Green Acres?

Let me start by saying I am a city girl, born and raised! However, I married a country boy 30 years ago and his parents gave us some ground! Need I say more! You can take the boy off the farm but you can never take the farm out of the boy!



Over the years we have raised and broke horses, raised cows, even raised 75 chickens once. Don't ask. Over the past 10 years we have mainly concentrated on raising and running hounds. Well my son-in-law (also a country boy) decided to raise pigs! So the first batch was born. Guess where I am going with this? That's right, we bought 2 piglets. They are pretty cute right now and my daughter is getting really attached to them. She calls them Babe and Gordy, but my husband calls them Pork and Chop, just to remind her what is going to happen come about January. The poor guys are going to have an identity crisis, with multiple names and all!


Well anyway, here is a picture of Babe (pork) and Gordy (chop) as they enjoyed some over-ripe watermelon.
And let me assure you that I DON'T slop the hogs! That is my daughter's job! Mine? Take great pictures and make scrapbook pages!

So go have an adventure today, and whatever you do, never, never marry a farmer!

Chris

Patting Myself on the Back!!!!

You know how I was saying yesterday that I needed to grow! Well I did! I spent 5 hours last night, learning how to create a digital page on my computer! I created the banner at the top of my blog! It doesn't look like much, but I used 5 layers, changed colors, cropped, used text, and cropped a shape! I am pretty proud of myself! I might actually try doing a scrapbook page next!

Well I think I am done re-arranging and housecleaning here for awhile. I hope you like the page. Let me know!

Go and try something new today! Grow a little!

Changes are good!

I am changing my blog around a little, let me know if you like it! Change is good, isn't it? I have reached that point in my life, where boring is good sometimes, change upsets the cart. So I have to shake things up, make myself grow, because I am not ready to be old!

I haven't posted for a few days, not really anything to say, just been doing the boring, everyday stuff, like cleaning, yard work, errands. Sometimes I just need a little down time. I haven't scrapped too much this week, so I am going to share a couple oldies, but goodies, with you!

This one was of Memorial Day weekend last year! One of the most miserable weekends we spent ever! It rained and/or snowed on us for the entire weekend! We ended up spending most of our time in the trailer, watching movies on the laptop. The only thing good that came of the weekend was this layout! We can laugh now, but it wasn't a good time then!

The next one is also older, my first attempt with rub-ons. We had this old rocking horse that my kids loved! My grandkids do too, so grandpa copied it and made one for our grand-daughters Sydney and Sarah!

And last, but not least, here was a spring layout I did last year, showing my grandkids playing with bubbles! We had this huge bottle I had gotten at Walmart, and every time they came to our house we had to get them out! Made for some really cute pictures!

So there you have it! Hope you have a productive week and I will try to get back on my game! I am definitely in a rut, so I will try something new and share it with you soon!

I got some work done!

I really want to share some of my work! I have been cranking out pages like crazy ever since I went to the ETM Conference. Kind of got my creative scrapping juices flowing again! So not much talk, here they are!

My grandson Jesson turned 1 on February 4th! He had a really big day with the whole family!

On March 16th, he got a baby sister, only 13 months apart! His dad was the 2nd one in my pair that is only 13 months apart!

Sydney is our oldest grandchild, and she turned 6 on November 4th! She is growing up so fast!

Conner is our oldest grandson, who turned 4 on November 18th. What a little man!

Sarah also turned 4 last year, on October 6th! It is so fun to watch her and Conner, their similarities and differences! Sarah is our little dare devil!

If you read the story on this page it explains everything. This is the last picture I have of my mother before she passed away of MS. This was taken in November 2004, and she passed away on April 26, 2005.

This is Miss Bailey, as I call her! Our little tow-head granddaughter! She turned 2 in August and she gives us all a warm fuzzy everytime we look at her! She has her dad's snow white hair and blue eyes and grandma's curly hair! When I watch her, it's like watching her dad all over again. The same happy, easy-going personality!

In case you can't tell I am the proudest grandma! Six of the most beautiful babies in the world! Someone told me that grandchildren are the reward for having survived your children! Maybe they are right!

Go and make some memories today!

Chris

Did you know........

....we have deer in our field! They haven't been hanging around too much, but Wednesday the young buck started venturing back out into the hay field behind our home. On Friday I grabbed the camera and took some pictures! He is a forked horn white-tail, judging by the horns starting to appear in the velvet. I think they are so pretty right now, with horns in the velvet, and their hide so red in color! I hope you enjoy!

Chris

The Weekend

Here they are! My pics from last weekend! I attended the Express the Moment Conference on Friday and Saturday! It was so much fun! I got to spend the whole weekend with my oldest daughter, Tiffany! We left the families behind and even rented a room at the Shilo for the night. It was good for both of us to get away and it helped her and me to bond a little.

It also rejueventated my soul and got me scrapbooking again! I have completed 5 layouts since the weekend and am busily working on more! I promise to post a few in the coming days! I also will take pictures of the projects we did, so you can see them!

Kim Rose announced that she is buying the Scrap Coop, which has been one of my favorite stores! I think it will be a great match, a good store with her talent! I am looking forward to the grand opening of the Express The Moment Scrapbooking Store on July 1. Watch her website, www.expressthemoment.com, for more info.

One last thought, Christy Tomlinson came and spoke to us. She used to be with Chatterbox and now designs for a bunch of companies, including BHG. She really emphazied the importance of telling the real story when we scrapbook, not the cutsy sayings. She gave us examples of pages that she scrapped one way, but would do different now. And like Lisa Bearnson last year, she emphasied using our own handwriting and our own words, so the future generations will have a piece of us. Really moving!

So, whether you scrap, or just journal, or don't do anything at all, I would like to challange you to put a piece of you on paper, write about yourself and your family! You will be glad you did and so will your family!

So, Kim Rose, thanks for the wonderful weekend! Let's do it again next year!

Chris

Tomorrow is the day!

I am like a kid the night before Christmas! Once a year I treat myself to a retreat of sorts! I go to theExpress the Moment Expo, www.expressthemoment.com ,every year! I mentioned it a week or so ago! Well tomorrow is the day! If you live in the Eastern Idaho area, or plan to be here, you must check it out! It is the largest scrapbooking expo in the Intermountain Region and growing all the time! Kim Rose runs it and this year we are having Christy Tomlinson, www.christytomlinson.typepad.com , come to talk to us. All of the big companies and the locals will have booths. There is something for everyone, traditional, or digital wise. On Saturday 100 of us get to attend a conference that is crammed packed with stuff! This is my fifth year at the conference and my 6th year at the expo. Well worth your time! See you at the Shilo Inn!

I will take my computer and if I get a chance I will report in and send photos, otherwise, I will try and write on Sunday!

Have a great weekend, and make it count!

Chris

How about Chicken Noodle Soup?

I was trying to decide what to write about today. I have 2 days until I go to the Express The Moment Conference in Idaho Falls. It's raining and drizzling outside and only 44 degrees. I don't have any scrapbook projects because they are all packed up for the weekend. I have vacuumed, dusted and mopped everything. I decided it was the perfect day for Homemade Chicken and Noodles.

Now when I was growing up, Chicken and Noodles was a big production and we only got it about twice a year. We had to stew the chicken, then cool it and pick the meat off the bones. While the chicken was cooking, we mixed, rolled and cut and hung noodles. Then you used the broth to cook homemade noodles and at the last minute added the chicken. While you were cooking the noodles you whipped up homemade mashed potatoes (we also only got homemade mashed potatoes a couple of times of the year).

Well a few years ago I discovered the Food Channel and along with it, Rachel Ray. She is my kind of cook, because if it can't be done in 1/2 and hour, she doesn't do it! One day she made homemade chicken and noodles, over mashed potatoes, in 30 minutes! I couldn't believe it! So I tried it! And it worked! Now we have them about once a month. I don't even mind making the homemade mashed potatoes.

So I would like to share my recipe with you. Now bear in mind I do not write recipes well, and this is adaptable, so play with it. Try adding other ingredients, like carrots, or parsnips. It can be fun and delicious!

Homemade Chicken and Noodles

1 med onion, chopped
1 C celery, chopped
olive oil
1 large can (abt a qt) and 2 small cans (abt a pt) of chicken broth
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 1 lb pkg of Country Pasta Noodles (taste like homemade!)


Saute the onion and celery, over medium heat, in olive oil, until clear. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add chicken bits and return to boil and cook for 6 minutes. Add package of noodles and 1 C of water to the chicken mixture. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until noodles are done. You may have to add another cup of water. Salt and pepper to taste.

While cooking noodles, make mashed potatoes. Be sure you make them pretty stiff.

To serve, put a large scoop of mashed potatoes in the bottom of your bowl and ladle chicken and noodles over it.

There it is! So easy and they will think you slaved over it all day!

Well go out and make it a great day and let's hope the rain stops!

Chris

Let's Scrapbook!

I thought I would share a couple of layouts I have been working on. This one is of Jesson and Madalynn again. If you remember, I showed you these pics in my very first post. I finally got the pages done! This is my first time of using my Cricut to create everything, the letters and the flowers. I think it looks cute. I used the Jasmine print and Walk In My Garden flowers. It is fun to play with!



This is of my whole family picture, which you see displayed at the side. We had quite a time getting a family picture done last summer, and I decided it would be fun to use some of the out takes to make a layout! We had babies crying, people goosing each other, tongues sticking out, you name it! The process was almost as fun as the end result! I now have the story of the event!

Well I hope you have a great day and make some memories! Be sure and record them for your family!

Chris

Being Busy!

I have been busy this week! I finished a baby blanket I have been crocheting since March and then made a blessing dress for my youngest granddaughter, Madalynn! I was really excited to be asked to do it! I don't sew as much as I used to, but I love to make girls dresses! I love laces and ribbons and bows! Maybe that's why I have taken so much to scrapbooking!

Speaking of scrapbooking, here is my latest creation! This page is of my oldest 2 granddaughters, Sydney and Sarah! Last year grandpa and I had them spend the night and we had these adorable pictures taken! Add some Bazzill cardstock, Kelly Panacci stickers, Rusty Pickle chipboard and Making Memories Shimmer Letters and you have an adorable page!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Chris