Ready to Delve into 2012?

I love new beginnings. They always offer hope with no boundaries. I get excited about the beginning of a new month or even a new week, so it's no wonder that I'm almost giddy at the prospect of a whole new year! I think God intended for us to feel this way about each and every day since each new day is certainly a gift from Him.

"His mercies....are new every morning." Lamentations 3:22,23

In 2012, I want to Do More, Be More, and Live More!

I also like to think I'll blog more, but that remains to be seen.

Tip of the Day: Take 30 seconds and hit the Unsubscribe link in one of your emails. (Although I'm really hoping you won't unsubscribe me. But, hey, the last thing I want to do is hold you back from accomplishing your true goals). The past few weeks I've been overwhelmed with the constant bombardment of my inbox. I've decided to unsubscribe from one email newsletter or blog feed each day until the inbox and Google Reader count gets manageable.

Old Window into Chalkboard

We had most of our windows replaced last November. Now eleven months later, we've finally finished the first project with the old windows I wasn't about to pay someone $100 to haul off.

If you follow me on Pinterest, you know I have more ideas than I have time. But finally our chalkboard is complete! Oh...well not really....we still need to attach the hooks and wire on the back and actually get it up on the wall. It's going to hang right above this bench the kids use for their backpacks, dance bags, soccer bags, and anything else they need to take our the door with them. Usually there are so many shoes on that bottom rack you wouldn't be able to see that I've neglected to clean that baseboard or vacuum underneath. I'm hoping we can use the chalkboard to write down weekly/daily schedules or making a chore list!

What's on the Menu?

After whining on Facebook about coming up with dinner ideas, I decided to go ahead and get it all laid out there this week in time for Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday (well, almost in time). I finished up the grocery shopping tonight while Addison was at dance so here's what we're planning:

• Monday - Totally a fend-for-yourself night since I was in the car from 5:30-9:00. The kids had chicken nuggets after school and cinnamon rolls for a bedtime snack. Carl made a quesadilla with leftover roast beef, I had a cinnamon roll and a dill pickle. *I know you're rolling your eyes*
• Tuesday - Kielbasa, noodles, green beans.
• Wednesday - Crockpot nachos - I have been meaning to try these for 6 months now!
• Thursday - Grilled chicken strips, salad fixings & garlic cheese toast. Some will have salad, some will make wraps, some will have it all separate 'cause they can't stand their food to touch each other!
• Friday - Fall Fest at the elementary school. If we don't eat there, we'll make French Toast.
• Saturday - Pulled pork stuffed potatoes, Salad.
• Sunday - Meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and corn.

And just a note for next week's planning....Kroger has whole chickens on sale for $0.79/lb. this week. Go ahead and grab one then check out this recipe for Rotisserie Style Chicken. It is so good. As you can tell, I get alot of recipes from the other Laurie.

A Little Creativity

Trying to get some mojo back! It's been way too long since I've spent any time crafting....

I saw this blog post on Tip Junkie the same week we were deep cleaning Addison's room. I realized the pink knobs on her white desk really don't work any more since the little girl pink has been long gone. So I used some butterfly stamps and made these. The two larger ones will replace the ones on her closet doors.

I also am trying to make some scrapbook pages for Clark. You know what they say about the second kids....it's absolutely true. I was such a good scrapbooker when Addison was little, but life has gotten so crazy and poor Clark has so few pages just of him.

I've had fun spending little snippets of time here and there playing with paint and stamps and papers. I just need to realize the little snippets are all I have right now and remember to take advantage of them.