Ten on Tuesday

I am so excited to get back to a somewhat "regular" posting schedule. And what better way to kick it off than with a Ten on Tuesday post?

1. My dad is doing much better. He's stable and slowly recovering. In our eyes, that's progress and we'll gladly take it! It's hard to take people/things for granted after what we've recently been through...

2. Last Wednesday Sam and I were hanging out together. It was time for lunch and as we were headed downstairs, he asked me to give him a piggy back ride. I agreed. I took one step, my foot slipped and tumbling down the stairs we both went. Other than bumping his chin on my head and being scared out of his mind, he was fine. Me, on the other hand, I had bruises and rug burns all over my body: shoulders, back, waist, hips, butt, legs and arms. Luckily we're both OK, but it was quite the scary episode!

3. We've all been battling a cold at the Butler home. Isabella ran a low grade fever all afternoon Thursday and again most of the day Friday. So needless to say, she did not go to school Friday. She's also not going to school today, but headed to the doctor's office instead. Sam's had a cough for a couple of weeks now. And my throat has been killing me for days. Truth be told, I'm ready to get rid of all this crud and get everyone back to being healthy.

4.  Running seems to be the in thing these days. Everyone I know is running... 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, full marathons. It's crazy! I've never been a runner. Not even when I've been in the best physical shape of my life. I think my feelings toward running are best described with this here visual aid:

True dat!

5. A friend of mine, who is also a runner, recently shared this picture of a bumper sticker she saw on the back of a car. She said she literally laughed out loud when she saw it.

What I really wanna know is... where do I find this here little gem for the back of my car?

;)

6. Have you heard of GroopDealz? They offer the cutest things for a steal of a price. I gotta tell you, I'm a believer. I recently bought this, which is currently hanging in our kitchen and I totally adore:

And this beautiful "I love you to the moon and back" necklace:

Usually this is a "mom" necklace which includes the children's names. However, I decided to include Scott's name, since I just happen to love him to the moon and back as well. Isabella picked the colors of the pearls: green for Scott, red for Isabella and blue for Sam. I'm in LOVE!

Go check them out and sign up for the e-mail offerings. I promise you won't be disappointed.

7. Move over American Idol, there's a much better singing show in town. Scott and I are both hooked on The Voice.

However, someone really needs to tell Christina Aguilera that she needs to (a) hire a stylist or (b) fire her current one and hire a new one. Yesterday, while we were watching the show, Scott made the comment: "Geez, she looks like a poodle." He was right on the money!

8. The Pinterest bug has bitten me lately,... like, BAD! And unfortunately it's not related to all the adorable craft projects or delicious recipes you can find there. You see, I'm hoping to tackle a couple major house projects this year: the kitchen and the master bedroom/bath.

For the kitchen, I'd love to brighten it up with a white subway tile backsplash, creamy white painted cabinets, a tan color for the walls, and the addition of some architectural elements throughout.

Oh yeah, and I'd love to do a built in similar to this in our breakfast nook.

For our master bedroom, I'd love to go with something along these lines:

And if a genie granted me a fourth wish, I would totally love to tackle the front of the house by adding a portico, kinda like this:

9. Read the book, bought the t-shirt, and I'm dying to go see the movie.

OK, so I didn't really buy the t-shirt. But I did read (and love) the book and I'm dying to go see the movie.
Woo Hoo!

10. Stay tuned for a post of Isabella's Spa Party and Sam's 4th Birthday party COMING SOON!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Last Friday we went to see Madagascar Live at the Orpheum. We all really like the Madagascar films and we really enjoyed it live. Luckily, everyone who went to see Shrek, The Musical got a special discount code for this show. Our tickets were only $15 per person for really good seats. Not bad! Unfortunately, as soon as you walk into the theater, you're smacked in the face by the ridiculously expensive souvenirs,... which cost us almost as much as our four pack of tickets. Ugh!

2. The kids and I are somewhat totally addicted to this game and play it on my phone CONSTANTLY! And the funny thing is that I am so not into games.

Have you played it yet?

OMG! It is hilarious!

3. I got to spend ALL DAY (10:00am-10:00pm) Saturday with all kinds of fun crafty women at Eclectica's Pizza Crop. I scrapbooked. Not for a class, but for myself. I seldom get to do that anymore.

 It was nice!

4. The other night I was browsing our local Craigslist and found a posting for a "Vintage Retro Loveseat". I was intrigued, so...

I clicked. 

I called. 

I saw. 

I bought. 

Scott and I are going to pick it up on Wednesday. I am so excited. It is adorable! Can't wait to share it with you guys.

5. Once upon a time I used to watch American Idol. But Simon Cowell and his unnecessary badgering and Paula Abdul and her crazy talk about souls and auras were just too much for me. So I stopped watching. And haven't for many seasons. I didn't even watch when Ellen was judging. But I am loving it this year. I really like the new judges. I think Steven Tyler pretty much ROCKS! And I really like some of the contestants this season, especially:

 

6. I am currently in LOVE with, and cannot get enough of, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, and Ray LaMontagne's music. I could listen to it all day long.

7. I am right on track with my reading challenge goal of 35 books in 2011. This makes me happy. I so love reading a good book! I'm also enjoying being a part of Goodreads. Please be sure to look me up if you happen to be a part this awesome book-loving network. Oh, and also, if you have any book recommendations, please feel free to share. I'm always looking for a good read.

8. Ricky Martin was just in Puerto Rico for a weekend full of concerts. I swear, EVERY. SINGLE. ONE of my female Puerto Rican friends (at least all the ones who I'm friends with on FB) went to at least one of his concerts. Their concert photos are ALL over my Facebook news feed. OK, so maybe I am just a tad bit jealous... and bitter.

Hello, gorgeous!

And yes, before you go there, I am well aware. 

But he's still smokin'!

9. Parenthood is finally back this week. Have I told you lately how much I love this show? It is one of my all time favorite TV shows. 

10. I adore this photo of my sweet girl. 

 

I especially love that it's proof that we play hard, to the point of passing out from sheer exhaustion.

Ten on Tuesday

1. We had to take Sam to the ER last week after he was playing with a flashlight and suddenly started screaming hysterically because of the pain in his left eye. When we got there, it was jam packed with people. Standing room only! Lucky for us they were all adults, so pediatrics was able to get us checked in, seen and checked out in about an hour and a half. Fortunately, he did not scratch his cornea. The doctor said the pain was mostly due to irritation, so we needed to get him some eye drops and he'd be fine. Yeah, I don't know about that,... he still complains about pain in his eye every now and then, so we're off to see an optometrist this Saturday. That should be so much fun! Right!

2. I have a confession to make: yesterday was the season premiere of The Bachelor,... and after swearing it off for the last couple of seasons, I watched it. I know, I know, not my proudest moment. But how could I not watch it? There's a girl on there who has vampire fangs. And Chris Harrison says this will be the most dramatic season EVER! He wouldn't lie about something like that now, would he?

3. Today was the first day with both kids back in school. I had a plan. It was a good plan. It was a highly productive plan. Unfortunately Amazon, and some pretty great deals on some awesome camera accessories, took priority over everything else I had planned. Oops! I hate it when that happens. On the bright side, I'm expecting F*O*U*R packages filled with goodies sometime next week. Can't wait to start playing!

4. Isabella is learning to read. And she does it so well. And she loves to read to us. And I could listen to her read all day long. And she shares my passion for books. And my heart just swells up with pride every single time I hear her. How I love that girl of mine!

5. I was looking through some of the photos from our recent Zoo Lights visit (which I'll share with you soon). This one made me laugh. Like, REALLY hard!

 

Meet our "party" animal!

It was taken on our way out of the zoo. He had to stop and dance to Jingle Bell Rock. This boy's a mess!

6. We have to replace some (read all) the windows in our house. They are old and drafty and our insanely strong mutant dogs have somehow managed to break a few of them over the years. So I scheduled a couple of companies to come in and give me some estimates. This guy today (Ron) gave me his company's quote ~ Wowza! Windows are NOT cheap, people! Anyway, shortly after I asked him about the company who constantly advertises $189 windows on TV. He gave me a very long overly-detailed technical explanation about how Window World does not operate to his company's standards, about the amount of complaints they have against them, about the poor quality of their product, the low caliber of their installers, and so forth. He then asked if they were coming in for an estimate. "Pfft, NO WAY!", I answered.  

7. Between you and me, Window World was recommended to us by a few friends and are scheduled to come in for an estimate tomorrow morning. Just don't tell Ron, kay?

8. When I arrived at Sam's MDO to pick him up this afternoon, I found him sleeping on his little mat. This boy never EVER naps at preschool, so this was a sure sign that he wasn't feeling well. I got him in to see the doctor. He's in the early stages of bronchitis and now taking an antibiotic. Never a dull moment with this boy, lemme tell ya!

9. I've been coughing a lot lately. I think I too am in the early stages of bronchitis. Oh, the joy! I'm going to have to go see someone soon. Remember this little episode? Yeah, good times!

10. Parenthood's season premiere is tonight. Can you stand it? That is my most favorite show ever! It's currently being recorded on our DVR. Waiting for me. So I gosta go!

This weekend

This weekend we spent a whole lot of time at Lowe's
enjoying the fabulous weather, smelling eating the pretty flowers,
and shopping for lots and lots of these here beauties:
And once we had two flat carts full of colorful lovelies, we spent a lot of time working on our yard. My mom came over and helped us clean up the flower/vegetable beds and plant all of our goodies.
In addition to delighting in our beautiful flowers, this year we hope to enjoy lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, garlic, potatoes, peppers, sugar snap peas, onions, scallions, carrots, strawberries, blueberries, pears, plums and grapes ~ all from the comfort of our own backyard! Not to mention the herbs we're growing inside. Talk about locally-grown and fresh. We can't wait!

Not pictured are three Weeping Cherry Trees we got for our backyard ~ two white, one pink. They are STUNNING! I'll make sure to share some pictures as soon as they're in the ground.

**********

This weekend we were able to spend a few hours with our dear friends, the Prosperos, who were here for a soccer tournament. Although we weren't able to spend as much time together as we would have liked, it sure was fun catching up after almost 4 years without seeing each other.

And to say I was shocked to see how big their boys are is a HUGE understatement. This family is so unbelievably special to me. I first met them back in 1995 immediately after graduating from college and upon starting my first real job. We quickly became great friends. Gabe, their oldest, was about Sam's age at the time. The younger two weren't even born yet. I babysat these boys all the time. And now they are all big young men and It. Kills. Me!

**********

This weekend Scott and I finally carved out some time and managed to get caught up with some of our DVR shows and this one was incredibly inspiring:

Scott has been a big fan of Jamie Oliver for a while now. Me not so much. I can honestly say that I am much more so after watching two episodes of his new show. His main goals are to make people healthier, make people cook their own food, and make people spend time together during the process. What's not to love?

**********

This weekend I finished reading this book:
which is officially one of the best books I have ever read. Oh my goodness, it is absolutely amazing! It is a beautiful young adult novel with a heartbreaking subject matter narrated in a very unexpected, yet extremely poetic, way. I definitely recommend it to everyone.

And started this one:
I've only read the first couple chapters, but so far, so good. I'll keep you posted.

This weekend was a really fun weekend!

Lately...

I've been so very very busy...

***Being that this is Sam's birthday month (yeah, that's the way we roll around here), I've been planning his birthday party. As you know, we hosted a birthday lunch for our family on the day of his actual birthday, but his big party is coming up this Saturday. So, I've been putting the finishing touches on that little soiree. I can't wait until he sees the big fire truck waiting for him.

***I've been a busy little scrapping bee. Not only have I been busy teaching some fun classes recently (with more coming up), but I've recently made some pages to display in the store.

This one was for their Same Products/Three Looks challenge:

The title is hard to read on this picture, but it says:
Beautiful in every single way.

This one is a store display using the new Little Yellow Bicycle line called Generation Z:

The journaling reads: "Seriously! Is there anything cuter than an
almost 2 year old sporting a faux hawk? I think not!"

And finally, this is a store display using the new Little Yellow Bicycle line called Fresh Print Clothesline:

This talks about how two little girls who are cousins, but did not
much like each other for a while, have turned into the best of friends.

***I've been a reading maniac.
I just finished, and totally LOVED, this book:
and immediately started, and am really enjoying, this one:
I've got lots more sitting on my nightstand. And that makes me SO happy!

***I'm loving this TV show:
The cast is wonderful. The topics are real. And so far I've cried with every episode I've seen. What's not to love?

***I've been hard at work trying to get our master bedroom organized and painted and decorated, as promised on my March 1st post. This has turned out to be a bigger task than I had originally anticipated. Either it's way more time consuming than expected or I've got entirely too many balls in the air. So there may be a possibility that I won't make the March 31st deadline on this one, but I'm working hard on it regardless.

***I'm making progress on my 30 Bags in 30 Days project. I will make sure to update you and show you pictures of the results of this little endeavor at the end of the month.

Well, I think that's it for now.

Talk soon!