resolution blues

{one of my layouts for Graphic 45 at Winter CHA 2010} 

so, i was in church the other day & we were all talking about who made a new year's resolution & who didn't . . . well, apparently, this week holds the highest rate of people feeling the blues for the entire year because people who made resolutions have already not seen them through a they "promised" themselves they would have.  no worries, though!!  if you're like me, sometimes you just need a good old mathematical equation to show you the cold, hard facts pointing in YOUR favor & those blues will soon be lifted for a more cheerful hue!!

so, here we go . . . first take today's date (in January), and subtract 7 from it {because most of you kept that resolution for at least 7 days of the month so far!!}.  Now, take that number and subtract it from 365.  Now, take that grand total and realize that you STILL have MANY MORE days to make a positive change in your life, so DON'T DESPAIR!!  Give yourself a little room to grow, grant yourself some wiggle room for the days you've missed in the past with your resolution & start fresh TODAY!!!  Life is about learning that we are all not perfect & learning to appreciate those things we need help with, and then working {that's right, I said workING . . . it's a lifelong thing, people!!} to make ourselves better.  don't give up on YOU!  if there's one resolution you SHOULD keep this year, it is that one:  DON'T GIVE UP ON YOU!! So, forgive yourself for your little mistakes & realize that change happens over time, you'll mess up every now & then, but you'll also get better at not messing up the more you try.  So, keep trying & don't give up!!

much love,
natasha

joke's on me!

i've been itching to blog a "real" blog entry since the 1st of the year, but after the wrapping paper, cardboard boxes, ribbon, tinsel, and "i had too much sugar" holiday massacre that occurred at my house, it's taken me nearly a week since the kids went back to school to put my house back together {aka: when the house is put together, my life feels more put together!}.  well, finally, the house is done {yes, i DO realize there are endless piles of laundry so high i can't even walk in my laundry room . . . but, i choose to ignore that right now!} . . . so, finally, i have the time to sit and blog for a moment!  so, let me catch you up!!

aside from fiendishly working on CHA projects for Graphic 45 due next week {yikes.}, i made an under-wraps promise to myself to try to do Project 365 this year and take at least 1 picture everyday to document life in my world.  i actually did really well . . . and then {evil music in the background} . . . MY COMPUTER crashed when i tried to download my pictures & EraSeD every last one for the first 4 days of january from my camera's memory card!!! MAJOR uGh!!!! but, you can't keep me down, evil electronic devices!!!  no, no, no, i CAME BACK with a VenGeAnCe!!!! i think it's been 3 days and i've taken 60 pictures!!  yup, almost 20 pics a day!!  clearly, i won't keep that pace up, but, at least i didn't let a really crappy moment get me down!!

the other thing i've been doing a lot of is cooking in my kitchen.  i absolutely LOVE my kitchen.  it's filled with light, from a wall of 2 story windows, and a MEAN Wolf commercial range that is teaching ME how to cook!  so, after watching Food, Inc., it reminded me how well the food industry keeps vital information underwraps for it's own benefit.  SHAME!  i've been a consumer of local, organic, seasonal produce & meats for quite a few years now, mostly because i need to baby my body a bit with all the tummy troubles i have.  but, also, because i refuse to pay money for food that is laden with chemicals, antibiotics, and/or lacking essential nutrients because of the way it is grown.  i TRULY believe cooking good food for yourself & your family is essential these days, especially when it's one of the only controllable defenses we have against all of the toxins around us {some just a product of becoming such a technically advanced & reliant world}.  so, i thought i'd try every now & then to share a great recipe that is quick, easy, healthy, and SUPER YuMMy!  if you don't realize it already, you'll be amazed at how quickly you can whip up a great, mostly raw food meal that is filling & so tasty.

here's a great smoothie recipe that you can even fool the kids into thinking is a peach sorbet!! --

Peach Smoothie
{i mix everything in my Vitamix for just a few seconds & it comes out smooth & creamy. probably any high quality blender will do.}

cover the blades with a peach/white grape frozen juice concentrate {make sure you're not choosing one full of fake sugars}, add 6 baby carrots, a banana, a handful of frozen peaches, a 1 inch wide slice of cabbage (or 3 brussel sprouts), half a pear, half an apple, a Tbsp of coconut oil, and a tsp of honey.  you can add some ice is you'd like.  blend & serve right away. {if you'd like, you can add 1/2 tsp or so of flax seeds too.}

i usually serve it to my kids in an ice cream glass with a spoon so they think of it more like a dessert . . . they ALWAYS want more.  what!? more fruits & veggies!??  do you ThINk i say "no"!!?????!  you can always throw in more veggies or fruit depending on what you have.  sometimes i throw in a little bit of kale or spinach or broccoli, etc depending on what i have & who i'm feeding . . . the darker fruits/veggies will change the color of the smoothie to more of a green-brown, which my kids don't always go for!

now, go on and make some good choices, ok!!?!

much love,
natasha

CHA sneak peeks!

during these few days before CHA several companies have been sneaking peeks of their new product to be released on friday . . . my favoritest :) has GOT to be prima's peeks . . . check them out here:













http://prima.typepad.com/prima/2009/01/saturday-sweetness.html













i love the flocked transparencies here:

and, check out the gorgeous detail on these flowers (i'm really into text & music notes right now, too!):

man, i can't wait to use this goodness in my layouts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm "it"!

ok, ok, ok, I know, I'm "it" . . . it's my turn to finally play the blog catch-up game and fill you all in on where i've been this past week. totally unlike me to not post all week long, but, hey, things happen, life takes over, and sometimes your best intentions get buried under all the other stuff you have to take care of! anyway, where shall i start!?!

(first thing's first: hudson is back to eating everything in sight and inching his way back to his glorious 10 month old fighting weight of a whopping 21 lbs. he had lost 5 pounds the week he was sick, and my goodness, when you're barely 2 feet tall, a five pound difference is quite noticeable. luckily, he has been blessed and is recovering quite well now . . . and even has gone back to chasing the kitties, as he's perfected his crawl and learned to speed it up!)

next, my sweet little eliza-bear turned THREE last week! my mom was so sweet and took the kids to chuck e. cheese's to celebrate the big day. eliza had a blast (as well as the other kids . . . ian and i included! LOL!). my favorite part, besides the bright blue food coloring i left on her face from her ice cream cake (hey, i had to leave evidence of a good time for posterity!), was when she wanted to play the free throw arcade game. everytime the music would start before she was to take a shot, she'd hold the ball above her head to shoot, but rock her little skinny booty back and forth to the music . . . then, when the music stopped playing, she could finally focus and take her shot! she's just too cute! OH, and speaking of basketball, maybe my little one won't be so small after all! they measured her THREE times at the doctor's office during her checkup (btw, she remained in her underwear AND princess crown for the duration of the exam . . . as she informed everyone that her name is, "Eliza Princess"!) because she had grown SO much in the past year! she's now standing tall at a very respectable 36"!! only 2 more feet to go until she catches up with momma! so, to all those lame-o's who call her short . . . you better go somewhere, girlfriend! LOL!

Then, on the following day, Thursday, Ian and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary! time flies, i tell ya! i can't believe next year will mark our big TEN years together! well, what other way do you celebrate such a fantastic event? ahhh, enter The Melting Pot! yum, yum, and MORE yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! We went all out with the Big Night Out menu, starting with the Wisconsin trio cheese appetizer. then, a main course that included lobster, filet, shrimp, and much, much more. and closed the night with some out of this world dark chocolate fondue . . . actually it was the yin & yang chocolate (half dark, half white). everything was so pretty, and just mouth-watering. can't wait til we go back in a few weeks for our birthday celebration! (actually, i could do without the turning older bit, just give me the darn chocolate!!)

then, there was eliza's birthday party (Take 2!) with family and friends. they dressed up (Eliza was tinkerbell, as usual!), watched the tinkerbell movie, drew with crayola window markers (bought at Michaels, since I know a ton of you will want to know! :) ), and had brownie sundays!

so, there you have it. my week in a nutshell. oh, and btw, did i mention i got my plane tickets to CHA winter '09!!!??! yAAAAAAAAAAAhoooooooooooooooooooooo! I am BEYOND *excited* about this one! Can't wait to meet all of the wonderfully creative girls and learn what's new in the world of crafting . . . and apply it all to my own art! so, stay tuned because i'm all about sharing what i see there!!

have a wonderful week!

much love, natasha