Word of the Year

Did you choose a word for 2016?  Reinvent is mine.  ;)

Missing...

I have been missing since Thanksgiving.  :(

At least missing from this blog.

Here is the scoop. 

I ended up with the Flu the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The flu sucks!  Then I went to the dr on Mon, Dec. 9th and found out I have pneumonia.  Pneumonia SUCKS!!  I am feeling much better than I did, but no where 100%.  For the last 3 weeks I have been sick.  I can tell you this is NOT how I wanted to start my 40's and the holiday season.

Flashback Friday - 2000

(December 2000)

This photo was from Christmas 2000.  That holiday was very special, we told my parent's I was pregnant and due in August with Ian.  :) 

I purchased myself a new scanner the other day.  I was really excited when it arrived on Monday.  I played around scanning photos and scanning some negatives.  For the price I am pretty happy.  :)

15 Years

Today is our 15th anniversary!  LOVE you Mr. Adey!

Looking Up and Looking Ahead.

As of last Friday afternoon, I am no longer working for the company that hired me this past Feb.  Shortly after being hired they went through some internal changes and it has been a bumpy ride.  I was let go because of circumstances beyond my control.  Sadly I, along with a few other IT employees, were laid off.  I am grateful for the last 4 months and the importunity they gave me.  I am also VERY grateful my husband still works for the company. 


While I wish I were still working there, the glass is definitely still half full.  :)

Sunday Citar - New Paths

"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." ~ Walt Disney


Last year I wrote about my husband's new adventure when he completely changed career paths and became a Jr. Developer.  The last year has been fantastic.  He absolutely LOVES his job.  The company and the people he works with are wonderful  Happy daddy = Happy family.

Well, I have been given the opportunity to change my own professional career path.  The opportunity arose for me to work for the same company as a Jr Developer (the same job as my husband) and I had to take it.  Computer coding isn't completely foreign to me.  You see before my husband even thought of coding, I already knew a bunch.  I had to take a few coding classes in college (I have a AAS in Engineering) and have learned even more while writing this blog.  I still have a ton to learn, too.  I am so excited for this opportunity for me and our family.  Over the last month, I have been training with my husband and this past Friday I officially started. 

"So what is going to happen to the little old clay shop?" you ask.

If you follow me over on my facebook page, you already know I changed how I am taking orders.  Last month I was only open for about a week taking Valentine orders.  Then I closed up, made all of the orders and mailed everyone's packages at once.  Part of the reason I did that was because we took a ''surprise vacation'' and I was training with my husband.  I loved how it worked out so I will probably be doing the same type of thing every month.  I will be creating a few new new items each month and then posting them along with a few old favorites in my shop.  I will also be holding Ready To Ship days over on my facebook fan page.

Here is to new opportunities and paths!  :)

Sunday Citar - Birthday

"Presents don't really mean much to me. I don't want to sound mawkish, but - it was the realization that I have a great many people in my life who really love me, and who I really love."  ~ Gabriel Byrne 

Today is my 39th Birthday.  As I look back and reflect, I thought this quote fit how I feel about birthday's perfectly. 

(My sister, Aunt Peggy (my mom's Aunt) and myself)

As a child, just like my kids, I wondered what gifts I would receive for my birthday.

(me, my mom, my sister & my dad, circa my 7th birthday 1980)

As I got older, the ideas of birthdays and presents changed.  I grew up and learned that I should cherish memories more than objects.  I do not wish for anything but a nice day with my family on my birthday.  While I can not spend this special day with the rest of my family (in this photo) because they do not live near, I love them more than words.  This day is as much about them as it is about me. 

Ok, so on a funny note....I just realized that my mom is younger in this photo (she is 27) than I was when I had Ian.

Thank you for stopping by Sunday Citar! This blog quote meme was created by Fresh Mommy. You can stop by her blog to see the quotes and photos that she and everyone else is loving right now.

Happy Halloween circa 1985

This is me the last year I went trick or treating.  I was in 7th grade and 11 almost 12 (my birthday is 4 days after Halloween) in this picture.  After that I just went out with my friends and hung out on Halloween.

I was on the phone with my mom this morning and I was remembering when the last time I went trick or treating.  That's when I remembered this shot and had to go find the picture.  I can not believe that I am not that much older than Ian is now in this shot.

I went as a scarecrow.  My costume consisted of me painting my mom's old jeans, wearing my mom's shirt (my mom had embellished it many many years before) and my dad's hat.  I think I had some straw somewhere, too.  Look at that eyeshadow & feathered hair...wow!  My mom made that Halloween treat bag.  I still have it and we use it every year.

Do you remember the last time you went trick or treating as a child? 

(My husband said he continued to go trick or treating well into his teens.)

Sunday Citar - Mom

Mother, the ribbons of your love are woven around my heart.  ~Author Unknown

These photos are circa September 1983.   I am not quite 10 and my sister is not quite 7.  (Our birthday's are both in November.) Smurfs and rainbows!  LOVE it!

Love you mom!  

Happy Mother's Day! 

Thank you for stopping by Sunday Citar! This blog quote meme was created by Fresh Mommy. You can stop by her blog to see the quotes and photos that she and everyone else is loving right now.



 

Wordful Wednesday - Typical

This is where I am most of the day when I am working.  You can see the tray of goodies I posted here on my Facebook fan page in the left corner of the photo.  I am usually sitting in my comfy chair at my dining room table (sadly in my tiny house there is no space for a craft room...maybe someday). 

Photos like this happen when my husband picks up my camera (which is not very often).  He decided he had to take photos of the kitties for my son.  Their school is raising money for Paws & Patriots and they have a bulletin board for photos of pets. 

Here are a few other photos he took. This is one of both kitties together.  (Socks is on the left and Lacy (whom I typically call Chewy) is on the right)  They are actually sisters from the same litter. 

And here are a couple more of just Socks.

Because I felt Chewy Lacy needed her own close up....I personally took one of her.

For more WW check out 5 Minutes for Mom, Seven Clown Circus  Parenting by Dummies, Project Alicia,, The InfoMouse & Fresh Mommy.

Random throughs from a Sick Person.

-I feel awful!  :(  I started getting sick a few days ago and this cold is kicking my butt.  :(

-I have lost 9lbs since the beginning of January.  My husband has lost 10lbs.  We are both back doing weight watchers again.  (Old points, not new because I already have all of the stuff and I know it works.  Just need to keep up with it.)

-I finally got my kids to clean up their junk toys in my living room so I could finally take photos of my new couch.  (I have plans to move around the photos on the walls...because there used to be a corner hutch in the left of the room and paint the coffee table...any color suggestions?)

-As soon as they cleaned up, Lily decided she had to dump out a container of stickers all over the floor.  *sigh*  (Yep, I also have a tuba in my living room...gotta love small homes.)

-I had a customer stop by and pick up her order today and had to have her come in to see my new couch because my old one is by the curb and looks terrible...bowing my head in shame.  I am a bit embarrassed about how bad my old couches look. (The fabric was spent.  Keep in mind they were 12 yrs old...not to mention 4 cats & 2 kids later...it was time to replace them.)  I am LOVING my new sectional! 

- I had intended on taking a before photo of the old couches and how ragged they looked....but I must admit I never got around to it before I painted the woodwork a couple weeks ago.  I do have these photos of my living room I took 2 months after we moved in this house in 2005.  The room hasn't looked that in a LONG time...

-I am feeling a bit sad because I have been neglecting by blog....really need to change out the fall header...oops.

- Really should put out my Valentine's decorations today...but I am really thinking about skipping right over Valentine's and putting up St. Patrick's decorations (I only have like 2 things for St. Pats, not that I have much for Valentine's.).  I did make these pins for my terrarium last week. 

-We took the kids to Toys R Us for their Friends Lego Build event to build a lemonade stand.  Lily embellished her's a bit when we got home.

-Off to go cuddle up on my new couch and watch a movie. 

Wordful Wednesday- Destination

Last week I wrote about how my husband & I went on a getaway.

We flew out at 6am and arrived in Orlando, FL 2.5hrs later.  Not sure if I have ever said this before, but I HATE flying....love getting to our destination quickly, but hate take-offs and landings.  I have gotten better, but I am still not fond of it.  

Once we arrived we hit the ground running...we checked in to our hotel went straight to the park.

Yep, we went back to Disney, just the 2 of us.  Our Anniversary was on the 11th of July and we had decided to celebrate by going to Disney.  At first I felt a bit guilty going without my kids, but that feeling wore off quickly.  We had a great time just hanging out trying new things.  Our goal this trip was to eat at different restaurants and go on some rides we had never gone on before and we did just that.  We also decided to go hotel hopping and see what they were like.  You know, things children do not like doing.    We had a blast.

Cheers!

For more WW check out 5 Minutes for Mom, Seven Clown Circus  Parenting by Dummies, & The InfoMouse

Take Me Back Tuesday & Flashback Friday

I had a great time last weekend at scrap & spa!  This was the 7th time we have gone.  I didn't get enough sleep & my face hurts from laughing too much.  Totally worth it.  I love my new CM digital scrapbooking software.  I didn't get as much done as I have in the past, but that is ok.  I can't wait until next year!

Onto some old photos...
Feb 20-22, 2004 

Please excuse the quality of these.  I scanned the whole page this morning (as much as my scanner would scan of my 12x12 page) and forgot to take off my page protector on the second one.  Anyway...these were taken the first year we went.  The first 4yrs we went to an Indian Reservation in Canada.  We scrapbooked in the basement of the spa and slept in the hotel that you see in the second batch of photos.  Ahhh...the time when our money went soooo far over in Canada and when the borders were not a pain in the butt to cross.  It cost us $225 Canadian (with the conversion it cost me about $115 American) and that included a 30min spa service, 2 nights hotel stay & all my meals.  

Take Me Back Tuesday posts at A Giveaway Addicted Mommy.

Way Back When-esday posts at Twinfatuation.
Friday Photo Flashback posts at More Than Words.
Flashback Friday posts at Christopher And Tia's blog.

Aloha Friday #19

Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response. If you’d like to participate, just post your own question on your blog and leave your comment below and link in Kailani’s blog. Don’t forget to visit the other participants! It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends!

This weeks question is:

Have you gone to any of your class reunions?  Or will you go?

I went with my husband to his 10yr reunion and I went to my 10yr reunion for the high school I graduated from.  The only thing is I only attended the high school I graduated from for 1 year...my senior year.  It's a long story.  The school I went to from 3rd grade until my senior year is having a reunion this summer and I am on the fence about going.  The reunion is for the classes of '88-'02.  While I think it would be fun to see some of the people I am just not sure about going.

Photo from my husband's 10yr reunion...