad...

1) Amazing friends and family



2) Adorable kids that get smarter and funnier every day



3) Going out with J&J tomorrow night for Mongolian (jealous, Mel?)

4) My creative juices flowing again after MONTHS of not doing layouts.

5) Good things happening at


Thanks to you ALL for your support!

Love you guys - happy weekend!

ready for a deep one?

Originally, this post was just going to be a "tell me what's so GREAT about 30" kind of deal. That angle was bothering me though...it implies that I'm dreading thirty and need you all to cheer me up. That the age itself; the 3 decade duration - is troublesome to me. And that's not the case. I don't think thirty is "old." As a matter of fact, I'm much happier now than I've ever been before. I have my husband and sons and am close to my parents and siblings. I'm more content with my appearance than I've ever been (sure, they're are wrinkles and a few pounds to drop but I'm good with that!) I'm working (not my dream job but I'm grateful for it at this point!) and I'm enjoying a hobby that is *more* than a hobby. Life is good.

I've spent the past few days kind of short with my family, a little irrational, a lot emotional. It was pissing me off that making the transition from 29 to 30 was affecting me that way. Normally, I'm not short, irrational or overly-emotional...at least I don't think so...

Then, yesterday, I think I realized what's really bothering me. I wanted to make a statement for my 30th birthday. Not a big party or day out. I wanted to do something, for myself, that would really stand out as a milestone years from now. It isn't something anyone else could have done for me - it was all about me doing something, ANYTHING, to remember this time, this moment, this *only* day ever that I'll be this age - an age most people consider a milestone.

So, I'm a bit disappointed in myself. Disappointed that I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to pinpont the cause of my malaise, waiting for my epiphany, rather than doing something to correct it.

These words will go in my scrapbook. Or maybe a time capsule to be opened in *9* years...that will remind me what a loser I was this year (kidding!) and give me a year headstart on 40. Yeah, that will be the legacy of 30...a time capsule of sorts. Life at 30 to be compared to life at 40. What do you think?

(OK, so it wan't really that deep afterall...)