Soon there will be pictures

My new computer shipped yesterday!!! Should have it sometime next week, which means I will be back in business with my pictures! Very excited! In preparation for passing this old computer on to the girls, I bought a desk and chair at goodwill for $17. They need a bit of work...like painting, new hardware, and some new fabric for the chair seat....but nothing a few hours work won't fix. The girls will be so excited to have their own computer area.

Speaking of them, they are gone for 5 days. This is the first time ever that I have ever been away from both of them at the same time for this length of time. Bella will periodically go to a Grandma's house for awhile, but never both of them. I was a little teary eyed to see them go, but after doing this "single" mom thing for the last 2 years, this is really a much needed break. They will be back Wednesday as Bella restarts school again on Thursday.

So anyway, when they are gone, I try to keep myself busy. I'm painting the landing upstairs, doing the computer desk, thinking about painting the fake wood bookcases up there to make them look nicer....etc, etc. Have a list of about 1000 things I could do. I ran today too...OUTSIDE!!!! December 31st...in Iowa...running outside...gotta love it. Anyway, that is all I know for now. Have a lovely weekend...soon I will be coming to you from my new computer!

Happy Wednesday

This week is pretty cool...only working 2.5 days. Could totally deal with that on a full time basis. Unlikely to happen, but I can always dream, right?

Here is a never before seen layout, at least here on the old blog. You can find this one in Creating Keepsakes Annual Idea book which came out a couple of months ago. I believe it is on page 39. Don't actually have a copy of it yet. Please notice the photo of the three of us in the corner...mother/doctor approved Mt. Dew in my child's hand...just wanted to point that out.


I went to a basketball coach's meeting tonight. I am officially one of the coach's of Bella's basketball team. It was kind of interesting. It was me, one other woman and about 30 guys at the meeting. Felt a little outnumbered. I certainly wasn't as cool as the one dude with his Air Jordans, NBA socks, and basketball shorts on. Oh well...my fellow coach said he was an anesthesiologist...again, me being a lowly pediatrician, just can't compete with that =P. Feeling a little inadequate at the moment (ha!). Anyway, hope you are all having a good day! BTW, my new computer is in "production"...yeah!!! Can't wait until it gets here, going through photo withdrawel.

Finally some pictures

Well, here are some Christmas photos. I'm at my mom's house and her computer is slightly more cooperative than mine. However, blogger seems to be being obnoxious right now. I had a few more to upload and it won't let me do anymore. Still missing are the making of the 1000 cookies. Which, by the way, I am still finding icing and sugar and cookie stuff all over the place. Anyway, maybe another time. Here are a few photos from the past week or so.
Here is Bella at her Christmas program. I had another picture of her in her fancy boots, but as I said, see above....

Opening presents the other night, what a look on her face as she looks into her stocking.... Oh yes, please make note of her hair, she chopped about 4 inches off of it the other night so I had to used $1.50 school scissors to try to even out the rest. Lovely.

Emma showing off some of her goods...

At my Grandparents last night, my Grandpa...

Me (proof that I do exist) and my cousin Brenna and her cute little guy Bode

Bella getting her hair fixed by expert hairstylist Brenna

Emma does not like to be left out...she had to get her hair cut too.

This morning the girls getting ready to open gifts at my parents house.

Emma with a lovely bow in her hair.

Hope everyone is having a lovely Christmas day!

Still no pictures

Bad news: Still no pictures. sorry. Computer still being obnoxious, it has been cleaned, restored, revamped and still will not cooperate. Only thing left to do is wipe it clean and start over again....which I will do so that Bella and Emma can play with it.
Good news: New computer is being built and will be sent to me shortly =). It is very cool.
Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas!

Still with computer woes

Still having a ton of computer trouble at home. I am unable to do anything photo related, which I am missing quite a bit. Don't realize how much you use that until you are unable to. I'm thinking I'm probably going to get a new computer. Anyway, hope everyone is having a great day!

Out of Memory

I am having computer issues at home. I have gotten the "out of memory" error message quite a few times over the last few days. It seems to not be handling the large amount of photos and such that I like to throw at it on a regular basis very well. Still trying to figure out the best course of action for the poor ancient (4 years) thing. Bella would be very pleased if I got a new one as I told her she could have the old one whenever I happened to get a new one. But not sure that would be the financially responsible thing to do. Anyway, Bella has a Christmas program tonight. Went over my lunch hour today to run a few errands (no I did not work out today, I'm a little sick and need to rest =) and picked her up a cute skirt, sweater, and boots to wear...all at the very fashionable Walmart. I've been neglecting her clothing lately and she sure hasn't been dressing very nicely...feeling a little bit bad about that, but the kid keeps growing like crazy! Looking all ratty and sometimes the color combos she picks out are quite interesting. For the most part I let her wear what she wants though...gives her some control over her life =). Anyway, she will be quite excited about the boots I think. I'll take some pictures of her and the program, but until the computer is fixed you are all out of luck as it won't let me even transfer anything new onto it. Well must go work. Have a good day.

Weekend layout

Here is a quick layout of the girl's Christmas picture with Santa Claus. We had to go to 2 malls to get this done. At the first mall, it was "pet night" and there was no way I was going to stand at the end of the line of about 60 dogs waiting to get their picture taken with Santa....so off to the 2nd mall we went where we walked right up and got this taken. Emma requested lip gloss and a big doll, Bella requested an Ipod (which incidentally she didn't know what that was until she asked me about 5 minutes before our visit "what's an ipod mom?") and a CD player and CDs. Then they requested a trip to Hawaii for me and a pink toilet (not sure why) and of course some lip gloss. A girl can never have too much lip gloss. Anyway...hope everyone had a great weekend. =)

A bit of everything

*Enjoying the effects of global warming here in the great state of Iowa. 60 degrees, mid-December...can't complain.
*Really starting to enjoy my job more recently. Growing a practice is so hard. When you first start, nobody knows you, everyone is a stranger, not sure if they trust you, etc., etc. I hate it. Now, I have patients that I have been seeing since birth and are now close to 2 years old. It is great fun getting to know them and their parents, seeing how the parents really respect you and trust your opinion. I absolutely love it when a kid comes up to you and wants to hug you, wants you to hold them, brings you a picture, tell you that they love you. One of the best parts of the job. Of course there are those kids that scream the minute you walk into the room and will continue doing that until they hit age 5 =). Then it is pretty cool when a parent gives you a complement, telling you you look wonderful, how much they trust you, acting shocked that you could possibly have an 8 year old child as you don't look a day over 24 (got that one today...made my day) =). Of course they are sad things too...had my first patient diagnosed with cancer since I started in practice...very hard. Anyway, don't know why I am talking so much, just enjoying my job more I guess.
*I think my girlies are so talented artistically speaking. They spend HOURS drawing, coloring, pasting, stapling, gluing, painting. Here are two of their latest creations. Thought they did an excellent job.


Here is my artsy thing for the evening. Made this wreath with cardboard, buttons, glitter glue, ribbons. Copied the idea from HERE


*Enjoyed watching the biggest loser last night. SO IMPRESSIVE!!!! Check out the website if you are in serious need to be inspired to get your butt in gear and start working out and making some lifestyle changes. Speaking of that, it was a year ago that I had enough of how I looked and hired my personal trainer and really started watching my eating habits and took my workouts up a notch or two. Here is my frumpy before photo.

And a after photo taken last night prior to my socialness. {photo by the multi talented Bella}

Hope you are all doing well =).

Happy Wednesday

Another Wednesday....another half day off. Truly love my Wednesday afternoons. Even though I mostly run errands and other stuff like that, it is still just "me" time. Tonight I am also being social, which I am really looking forward to. It has been quite a while since I have been social. It is amazing what a little socialness will do for the mood. *sigh*...the life of a social reject =). After I am done being social I will probably watch The Biggest Loser. This is the other show I watch (you of course know my other obsession is Grey's =). This is the season finale I believe which is the best one to watch...you get to enjoy the fruits of their efforts without the pain of following the whole season I totally find these people inspiring. They have made total transformations of their bodies the good old fashioned way...working their butts off. Very inspiring. Anyway, here are some pictures to look at. I started this book last year. Each year I take our family Christmas card and put it in here. I have about 8 years in the book. So here is the front cover.

This was last years card...

Last years entry was interactive...pretty fancy, huh? I put the little letter I sent with the cards here.

This is this years card. I'm actually on it...scary. No interactive components this year...no letter for those of you who will be receiving the actual card. Sorry. Really didn't feel like a "year in review" letter this year =)....might be too depressing, not very christmasy.

another layout

I'm trying to be a good blogger...the problem is I have nothing to say. It is really quite sad...hopefully someday that will all change. Anyway, just another quickie layout from our sort of vacation this past summer.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Another weekend gone

Hello everyone. This weekend seemed so short for some reason. Even after I didn't sleep all last night (due to a large ingestion of caffeine)...you'd think that would make the weekend seem longer, but it didn't. Not really ready to go back to work tomorrow. Oh well. Nothing really exciting to report, no major tradegies either so I guess that is about as good as it gets around here =). Finished these layouts this weekend. Trying to scrap some pictures from my pseudovacation this summer. Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Hard Week

I've had a pretty difficult week, thus my lack of blogging. Had to make some hard decisions, but am feeling I think about as peaceful as I can about them. It's interesting when you are down, how little things can just cheer you up. An unexpected visit from a friend who has time to chat... Jared. (by the way, no clue what all that mumbo-jumbo is about...kind of above my head). An unexpected compliment from a stranger Wilna's blog who happens to be award winning scrapbook artist. All nice little surprises that brighten's one mood. I'll try to post something more interesting this weekend. Have a good one!

Clean room = scrapbooking

Finally did some scrapbooking this weekend. It was kind of fun, haven't been motivated enough to do that for quite some time.

This first one is of the girls on the beach this summer, part of our vacation at home.

This one is the concert Bella and I went to a few weeks ago.

Yeah, I know this one is ugly and dirty, but that is okay. Those are kind of fun too. I have been listening to a lot of music lately and these are just a few of the lyrics that have spoken to me in some form or another.

Other weekend activities? Not too much. Cleaned like a crazy person yesterday...that is about it. Hope you all had a great weekend.

Nothing new here

Sorry, nothing exciting to talk about, no photos, no layouts, nothing. However.....I finally cleaned my office up. It has been a absolute complete disaster for about 3 months....seriously. It could be quite possible that I might start scrapbooking again now that I can walk through the room without stepping on something. I even printed some pictures out. We'll see what happens. So that is all for tonight, I must go watch my DVR'd Grey's Anatomy...very, very, important...trumps blogging anytime. Oh, I thought of something....might go to CA in March to hangout with my dear friend Dr. Marvasti...isn't she lovely? Actually, she might be taking a board review course and I'm going to mooch off of her hotel room and enjoy the beach if it is warm enough. I miss her =). Now off to watch Grey's.

Last MMM layout

Here is the last layout from the MMM contest. I liked it, thought it told a cute story. So my entire entry is from this one down to my grandma laughing.

I tried something new tonight...cut the girls hair. Used scrapbook scissors. Even tried to layer it. I thought it didn't look like brain surgery, they are a good age to experiment and I could save some money...so I went for it. We'll see how it looks when it dries. They seemd to be pleased with the results =). Hope everyone is having a good night.

Photos from yesterday

Took these pictures yesterday. The girls insisted that we put up the Christmas stuff. So we did. They both picked out ornaments at Target. Bella a hot pink feathery bird. Emma, when I wasn't looking, had put about $50 worth of Christmas decorations in the cart...but she finally settled on the hot pink bells when I told her she couldn't have everything she picked out. They both seemed very pleased with their choices. The first picture shows them looking at their handiwork.

Thankful

Wasn't feeling very thankful this Thanksgiving. Having a hard time dealing with lifes circumstances. Anyway, got this out....I made this early this summer for the MMM contest. It was my celebrate life layout (which by the way I had to send it to them as part of the entry and I will never get it back....don't think I will be doing that again). Good to remind yourself of the so many reasons you have to be thankful, even when life doesn't go your way.

Hope everyone had a good thanksgiving.

another layout

Here is another layout from my defunct MMM entry. This was my favorite layout out of my entry. It is hard to appreciate the details, but in person it is pretty cool.

Anyway, that is all for now. Have a good night.

Awesome concert

Had a wonderful time in KC at the concert. The concert was great....loved it! I absolutely love his (Jeremy Camp) music...own every bit of it (I think about 5 CDs). Here are some photos from the event...not the greatest pics as it was dark, but you get the picture.

Bella in her new t-shirt...she is very proud of it. jUst waiting for the concert to begin.


Pictures of the concert.




On the way home, took this picture and promptly missed the exit =). Shouldn't drive and take pictures at the same time.

Entering the lovely state of Iowa.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

Long Post

I was pretty busy at work today, but not busy enough to neglect my internet surfing....here is my find from today. I always like it when someone tells me I'm cool, even if it is a stupid internet quiz =).

You should have grown up during the twenties You are cool, sophisticated and hip – even by today’s standards. You like things before they are considered cool, and you like them long afterwards. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Here is my photo from today. Sorry it is not very exciting. This is where Bella and I are heading off to tomorrow afternoon. Very excited to go to this concert. I haven't been to a concert in years. I believe I last went during college...saw The spin doctors and ?gin blossoms?.






Here is my promised layout. Kind of a more personal one. Was a bit hesitant to post this as I am in a swimsuit....but that was 12.5 years ago and I'm not even the same person anymore...so I don't even really see it as me. That's kind of what this layout is about. It is a picture of me on my honeymoon and how completely innocent I was and how much I have changed since this picture was taken. Especially the last few years as I have started realizing that I deserve better in life.

I have been through a lot over the past year. I realize how much stronger of a person I am and am becoming because of it. But I wouldn't be functioning as well as I am if it weren't for those that have been there for me, especially over the past 6 months. So a public thank-you to those who have been especially helpful....thanks=)




My girls....where would I be without them. Bella making me cards telling me how cool I am, hugs, I love yous. Emma with her ability to make me laugh with her goofiness, her funny statements and her ability to get rid of telemarketers effectively =).





My mom and dad who listen to me, give me advice and have been 100% supportive of me. Couldn't ask for better parents.






Dan, who is an inspiration for how to take the higher road in times of adversity, lets me vent and makes me smile more than I have in a long time.



Angela...who has endured countless, long, ranting emails.


My personal trainer Doug, who I consider a friend despite the fact that I have to give him very large sums of money for him to talk to me, he has always listened, given advice and has whipped me into kick butt shape. I always leave our sessions feeling better than when I came (by the way, that is not a picture of him...but thought I should put a muscle guy in there as he does work at the gym)





That is all for now. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Photos of the day

I've been meaning to do a photo of the day thing for awhile...take a picture of something everyday for a month. A good way to document everyday life. I always mean to start at the beginning of the month, but seem to always forget to do it...so I decided to start yesterday. Had a bit of a photo shoot yesterday evening, taking 122 pictures. I actually hardly took any of them yesterday...everyone else was in the photo taking mood. The picture here from yesterday was one of my favorites...I obviously didn't take it, but it is of me and I actually look happy. I think I need to be happy more often...a good reminder =).

Today's photo is of Miss Emma looking all cute an innocent.

Well, that is all the excitement I can muster today. Will try to post a layout tomorrow.