Blood Sins

Blood Sins by Kay Hooper

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
As always, Kay Hooper delivers. This was read in one sitting. I could not put this down. As always, Kay Hooper leaves you with a question at the end and a sincere desire for the next book to come quickly. And of course new characters have been introduced that will be featured in future books. Kay Hooper has a way with her writing that makes a reader become attached to her characters that are only just being introduced. For example, I can't wait to find out more about Ruby, Cody, and of course Sawyer.


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Prayers and Well Wishes

This is a horrible picture, but the only one that I had from Christmas Eve. Prayers and well wishes are needed for Tommy's Grandmother. When she went to leave, her boot got caught on the stairs and as a result she fell down the stairs. At this point she is still in the hospital. Both of her wrists are broken and her face is bruised and quite swollen. She was quite lucky that this was the extent of her injuries, but these injuries are still a big deal at 82 years of age. Any extra prayers and well wishes will gladly be accepted.

Finally Finished!!!

I finally finished my brother's blanket that I started way back in July. It is now finished. This is the Moderne Baby Blanket with extra blocks added at the end. I used Vanna White's Lion Brand yarn. It washes really well. I had to really wash it because Melodye spilled a glass of orange juice on it. The pattern was quite easy, just tiring and time consuming. I cant say whether I would make it again or not, just too early to say since I just finished it. I do know that I love how it turned out.

Just What I Wanted With One Exception

As you can see, the family was spoiled rotten, just like always.

 

The girls couldn't wait to open their presents. It was nice that they were able to take turns reading the labels. Brooke only got confused between the To and From areas on the labels a couple of times. She did such an awesome job for a four year old.

 

This was the only picture I could get of the girls together. They wouldn't sit still!

 

Brooke said that she was very happy with her presents (Batman, Hot Wheels, Games, and Transformers stuff). I got a Cricut Expressions and the Gilmore Girls DVDs. Tommy got tools, movies, and a laptop that just didn't arrive on time. Melodye received Littlest Pet Shop VIPs, books on sketching animals, and an American Girl doll. Meloyde said that she loves all of her presents but didn't receive the one present that she wanted more than anything. So of course we asked her what that would be. She told us a female cat and female dog because she is worried that Princess and Bogo get lonely when we are not home!?!

Library of Memories

Well I finally got into the Library of Memories class at Big Picture Scrapbooking. I am extremely excited to take this class. I have looked forward to this and I will finally be starting in February. I have heard nothing but good things about this class. And I am hoping that this will help me to get more scrapbooking done in 2009. Not that it would really take that much more to do that.

Charmed and Ready

Charmed & Ready by Candace Havens


 

My review

  rating: 4 of 5 stars
I found this book quite entertaining. I am now wishing that there were more books in this series. I have now read 3 and 2, and I am still needing 1. You definitely do not need to read these in order. The writing style just makes me smile as I am reading.
 

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Birthday Wishes

Happy Birthday to my sister Patti. Hope you have a great birthday and the next year will bring everything you wish.

Walgreens 12-13-08

So Saturday, we completed 5 transactions and made out quite nicely I might add.

Transactions 1, 2, and 3 :

• 2 Aluminum Foil $1.69 X 2 = $3.38 - $1.40 (WQ) - $1.00 (MQ) - $1.00 (MQ) = -$.02 overage
• 2 Arm and Hammer Laundry Detergent $6.99 X 2 = $13.98 - $10.00 (WQ) = $3.98
• 6 Tissue Paper $.99 X 6 = $5.94 - $3.60 (WQ) = $2.34
• 3 Walgreens Cough Drops $.99 X 3 = $2.97 - $1.80 (WQ) = $1.17

Total = $26.27 - $18.80 (Coupons) = $7.47 - $5.oo RR = $2.47 OOP and earned another $5 RR.


Transactions 4 and 5:

• 2 Aluminum Foil $1.69 X 2 = $3.38 - $1.40 (WQ) = $1.98
• 3 Walgreens Cough Drops $.99 X 3 = $2.97 - $1.80 (WQ) = $1.17
• 2 Scotch Tape 3 packs = 2/$2.00

Total = $8.35 - $3.20 (Coupons) = $5.15 - $5.00 RR = $.15 OOP

I don't have any Register Rewards left, but I will receive a $2.00 rebate for the Scotch Tape and a $10.00 rebate for spending $25 on Walgreens cough drops. So I am feeling quite proud of myself for those little deals. And of course, I let my favorite cashier know about the deals. She didn't realize what deals are in the Easy Saver Rebate Catalog.

A New Day

Today we took the girls to see Bolt in 3D. What a great movie in 3D! I would definitely see it again, which means this will be one that we get on DVD. Afterwards we went to the new high school dedication. THe school is amazing!!! We didn't even see everything, but we were very impressed. It really does seem like every little detail was important. And of course the girls can't wait until they are able to attend the new high school. Brooke loves that they gave out commeroative coins that she calls her Brookie penny. So this will be a picture that will have to be used in a scrapbook later as they each go into high school and stand in that same spot to show the difference between now and the future.

Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This was a great tie up to the series, but yet left the possibility of other to come in the future if she so wishes. I think waiting to read this was a good choice for me. I think I would have been disappointed if I had read it when it first came out, but now I am satisfied and even happy with the ending.


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Surrender To Me

Surrender to Me by Sophie Jordan

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
This was okay. Not too bad but not spectacular either. An easy read.


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Like A Charm

Like a Charm by Candace Havens


 

My review

  rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was a delightful read. Now I cannot wait to read the other books in the series.
 

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Classroom Organization

I reorganized my classroom during Fall Break in October, but I never posted it. Come to think of it, I might not have ever posted my classroom. Now these pictures are not in any particular order, just the way they came up alphabetically.

This is the calendar area and no I didn't take a close up of the calendar area. All the charts that we cover are hanging on hooks on the left side, then we do the calendar, the Today is sentence, then we go to the top left and do tally marks, weather, secret code date (the number date), and straws for number of days in school. The mats came from Sam's Club. Each child sits in their own mat so I don't have anyone touching anyone else.

These are the doors to the closet area. They just have informational stuff on them. The kids can use them when I remember to close the doors. The students are not allowed to touch the doors.
Another view of the closet doors. The three on the right are for student projects.
This is my reading corner.
These are the shelves around the calendar area. The books are on top and centers are ont he bottom. The book holders are either from the Target Dollar Spot last year or from Really Good Stuff. Last year the centers did all have picture labels on them, but there are new ones that I just have not labeled.
This is the supply box shelf. I would rather have all the students sit at tables, but I don't have that many tables. So the students are not supposed to put things in their desks, but they do try to sneak. The supply boxes are put here at the end of the day. Each shelf is labeled for the group that they are in. I bought all of the boxes at Target on clearance. The shelves are also from Target many years ago. I bought them on clearance and used them with the girls until their toy room was finished and then I snapped these up for my class.
This is the view of the class from the door. The closet doors are to the right so is the reading group area. Calendar area is straight ahead. This angle makes the room look huge but it isn't. Two of the other kindergarten teachers and a first grade teacher have classrooms that are about three times the size of mine. I make do with what I can.
This is a view of the shelves in front of the windows. I have some centers here. The shelves are so short I can't even put books on them, just a little annoying.
Corner of the windows by the calendar area. My teacher books are on top of the shelf under the window and in the white bookcase which is also from Target, of course.
Here is my word wall. This is located to the left when you enter the door. That desk is not normally there. Another teacher was coming to get it.
Next to the word wall are the bathrooms and then this is my back corner. The computer does not work. I am waiting for it to be removed and I am still waiting and will probably wait all year and next year. More centers on the shelves.
This is my construction paper area. I love this shelf. I just got it this year and I love being able to pull out what I need and having the paper stay flat. I need to make a cover for it so that the paper doesn't fade. The blue paper box lid holds my scraps so that I can use them again. I have other lids like this that hold the TLC Project materials in them.
This is the front of the classroom. I don't use the chalkboard that often, I usually use the overhead. When I do use the chalkboard, I put the screen up. The blue chart is for centers, but it wasn't completed then. This area is to the right of the calendar area. Around the overhead I have one desk that holds the bins the students turn their homework and notebooks in, a desk and cart that have my teaching materials for the whole group area.
This is my desk. There are always multiple piles on there and whatever book I read for pleasure for the last five or ten minutes of my lunch hour.

Wonderful Art Projects

If you're a primary teacher, I have a website for you to check out. Go to TLC Art and check out the site. The art projects are absolutely wonderful. The children end up with a too too cute project, but in the process they are practicing cutting skills, listening skills, math vocabulary, placement vocabulary, etc. It really is amazing what they learn from these lessons. My kindergarten students are able to tell you the difference between horizontal and vertical. Other teachers have noticed and commented on how my students are able to cut and use geometry so well in comparison to other classes. My problem is that there are so many projects that I would like to do, but not enough time.

Here are a sample that my class did last year. These are Mrs. Wishy-Washy from the book by Joy Cowley. The directions told how to make her head covering but I forgot to cut out the pieces. Ooops, bad teacher. All of the pieces are handed to the students as squares or rectangles. Then the fun begins.

Later or tomorrow I will post some pictures that my class did this year of Pilgrims and the Mayflower.

Black Friday

Now that I have actually figured out how to schedule posts, I am hoping to post more often. We will see.
Thanksgiving Weekend was super busy.

• Thursday we went to my parent's house and went to see Four Christmases. I have mixed feelings about the movie. Some parts were funny, but I felt like the movie was a little disjointed.
• Friday we started shopping at Midnight. Tommy and I. The girls stayed with my parents. May parents watch the girls and we pick up what they are wanting for them. Unfortunately, we were not able to pick up anything they wanted. They were sold out before we could get them. Luckily Jill was able to get the things for them. The stores she has by her serve a different demographic so there were plenty left. We started off shopping at the outlet mall, headed to Staplem but the line was too long, went to Office Max but they didn't open for another hour, went to Sam's Club and ate their free breakfast, shopped at Walmart, shopped at Target, went to Staples but they were sold out of the memory cards, shopped at Office Max, shopped at Menards, and shopped at Costco. Then we went home a crashed. I was so tired that I missed a step in the garage and fell. I ended up with a cratched up knee.
• Saturday we went out to my brother, Noel's house. Tommy helped him with the addition, putting in insulation. I sat on the couch and got progress reports finished. I only have a few left to do minor testing and then I can send them out. This was a major relief to finish them. Then I knit a little on my brother's blanket. The end is in sight for the blanket and I cannot wait.
• Saturday, Jeff, Kelly, and Ethan came over for a brunch. We talked Twilight, I sorted and filed coupons. I then went to Kmart for double coupons. I saved about 72%. Better than the time before, so I was excited. Let me just say that we are swimming in cat treats that were free. Then I ran errands at Target and Walmart. Boy was I ever glad to get home.

25 days until Christmas. I better start getting cracking on making Christmas Cards.

The Lucky One

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Of course, this was wonderful. I did start to wonder as I read the book because I wasn't crying, but I wasn't disappointed. I did cry. It just wasn't when I thought it would be. Definitely a good one to recommend to others.


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First Attempt and Hopefully Last Attempt

This is my try at scheduling a post. Hopefully, I have figured this out so that I can post a little more regularly. This way I will not have to take the time each day, which I don't, but will be able to do a few posts at a time. Here goes nothing.

Laundry Room Organization

Once again another month of organization has gone by and once again I have participated in Organizational Junkie's Monthly organizaing Round-Up. Tommy and I completed the Laundry Room Organization at the beginning of the month. We purchased a freezer and needed to make room for it. Hence, the organization at the beginning of the month. Our laundry room is in the basement. It is a combination room with our mud room. This is the room you enter from the garage which is how we enter our house.
This is a before shot. The door is to the left of the refrigerater, then an old dresser, dryer and washer. Nothing fancy and nothing too terrible. But this is what we started with. Now the mud room portion was organized last month, so only minor changes were made to it. Here is the post about the mud room organization.

Now we have the door, refrigerater, freezer (isn't it beautiful?), washer dryer, and utility sink. We moved the shelf from where the freezer is now located to above the washer and utility sink. This was done because it wouldn't fit anywhere else and this way if the laundry detergent drips, it goes in the sink.

Here is a close up of the shelf, looking much better now that it is organized. The basket has the lingerie bags for washing the unmentionables, easy to access, but yet keeps them contained. The laundry sign is from Kohls. It will finally be hung when the room is finished.

This is to the right of the laundry facilities. Someday this will be bathroom and then we will have to figure out where to put all of this stuff. The black shelf holds the extras that I have gotten through couponing. The mass of boxes and containers is holiday decorations. We really have to get that area organized.

Here is a close up of the shelf. The three containers in front are laundry organizers from Ikea. They make it easy to sort laundry, even for 4 year olds like Brooke. Black is for the colored clothing and of course the white is for whites. The bonus is that the have wheels and roll to the washer. The wheels do have to be purchased separately, but well worth it. Another bonus is that Brooke loves to sort laundry using these containers. She really thinks it's a game and we'll let her think that if we get to have laundry sorted without a fuss.

Here is the mudroom area. I moved the Ikea shelf so it is closer to the door. This way the hats, gloves, and scarves are close to the door and may even get put away.

Here are the coats with the shoe racks underneath. The rubbermaid bins have things that need to be donated. We just haven't taken them in yet. The red thing with the reflective tape is a winter coat for our dog, Bogo. We got it from Lands End last year and it really does keep him warm.

This is the utility sink. We put the cat's litter box underneath it and it just fit. The cat is actually making less of a mess with the litter getting out of the box now that it is here. We did put a Command hook on the side of the washer to hang the scooper for the litter box. Easy for Melodye to get to in order to scoop the litter box. In the process of this organization, we moved the cat, Princess (a boy cat), food and water upstairs. We did this so that Brooke can start being in charge of that job, which she is now loving.

Nothing fancy, just little changes that make it feel nicer to me. Now I don't dread walking through that room. And I LOVED and APPRECIATE all the help my husband did with this room Thank you, sweetie pie.

Twilight Movie Review

Friday night Tommy and I went to see Twilight. The girls stayed with Noel and Jill. We went to the last showing at 10:00. I am so glad that we went to a later showing. The theater wasn't too packed and it was mostly people my age or older. There were a few teens there that squealed at different times, but nothing like it could have been.

Going in I was expecting to be disappointed. I rarely like a movie that is based on a book with the exception of the Harry Potter movies. I had to promise Tommy that I would not say "Watch this" or "That's not how it was in the book." I glanced at one review, just the stars not the words, and it was not a good review. So I was pleasantly surprised. The movie was much better than I thought it would be. Now I still think that this Edward does not look like I pictured in my head, but I did find myself believing in him. I think that Edward and Carlisle had way TOO much white make-up. They are supposed to be gorgeous not look like they fell in a vat of flour. Alice was perfect. Just like I pictured and even sounded as I imagined. I thought the whole field and sunlight scene could have had better graphics. It didn't really come off as this magnificent looking thing.

But all-in-all I enjoyed myself and left the theater wanting to reread Twilight and wanting the next movie to come out soon, very soon.

Dark Summer

Dark Summer by Iris Johansen

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
As always, Iris Johansen rocks and leaves multiple opportunites for new characters and always comes back to visit previous characters.


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New Books Read

Here's the Story by Maureen McCormick

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was an eye opener and really reaffirms the saying that "no one is perfect." It may seem like someone has everything, but no one really does.


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Code Name: Princess by Christina Skye

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Enjoyed this. Really makes me want to read the others in the series. I really do hope that she publishes a book on Izzy. I have become attached in just two books.


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To Catch A Thief & Silent Run

To Catch A Thief by Christina Skye

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
I can't wait to find her other books since the characters carry over. I didn't want to put this one down.


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Silent Run by Barbara Freethy

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book pulls you in from the very beginning.


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Scrapbook Room Organization

Another room organized. I have to say that I am not completely done, but it is functional and I won't have any problems adjusting as I go along.



Once again this organization was inspired by Organizational Junkie and her monthly round up.

Here is the scrapbook room as you enter. Before I go any further, I want to give props out to my dear husband. He is the one who finished this room. This room had studs and that is all when he started and it looks amazing now due to his hard work.

Behind the door are some shelves from Ikea that hold the little bit of stamps that I own, but at least there is some room to grow.

This shelf has my Ipod dock, knitting stuff, knitting books, knitting needles and the drawers at the bottom are empty waiting for me to decide what I will be using it for. Above the shelf is a strip of metal with magnets from Ikea that will hold pages I want to see. The clock is from Target.

This is the corner of my two tables. A little TV. The drawers from Ikea hold my embellishments. I am still trying to figure out how I want to label the drawers. The book that is in the Book holder is left from when I was making an apron. My sewing machine is at the left edge of the left table. I forgot to take a picture of it.

Underneath the left table are my Sterlite drawers that hold my scraps. They are divided into Red Scraps, Red Pattern Scraps, Pink Scraps, Pink Pattern Scraps, Orange Scraps, Orange Pattern Scraps, Yellow Scraps, Yellow Pattern Scraps, Green Scraps, Green Pattern Scraps, Blue Scraps, Blue Pattern Scraps, Purple Scraps, Purple Pattern Scraps, Brown Scraps, Brown Pattern Scraps, Black Scraps, Black Pattern Scraps, White Scraps, White Pattern Scraps, and Specialty Paper Scraps.

This is my main work area. There is usually a pile to the left of the table. This is where I put things that I need to deal with and just have not. The tools are in the Making Memories cauresol.

This is my Ikea Expedit shelf. I love it. Between the work table and this shelf are two cabinets that I got from Costco, but didn't take a picture. I do have pictures later that show some of the drawer insides.

This is the closet. I am so glad that my husband put that light in the closet. It really helps late at night.

• The top shelf has a laminator, a little heater, page protectors, garbage bags, and 12X12 albums.


• The second shelf has some empty boxes that I used at one time and don't want to get rid of because I might use them again. The green boxes have a variety of small albums.


• The third shelf has cards, two Becky Higgins school kits, and fabric.


• The fourth shelf has magazines and books.


• The floor has things for work, like centers that need to be finished and resource books.


• Next to the filing cabinet are two file boxes that hold the previous years tax information.
  
  
  
  
  

Here are the top two shelves of the Epedit shelves. The top has photo albums that are sorted by date. The second shelves have all of the cardstock and patterned paper which I have way more than I can use in my lifetime, but I still would love more.

The third shelves has a variety of things like albums, and Quickutz. The fourth shelf has Revolution, the white basket has rub-ons, and the blue basket has letter stickers. The bootom shelves has jewelry kits, foam stamps, and embellishment folders.

Here is a close up of the embellishment folders. Each folder has sections for die cuts, stickers, titles, etc.

This is the left side of the closet where the iron and ironing board are hung up.

This is the right side of the closet where my sewing tools are hung using Command Hooks. I love those things!

This is the paint materials drawer. The little baskets are from Walmart.

Here are the punches.

Here is the stamping drawer. The Quickutz Sillouhette is on top of the cabinets.

This is my yarn drawer. I need to make changes to this organization, but I haven't decided what yet.

And just so you don't think I am so organized. This is stuff I still have to deal with at some point. This is outside of my scrapbook room and still has been for awhile.