The Waiting Game

So Jim/DH has been home from NC since Tuesday night and we haven't heard anything. I know I'm being impatient and I know I have no realistic idea of how long this process will take. I'm just so excited and if we're going to do this, then I'll throw myself completely into finding a house & getting us moved.

Jim went and looked at houses while he was down there. He walked thru this house and really loved it... http://glenlaurelsubdivision.com/irw/details.php?lid=415514&cid=11668&aid=81200&ctry=&oid=0 He was so funny because he told me there was an "extra closet" on the first floor that would be perfect for all my scrapping stuff. I guess I've been talking about this issue so much that even he was thinking about it. I really don't want a scrapping room in the upstairs of a house where I won't end up going up there as much and my stuff isn't as convenient to get to. I like to scrap in the kitchen!

It'll be so awesome for the boys to have the bonus room set up like a play room. No more toys *all* over the house, but instead in one location. I also like the idea of having the master bedroom on the first floor. Exciting to think about, not that I don't like the house we currently live in. It just makes me think about what issues we've had with this house and what I'd like different in the next one. Storage and organization are key issues when picking a house I really like. Jim said that the house he liked has a walk in area to the attic - I love that!

Last Day of Ski Club

I can't believe ski club has come and gone. The boys had 6 weeks of lessons (with a few missed weeks in between for bad weather). They've come so far in those 6 weeks and have learned so much. I think back to how much they *hated* it the first day -their feet hurt, they fell down, the skis got tangled, it was too hard, blah blah blah. I was so disappointed that first night, but we had a pep talk about how they'd do better each time they went back and they have improved so much!

Tonight, they had an hour lesson in area "4", which is learning to edge and go through turns. They did okay, but Matthew didn't have the best night with that. They came into the lodge after an hour of lessons and thought they had to go home, but we suggested they try the "bunny hill" and going up on the conveyor belt (yay, no ski lift in this area!). Matt was unsure, but with a small amount of coaxing he gave it a try. Andrew came down first - straight down! Jim & I were a little surprised, but then maybe not so much. He's such a daredevil! Next came Matthew doing the "pizza" or snowplow position the whole way down. He went down very slowly, but surely. They went right back up and came right back down, this time more sure of themselves. Hooray! They did that for an hour and then were finally done (they were also cold). I'm so glad it ended on a good note.

Anxiety!

Well DH has been away on his job interview since Sunday afternoon. Everything seemed to go well, but now we have to wait. I'm *not* a patient person and I have found my emotions are all over the map the past couple of days. I should just be really happy about this opportunity and all that, but I find I'm itchy & scratchy about so many things. Why does this process have to be so multi layered? Why can't I just know how it's all going to work out right now? lol

Then, if he gets the job, we'll have to move on to dealing with house issues. Selling this one, finding one down there, packing, moving, etc... Oy! I know it'll all be for the best, but right now, it just gives me a tummy ache. I know, I'll survive. ;)

Planning For Disney!

I know most of you think I'm too much of a Disney Fanatic, but planning is a huge part of the fun for me. Today, we got the 2008 Disney planning video. The boys and I snuggled up on the couch, popped in the DVD and the excitement began to build. I *love* that they love it as much as I do. They sit there enthralled and we all get excited when we see/hear about what's new.

Jim came home and then Dad settled in to watch it a bit with us. He tries to pretend he doesn't love it as much as we do, but he can't fool us. He told the boys that Disney World burned down, but they knew he was just being a turd. lol. Next thing you know, Jim is telling me to click on this hotel to check out, click on that hotel, etc... Yah sure, he's not that interested.

So we're planning on going in Dec. 08 if everything works out. Sara will be going with us and the boys are excited to show her Animal Kingdom since she hasn't been to that park yet. I hope Sara's ready to go on lots of thrill rides because they kept saying how "Sara will go on that with me". Having Sara with us will give Jim lots of excuses to just sit on a bench while Sara & I take the boys on certain rides (like Tower of Terror, Expedition Everest, etc...).

I'm excited! Can you tell?

Wednesday 2/20

I'm just gonna ramble....

First off, I bowled well again and surprised myself. I had a 176, 184 and a 194. Yes, I blew the 200 game in the 10th frame, but I honestly didn't care as much as I would have if I hadn't gotten a 200 already this year. Oh and I got a patch for my 214 game. Woo Hoo.

The boys had ski club this afternoon after 2 weeks off for various reasons (weather). They'd been "stuck" in level 2 of the ski school, but today bounced up to level 4. To see the joy on their faces after they were done tonight and to hear how excited they were in their voices was so awesome for me! Now, they're sad that we might move away to somewhere that's not so close to a ski mountain. Go figure - we've lived here for 7.5 years and they finally take ski lessons right before we might move????? Might is the operative word in that sentence, though!

In the car on the way home from skiing, the boys asked me a good question. "Mom, why do you and Dad want to move?". So I spent 10 minutes giving them all the reasons that I could think of, but it was interesting to put it all in a simple perspective. I think they're both excited, but also scared with a little bit of being confused thrown in there. Jim & I can only hope that the move is what's best for our entire family in the long run. Kids are resilient right?

See, I said I was gonna ramble! Now I'm going to go watch my tape of Big Brother and try to fix a "Test Track" Layout that I'm working on!

New Webkinz!

Today was President's Day, so the boys had off from school. They chose going shopping for Webkinz as their "activity" for the afternoon. The new Webkinz are a Kangaroo named KangasKahn and a Penguin named Waddles. This picture showcases *all* of the boys' Webkinz on our staircase.

My Disney Album

I bought this album for myself as "my treat" last April. I second guessed my purchase a few times, because it was a little expensive (but not too much so). When I started the Disney layouts this week, though, I was so grateful to have the album and to be able to just plop the finished layouts right into the album. I love that the album is dated and it's a D-ring binder, which is handy.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh Roses.

So Jim comes home from work empty handed. He was being all smirky, funny like he enjoys, but we said "no gifts" this year. He had a phone interview with a job that looks *very* promising and kept saying that was gift enough. lol. So around 8pm, when I was not a happy camper over homework struggles, the doorbell rings. I did not want to answer the door, but Jim kept saying "but it's for you". I go to the door, see the UPS truck, look down and there's a box of flowers. Aww!! A Dozen Red Roses. I don't think there's been a Valentine's Day since we've been together that he hasn't given me roses. He *is* Mr. Romantic when he wants to be. :)

Fun With a Genie

I was going thru the pictures I have on a photopass CD (the pictures the Disney photographers take) and I found this awesome picture of the boys w/The Genie from Aladdin. I love how natural this picture is and I love to see the joy on the boys face.

I did it! I started the Disney Album!

I've been trying to get myself motivated and ready to start on our Disney 2007 layouts. I have 700 pictures to scrap and am going to try to scrap this album by day. I printed out daily journaling pages from my April Disney blog (2007). I had to really get my brain wrapped around starting this album. Take a deep breath, grab a pack of pictures, decide which layout to start with and go! I'm happy with how this page came out and I feel like I'm ready to get lots of these layouts done in the next couple of months. I just edited this to add another layout that I got done tonight. Now, I'm having fun with this. :)

Snowy Day Activities

The boys got out of school early today. When they got home, they did all their homework and they were going to go do the usual (play GameCube or computer). Well, I decided to be a nice mom and got 3 big tubs of Imaginext out of the attic for them so they could play with them. Andrew spent the most time with the toys and really seemed to enjoy playing a bunch of different "scenarios" with them. I don't want them to grow out of "play time" and only do "electronic" things. ** sigh **

Wedding Layouts

Last April, Jim's niece got married and we attended the wedding in Florida. It was very fun to do these two layouts, but a little frustrating trying to find pretty paper with red in it (since the wedding colors were red, black and white). I did *not* want these layouts to even smell of Disney one tiny little bit. LOL.

SONGS....

My friend Tammi has this on her blog and invited me to "borrow it". I had to think about this for awhile and I can't come up with just one answer for most of the questions. Go figure. LOL.

The songs that makes me want to sing: Band of Gold by Freda Payne. Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen. American Pie by Don McLean. Pride (in the name of love) by U2. Walking in Memphis by Marc Cohn. Mockingbird (the Toby Keith version with his daughter). Jessie's Girl by Rick Springfield. Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet.

The song that makes me smile: Walking on Sunshine by Katrina & the Waves.

My chill out song or album: Anything by Keith Urban will help me chill, but I love "These Days" as his best album. I also can chill out to Norah Jones.

The song that makes me want to dance: Brick House by The Commodores or Shout (the Animal House version).

Favorite song for the kids: The Witch Doctor by The Chipmunks or anything by Smash Mouth from the first Shrek movie.

The song that moves me and makes me think: The Dance by Garth Brooks.

The song I feel guilty liking: I have an oldies CD by Michael Bolton that I just love. I honestly don't really feel guilty about anything I listen to, though. I have tastes that range all over the spectrum. ;)

The song that makes me think of my parents: I can't chose anything in particular so I'll say any thing that is old country - Ray Price, Marty Robbins, Charley Rich, etc...

The songs that makes me think of my hubby: Oh there are so many! Our wedding song, Keeper of the Stars by Tracy Byrd. Sandy by Bruce. Brandy by Looking Glass. This Woman & This Man by Clay Walker (even tho the words never pertained to us, we just loved singing this song in the car). Summertime by Kenny Chesney. Still the One by Orleans. Groovy Kind of Love by Phil Collins.

The song that always makes me cry and smile at the same time: 3 Wooden Crosses by Randy Travis - I choke up every time I hear this song.

The songs you’d be most surprised to find on my iPod: I probably couldn't surprise anyone, but how about stuff by The Carpenters, Barry Manilow, Eddy Arnold, Bobby Darin, some of Jim's punk rock (yuck, Talking Heads).

The song with the most awesome beat: Crazy on You by Heart.

The songs I could listen to while driving coast-to-coast with the top down: Days Go By by Keith Urban or Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen.

Favorite songs from a movie: Anything from Grease.

What would be my workout song if I actually worked out: Life is a Highway by Rascal Flatts.

My favorite “fun” songs that are really just stupid songs: Rock & Roll All Nite by Kiss or How Bizaree by OMC.

The songs I want at my funeral: The Dance by Garth Brooks and When I Get Where I'm Going by Brad Paisley

Hooray!! Snow!!!!!!!!!!

I've been waiting and today, we finally got real snow! I'm so sick of the rain and yucky sleet stuff. The real deal fell from the sky today and I was able to get some fun pictures of the boys playing on our back deck. I hope we get even more this week. :)

Easter Layouts

I was thinking about blogging today (in general) and how I really don't feel like I have anything to say in a post unless I'm sharing a layout or a picture. So here are some new Easter layouts that I just did. The pics are from 2007. Dyeing is spelled wrong on the one layout, but I fixed it in person. I was just too lazy to retake the picture, crop it and resize it. ;)

Snow! I want Snow!

So I was working on this layout today and noticed all the snow in the yard from last March. We have nothing on the ground right now (or miniscule amts). I really want a good snow fall right now. The boys would love a snow day, they want to go sledding which is impossible without snow and it would be great for the ski mountains. Last week, the training hill area was just a sheet of ice. Today, it's raining, so if it all freezes, the boys will be trying to learn to ski on a sheet of ice again. *** sigh *** So if the snow Gods are listening, I would really love a nice snow storm and I won't even complain when I have to go outside and help clear it from the driveway & walkway!

First Layouts of February

So it's February and I'm hoping to continue with being on a roll. I scrapped 61 pages in January! Holy cow. These are the first two pages for February and they're ironically pages from last February.