Thursday, January 14, 2010

Snapshot

Inspired by this blogger: http://71toes.blogspot.com/ I'm going to take a little "snapshot" of what things are like with the Booth Family at the beginning of 2010. I've done similar things in my scrapbooks before, and its kinda fun to look back and see where we've been and what kinds of things our family was into during a certain time period:

Jason and Jake got to JuJitsu classes at Vanguard gym. I like that Jake likes to do things with his dad.
Maisy is planning to take a "How to Audition" class at the Center for The Arts.
Charlotte has not yet decided what her next activity will be. She is a real renaissance woman.
I'm taking a knitting class next week, that Jason gave me as a Christmas gift! Very excited to learn this craft - have wanted to for quite some time.
I like to go to the gym, and hope to run a few more 5ks this year. I might run a half-marathon, but sometimes I find myself wondering why I want to do that.
We keep track of the kids' growth on the laundry room door. They keep reminding me it has been a while since we've measured.
Charlotte likes to be read to at night, Maisy goes in spurts, and Jake has no interest in reading with a parent anymore. Sad.
Jake has braces. It is a real challenge to get him to brush his teeth. Blech.
We still cannot park a car in our garage.
The girls ride the bus to/from school most days. Jake is driven by Sandy Taylor, and in the afternoon, I pick up Jake and also Sandy's son from middle school.
We have lots of rooms I'd like to paint in our home.
We can't use our master bath tub because the drain leaks. This bugs me a lot.
We have a paper shredder. And a big pile of stuff to shred.
Jason likes to walk Buster over to Starbucks on Saturday mornings. The girls at Starbucks bring out a bowl of water for Buster.
Monday night is still Mac and Cheese night. Despite the fact that it isn't the most nutritious meal on the planet, the kids love it. Jason will only eat it if I make his grandma's recipe, and the kids prefer Velveeta. Even at 13, 10, and 7, they want to have a "cheese finger" when I am squeezing the bag of cheesy goodness into the pan of macaroni shells. If it is your movie pick week, you also "get the bag" to squeeze out the rest of whatever cheese is left. Jason and I usually order Chinese take-out on Mondays, because the kids don't like it, so we'd miss out on that food choice any other time. Speaking of movie picks, we still have arguments about what the "picker" has chosen, pretty much every week, except for parent pick. We always pick something for everyone, and Jake will pick a "Naruto" or "Yugioh", and the girls will pick "Annie" or some other tween version of a "chick flick".
I an concerned (and relatively convinced) that Jake will outgrow his loft bed before he graduates from HS.
Buster still surfs the counters and table for food bits, and steals whenever he sees an opening (mostly from Charlotte) . Buster gets into the trashcan. Buster likes socks.
Linus seems fragile, but can really stick it to Buster when he's being annoying. Buster has little cuts on the insides of his ears to prove it. Linus sleeps in the basement bathroom because he wakes at night and whines a lot.

I think I'll have to continue this in another post, or this will never get posted!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Reflecting...

Wow. 2009 is over.
The years seem to pass more quickly as I get older. That's pretty sad, isn't it? Some good stuff is happening and I really want to savor each and every moment. Then again, there was some bad also...maybe a remote control that I could use to fast forward through the muck and pause the really great moments? That would make an awesome movie! Oh, wait. I think they already did that. Never mind.

Highlights:
The Breast Cancer 3 Day
Weekend crop with friends (May Edition)
Weekend crop with friends (November Edition)
A brand new nephew (I love babies!)
21 inches of December snow!
A wedding
A new puppy
An OLD dog
17 years of marriage
lots of birthdays
Closing of the Lifetime Moments Message Boards and online store (BOO!)
H1N1 for the whole family! (the actual virus, not the vaccine)
Braces for Jake
Lots of time at the gym
Ran my first 5k

I am sure there are some highlights that I have forgotten. I think I'll probably remember some as soon as I hit "publish". Whatever. Not a big deal. Letting go of the small stuff for 2010.





Sunday, December 20, 2009

Insanity

Why am I taking time 4 days before Christmas Eve to write in my blog? You know, this happens every December. You start taking stock of the year, and the things you got to do, the things you didn't...and with me, this blog comes to mind. Sort of like my own personal resolution. Be busier on my blog. Post more often. I will not go out on that very long limb and say I will post every day, but I certainly hope that a once a week recap could happen. Maybe.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

The Letter C

The letter 'C' is on vacation for the weekend.  Back for more riveting alphabet tales on Monday.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

B, B, B. What begins with B?

Breast Cancer 3 Day - I am  walking in this event October 16-18 in Philadelphia.  My donation button is over there on the right - make a donation ! Please? Thanks!! 

Buster Bluth - funny character from 'Arrested Development'.  We are planning to name our new Airedale, "Buster".

Birkenstock - my shoe love.  Back several years ago, I had serious foot issues.  Heel spurs and plantar fasciitis.  OUCH! As a result, I had to wear shoes all the time, and I was either wearing orthotic inserts (usually in my sneakers or running shoes), or I was wearing Birks.  I have quite a collection now, even though my foot problems have subsided (thanks to a 30-pound weight loss). 

Buble`, Michael - I'm not usually into lounge singer-types, but I'll make an exception here. Love, love, love this song: Everything

Brad Paisley - Adorable country singer. Great guitarist. Awesome songwriter. 'Nuff said. Take a listen: Brad 

BPS - also known as, Big Picture Scrapbooking . A really great site with online scrapbooking classes, projects and inspiration. 

Ben & Jerry's  - ice cream!  This is tops, in my book! They've thought up all the right things to 
put into a pint of vanilla or chocolate (or coffee, or banana) ice cream!  My favorite is Chubby Hubby (Fudge Covered Peanut Butter Filled Pretzels in Vanilla Malt Ice Cream Rippled with Fudge & Peanut Butter), though most flavors are yummy! 


A, A, what begins with A?

Apple Computer:  is my favorite.  I was surprised to feel this way, until Jason bought me an ibook for my birthday back in 2005. Everything about it is better than a PC.   I feel the "need" for a new one, and am saving my money.  I hope to make the purchase in late summer/early fall. 

An apple a day: only works when my favorite "Honey Crisp" apples are in seaso
n. 

Arrested Development:  Possibly the most genius comedy writing that is no longer on TV.  I stumbled on this show with Jason, and we love it. It makes us giggle, laugh, guffaw and sometimes gasp in shock...

                                                     
 Airedale Terrier: We're getting one at the end of the summer! 
 Kizzee and Sean (Connery) had a small litter of 2 boys on July 3. One is ours!   The little sweetie to the left is about 9 weeks old, exactly what ours will look like when we bring him home around August 30.   We picked the Airedale because it is a non-shedder, is a really smart breed, and Jason wanted a somewhat larger dog than our last two, which were Mini-Schnauzers.   Special thanks to breeder Corally Burmaster, who has been a pleasure to work with and welcomes us out to her place anytime we want to visit with the puppies she has on site. 

ref=sr_1_1.jpgSO I bought this book a few years ago, after it was recommended by Cathy Zielske. She taught a class at CKU using this book. I have never been to CKU, but have always wanted to take a class taught by Cathy.  Yippee for me, she is teaching a form of this class at Big Picture Scrapbooking!  Part of the class prep is to take alphabet tags (that are provided as a PDF) and begin to make a list of words for my own "Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life".  My friend Stephanie is also taking the class.  She used her blog a while back to make daily alphabetical entries...and so I will try to do the same.  beginning with A today and intending to finish the alphabet before the class begins in early September.  I'm not a terribly faithful blogger, so this might be useless, but anything to try and get here on a more consistent basis! :)