Family, Adventures, and Gadgets Collide

I often come up with some grand ideas for little craft projects, but just as often those grand ideas become just that ... IDEAS. However, I do occasionally have a spark of an idea and come out with a grand result. (Or at least I think it's grand.) And then, there's other moments. The moments when my life is a whirlwhind but I have to create a little something for a specific something or sometime. So tonight I thought I'd share with you a couple of lil' somethings. First up, these fun little lovelies that I created for each of my daughter's 16 soccer teammates. Frontal view Backside The pictures really don't do these fun little keepsake ornaments justice. It was the end of the "Wildthangs" soccer season and time for their team hurrah. So, amidst all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the Christmas holidays, I decided that I would make each of the girls a little something to remember their season. I started off with the clear craft or

Jen over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam is hosting a Mister Linky's Tasty Tuesday recipe exchange. So I thought I'd join in on the fun and share a recipe. You should join in on the fun too and link up with one of your favorite recipes. One of my favorite desserts to eat make is a Sopapilla Cheesecake. I first tasted this melt-in-your mouth dessert when I first started teaching about nine years ago, but unfortunately I missed out on the recipe. Then, lucky for me, one of my current co-workers and dear friends made the same delectable dessert and brought it to, you guessed it, a teacher's luncheon. Don't worry she shared her recipe! I'm just spreading the love! Sopapilla Cheesecake: INGREDIENTS: 2 bricks of cream cheese, 2 cans crescent rolls, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 stick melted butter, sugar & cinnamon to sprinkle DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 and grease 9x13 baking dish. Spread one can of crescent rolls across the bottom of the pan. I like

One of my favorite gadgets, Animoto ! " Animoto automatically produces beautifully orchestrated, completely unique video pieces from your photos, video clips and music. Fast, free and shockingly easy. " (from the Animoto website) I discovered Animoto at my Library Conference in Houston last April. (Read about the perks of this coference here and here .) Since then, I have used Animoto to create several videos, including one for my dear Dad on Father's Day. But my newest use for Animoto has been creating mini videos with my Animoto iPhone App! LoVe It! I can take pics with my phone, upload them to Animoto directly from my phone, and it spits out a  fun little video to share with others. Check out the video below. It was all done from my iPhone!!!

I love this time of year: baking yummy goodies, spending time with family, listening to holiday music, giving presents, and one of my all time faves is to "pretty up" the gifts before giving them to others. You have to admit, handing out pretty packages makes the giver feel proud and the receiver feel SpEcIaL. I especially enjoyed fancying ( I know, not a real word) up the gifts this year using my Cricut! The possibilities are endless!!! Enjoy this mini-video from Animoto  that I created with the pics of my specially wrapped presents! MeRrY CHRISTmas!!!

Okay so I'm NOT the gingerbread man! However, I've been invited by a friend to run the Cowtown half marathon in February. That's MORE than 13 miles! I may play indoor soccer and work out a bit here and there, but I am NOT a runner! Not yet anyways, but I did make a commitment to train for the HALF marathon and run it in February. Yes, I am crazy! And the craziness was in full swing this morning when I met a group of friends and ran 5 miles in the frigid, misty weather at 7:45am. Let me repeat that: I got up at 7 o'clock on a Saturday morning, met some friends, and ran the entire five (yes, 5) miles in the cold and rainy weather. Have I mentioned before that I really HATE cold weather?!? But I did it! I ran five miles this morning! We'll see how I feel tomorrow! :-) I'll keep you posted on how the training goes. Oh, and check back soon to see the lovely little creation that I made for each of my daughter's outdoor soccer teammates . You'll love it

I m ade these fun festive ornaments today while staying home with my poor sick daughter. Two years ago I bought these fun silver photo ornament frames at Target knowing that I could come up with something cute to put inside. Well now that I have my Cricut (see my Black Friday post) I can create all sorts of little lovelies. They will make great gifts or fun decor on a beautifully wrapped present. You can make some too! See my simple how-to steps below. (My apologies for the poor photo quality, but I'm a bit too lazy to transfer pics from my digital camera. Instead, I used my precious iPhone and emailed myself the pics. :-)   First, I started with these supplies: I used the Cricut Designer's Calendar Cartridge to cut the snowflakes from the blue textured scrapbook paper. Traced and cut out the ornament shapes from the pink cardstock, and then brushed on the silver paint. Next, I layered the snowflake on the sparkly pink paper and then I slapped on one of my cute embosse

First, I should warn you. Today's blog is not for those with a weak stomach! It was nearly a year ago that I blogged about having the Holiday Blues , and low and behold today my daughter wakes up with a stomachache. Yes, this means that I have to stay home with her again this year and deal with vomit! If you recall from my Holiday Blues post, I do NOT handle vomit. Lucky for me, the first time she wretched this morning (in the kitchen), my husband had not left for work yet. In fact, he had the pleasure of seeing it all unfold. Thankfully, I am blessed with a husband who makes an excellent nurse (and clean-up crew!)!!! Hopefully, she'll make a quick recovery and we can get some holiday decorating done.

I love this time of year! Christmas music, decorations, hot cocoa, shopping, wrapping presents, gift giving, and everything else that goes with the holidays brings me so much JOY. And even more, it's Secret Santa time at school! We drew names and are expected to bring a Secret Santa surprise every Tuesday and Thursday for the next three weeks. Here is my first gift. I have had these three mini picture frames in my gift closet for the past several years. They were just waiting for their perfect debut. I used my new Cricut to cut out the J-O-Y letters from coordinating scrapbook papers, traced the frame sizes onto coordinating background paper, and then glued the letters onto the background paper. Snapped each shape with a letter into the frames and Voila! I've got J-O-Y! Hopefully my Secret Santa recipient will enJOY this special holiday gift.

There is definitely a lot to be thankful for this season! I have a wonderful husband and daughter, supportive parents, a perky puppy, and most importantly a forgiving and loving God. I am also blessed with a generous network of friends and a great job. Yes, I have a lot to give thanks for in my life! And today, on this Black Friday, I am thankful for something else a little more, should we say, materialistic. I bought myself a little something, something. One of the many bargains purchased today during our bright and early shop-athon! I am the new proud owner of this precious baby: Oh yeah, baby! I've got a Cricut Expression and I'm not afraid to use it. =) I can't wait to start crafting with this little gadget!

Right before going to bed last night, I took a quick peek at this blog , which is hosting a DIY Holiday Show Off. There are LOTS of great ideas for decorating your home for the holidays or projects to complete as gifts. Instead of getting consumed by blogland, I only viewed a few of the links and then turned off my computer to go to bed at a decent time. (After all, I'll be waking up at 3:00am on Black Friday!) Sounds like the right thing to do, eh? However, as I nestled into bed, visions of holiday projects danced in my head! I could not go to sleep. My brain was storming with ideas and mental lists of things to buy. I should have known better than to look at a DIY holiday blog right before bed time! I did finally drift off to sleep, only to wake up this morning with an itch to shop for craft materials! We'll see if I actually complete any of my mental masterpieces!

Strange that I started this blog at this same time last year! I remember reading through a friend's blog and thinking how fun it would be to have my own! Well, maybe it hasn't been quite the journey I dreamed it would be, but I'm going to get back on the blogging saddle, or at least try. :-) As I attempt to get my blog back up and running, one question continues to play like a broken record in my head. What am I going to blog about? ... We have not added a new addition to the family like this dear friend . I don't have any dainty treasures or creative keepsakes to sell. I am not a regularly crafty creator like those posted over at Just-A-Girl's " I can make that party ." (A blog party I discovered during this same time last year.) So, what's a non-domestic, sport fanatic, tech-addicted gal like me going to blog about? I'm just as uncertain as you are my dear reader! Only time will tell.

Happy birthday to my wonderul husband! Enjoy my playlist! This one's for you! Oh, and if you actually read this blog, I'll be posting about my newest gadget purchase once it arrives. :-)

I mentioned in my previous post that I went to Houston for a library conference. It was the Texas Library Association Conference and another one of my job's perks. I was able to pick up lots of FREE books (many of them advanced copies - meaning they aren't even in bookstores yet!), attend several inspiring sessions, and meet some incredible children's authors. Pictures included!

Houston, we have landed! ... Here I am in Houston at the Texas Library Association Conference. Today my com padre(sp?) and I are enjoying ourselves in a Library 2.0 preconference session, and there are a TON of gadgets being introduced and covered today! Wikis, blogs, online survey tools, Google Docs, web cams, and RSS ... just to name a few! It's heaven for a techie! And even better, the presenters are demonstrating how to use these tools within education -- LOVING it!

Well, as a new blogger there has to be a first time for everything! I am now experiencing my first game of "tag." But since I don't really have any other friends or family members who blog (other than the Royal One who tagged me), this game has now become "Freeze Tag." The tag directions say to share 10 things about me. Oh, and I have to be honest. (As if I would lie!) So here it is, everything you ever wanted to know about me and the things you wish you didn't. 1. I must confess, I spend way too much time on the computer (and not just to complete my online classes for my graduate degree!). Often, I get on "just to check my email or class discussion boards" and then before I know it two hours have passed and I've accomplished nothing but "caught up with all my friends on Facebook" or sifted through a bunch of random websites. 2. I am addicted to Dr Pepper! As in I drink more than 3 a day -- if I could give up Dr Pepper, I could

Okay, so I haven't been so good with this whole blog thing. However, I have been busy getting in touch with friends (old and new) through Facebook . I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted anything new on here! Time sure does fly! My family had a wonderful Christmas together. I did, however, miss not seeing my big sis this year. Hopefully she'll come home from Florida some time in the near future. I hope everyone has a safe and blessed 2009!