Happy Halloween

Have fun and stay safe!

Monday gratitudes

Happy Monday!  Wishing all of you on the east coast safety. I hope Sandy isn't too harsh on you!

This past weekend, I have been grateful for:
*My family & friends
*Dancing
*A fun day with DD & my sister at the museum
*DH & DS got to see a Bears win at Soldier Field!
*My job
*Beautiful fall weather

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Friday fun

Friday fun for Halloween

Come on Friday...

It's almost here... We have a full weekend and I'm praying to come out of it in one piece.
2 nights of dance recital
Work
A trip to "the city"
Hopefully catching up a little more on my 52 in 52 project

What do your weekend plans look like?

Tales from the library, part 6

Dear Library Patrons, our CDs and DVDs are not your coasters our puppies' chew toy. Please do not treat them so.

So let me tell you how my day went at the library this past Sunday. It was one of those days where you wonder where all the strange questions and requests are coming from.  It also made me wonder why we don't charge for babysitting.  I had forgotten how many parents "drop and run" on Sundays! So in addition to all the kids we were trying to keep reins on; school projects to find materials for and patrons in and out to check in and out, especially the last half hour....we forgot there was someone in the bathroom when we closed!

I can laugh now but I was mortified when I was told!  Anyway, this gentleman, called the police when he discovered we were no longer there.  The police called our head mainenance man (who is on vaca), who called our director.  Oh yeah, the director.... (Insert crimson face here)  I apologized to her, she said he was pleasant about it and she was laughing too.

Oy! I tell ya!   Note to self...check bathrooms VERY thoroughly!

Yea!

We love DD's school pics this year!  (For a change)

The thing she is most upset about....they hid her hearing aids with her hair.

I think it's wonderful that she is confident enough in her 'disability' that she is upset that part of 'her' wasn't showing in her picture.

I assured her we would take pictures at home so her aids would show.

Friday Fun

I'm going to try a new "segment" - Friday Fun...

Maybe it's a joke, comic, something I've enjoyed recently.

I'm loving this video. Fun, fun song!

The one with "the movie"

Not THAT kind of movie...get your minds out of the gutter!

Let me set this for you... Summer, 2011 - Illinois

The community we live in, is constantly on the look out for Hollywood stars (Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron, Heather Graham...) in our town.  And they did show up here and there...
Anyway, our brush with fame happened.  DH is STILL gloating about Heather Graham sitting on our couch. You can read about the filming here in This post.  It was very cool!

We finally found a clip on you tube for the movie - titled At Any Price. It has been shown at a few film festivals (Venice; Toronto). Here is a review/synoposis of the film: At Any Price.  And here is a clip from the film:

I really hope they at least show it in the theaters around here. I'd like to see if our house made it into the movie...

Get to know Jen, part 2

Thank you for the questions you posted.
I will "intro" myself a little first for some of my newer readers

I'm Jen. I'm a 30-something mom of two (a college age son and an elementary age daughter) and wife.

The cast of characters here on my blog (besides me...):
Hubby (DH)
Son (DS)
Daughter (DD)

Things to know about me:
*I work full time for an agriculture lending company and part time at our local library.
*I grew up on a farm and didn't live in town until I married my husband (almost 15 years ago). Someday I hope to live in the country again.
*We live in a nice college town (although I do enjoy it when the students are gone).
*I enjoy reading, scrapbooking, crocheting, knitting and sewing.
*I am an aspiring photographer who is slowly building my portfolio.  You can check it out here: Photos by Jen
*I am a die hard Chicago Cubs fan. They break my heart every year, but there's always next year. I cheer for all the Chicago sports teams, though.
*My favorite color is royal blue (pink is a close second!).
*I love music! (not a big fan of rap and blues, but...) {I'm pretty partial to a male wearing a hat and cowboy boots...}
*I am NOT a good housekeeper or cook! (ask my family!)
*My favorite candy bars are Milky Way and Snickers. But I LOVE chocolate chip cookies and cupcakes!
*My dream vacation would be sitting on a beach for a LONG time with an endless supply of fruity umbrella drinks and a stack of good books (or Kindle).

Tanya from Creative Endeavors asked: 1. What inspires you first - products or photos? 2. Do you listen to music (or anything?) while your work? If so, what? 3. What are your Top 3 Favorite all-time movies?
Fun questions, Tanya! 
1. Photos are usually my inspiration when I start a scrapbook layout. I pick my papers and embellishments based on them.
2. Yes, I usually have music on while I'm scrapping. Now that I think about it, I have music on most of the day...at work, in the van... I am not real particular about music.  My favorite is country and 80s pop but unless it's hard rap or blues, I'll at least give it a listen.
3. My favorite 3 movies...oooo, tough one!  Let's see:  Wizard of Oz; Grease (I can recite every line and sing every song); Disney's Beauty & the Beast.

Lisa from Remember the Good Times asked: What is your favorite page of all that you have created?
This one is really hard. I don't think I can pick just one right now.
Here's my favorite digital one I've done lately:

 These two traditional paper layouts are probably two favorites

 I like how this card turned out.

Thank you for stopping by!

I love all your comments.

Monday gratitudes

Happy Monday!

Let's start the week off on a positive note.
*My family
*A roof over my head
*Food on my table
*That I can go to work each day
*A good book
*Beautiful fall weather and colors
*A Bears bye week
*DD winning a new bike at the fun run

I found this on Pinterest it was posted by Michelle Reis

Have a wonderful week!

Sunday breakfast

I'm not much of a cook (probably if I had more time, I would cook more, but...)

Anyway, I usually make Sunday breakfast. One of our favorites is the following coffee cake recipe

It is from Madison County Cookbook (which also has some other great recipes)

 COFFEE CAKE

2 cups flour

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons margarine or shortening

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

(I also add 1 - 2 teaspoons of cinnamon for a little extra flavor)

TOPPING

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons margarine

Chopped nuts, optional

Mix cake ingredients together and beat for 3 minutes on high speed. Pour in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with topping.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until it tests done.

ENJOY!!!!

It's the weekend!

It's Saturday night...8:30 p.m.   I am listening to hubby snore on the couch and contemplating going to bed.  How lame am I?

I worked today, I think I got a lot done...  Hubby and son went to the university's football game with my dad and cousin.  My mom stayed with our daughter. And much to my surprise and delight, she had done the dishes for me. THANKS, MOM!!!!  You're the best!

I got a scrapbook layout started last night but I'm not really liking it.  It may be a "driveby" layout for a couple of days. I did a little knitting this evening too.

Thank you to those who posted a get to know me question.  Watch for that post this coming week.

I am looking for some new tunes for my ipod.  Any suggestions?  What are you listening to these days?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

TGIF!

It's been such a long week, I have no idea what day of the week it is.  The MLB postseason is in full swing.  The Giants and the Tigers are moving on to their Division Championship series.  We'll see what happens for the other two spots.  I was sad to see that Yankees' manager Joe Girardi lost his father last weekend. My condolences to he and his family. (He's always been one of my favorites...)

We saw this last night and thought it was hilarious...

Work for me tomorrow - Sunday is a fun run for DD's school. Other than that, I am hoping to get some reading and crafty stuff done.

What are you up to this weekend?

Have a super day!

Time again...

To start a "get to know Jen" segment...

Here is the previous segment: It's Me!

Please post your question for this segment in the comments section by Friday, October 12.  I will get the post up answering your questions next week.  Go ahead, ask anything!

Monday gratitudes

To start my week on a positive note....

I am grateful for:

My family

Another year of wedded bliss for my parents

Getting a couple of good books read

Homemade chili and bread

Our 8 year old looking at me with pleading eyes asking me to make breakfast in the morning

Our 19 year old attending his first viewing of Rocky Horror Picture Show - he had a GREAT time!

Red and orange leaves all over the ground (yes, I know that means winter is coming...but it is pretty!)

My van back up and running

I have 20 blog followers now! (thank you all - your 'visits' and comments mean so much to me)

Book review. Where We Belong

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

Publisher's excerpt

Marian Caldwell is a thirty-six year old television producer, living her dream in New York City. With a fulfilling career and satisfying relationship, she has convinced everyone, including herself, that her life is just as she wants it to be. But one night, Marian answers a knock on the door . . . only to find Kirby Rose, an eighteen-year-old girl with a key to a past that Marian thought she had sealed off forever. From the moment Kirby appears on her doorstep, Marian’s perfectly constructed world—and her very identity—will be shaken to its core, resurrecting ghosts and memories of a passionate young love affair that threaten everything that has come to define her.

For the precocious and determined Kirby, the encounter will spur a process of discovery that ushers her across the threshold of adulthood, forcing her to re-evaluate her family and future in a wise and bittersweet light. As the two women embark on a journey to find the one thing missing in their lives, each will come to recognize that where we belong is often where we least expect to find ourselves—a place that we may have willed ourselves to forget, but that the heart remembers forever.

My review:
5 out of 5 stars

I loved everything about this book! The characters were lovable and believable. It has a wonderful, well written (as usual) storyline. Thank you, Ms. Giffin for another great book!

Fall bucket list

My blogging friend Carrie (check out her blog here: Carrie's Little World) posted her autumn bucket list. That got me thinking about what I wanted to get done this fall (sept-Nov)

Make it to an orchard
Bake an apple pie or cobbler
Finish one of my started yarn projects
Read
Blog at least twice a week
Catch up on my 52 in 52 photos

What's on YOUR autumn bucket list?
Happy Autumn!

Happy October!

WOW! I can't believe we are now in the "Halloween month"!

I am thrilled by all the blog visitors I've had the past couple of months. If you leave me a comment - I will visit your blog!  I am always looking for new blogs.  Thank you all for your kind comments!

My week has been up and down - hoping for an up swing here real soon and that it stays that way!

DS went golfing with my dad and one of my dad's friends over last weekend. He had a FANTASTIC time! We took DD to see Hotel Transylvania on Sunday. It is a really cute movie and I would recommend it! (4 stars from me)

Monday was an ok day - crazy at work (but I survived). Storytime went well at the library that night too - not bad for Monday after a full moon!

Yesterday...let the huge fall down the roller coaster begin! A co-worker questioned my integrity and loyalty, which was completely not right. I had done nothing but she assumed.... So I was ignored from 9:30 on (probably for the better). PS: Her desk is right next to mine...

Today, back to work with a smile on my face and to do my job. These are the situations that make it hard to get up in the morning...

On a positive note - I won an Amazon gift card from a blog hop I participated in over the weekend. Thank you, Laura!  I'll be shopping soon!!!!

Today is the last day of the MLB regular season. My Cubbies did not fare well this year, AT ALL!!!!!  On another baseball note, this story came to my attention last week and I have been watching it. Very heartwarming and puts a smile on my face to see his dream come true - I hope it didn't really matter to him how the at-bat ended! I wish Adam Greenberg the best in his future endeavors.

Happy Hump Day!