Excuse me while I pat myself on the back...

Just kidding! Well, maybe a little.

One of my scrapbook pages was chosen as the Page of the Day for Saturday on Serendipity Scrapbooks Gallery! Just click on that sentence to see the layout with a picture of *gasp* me on it! Along with Smiley Joe. (That could be his mafia name, you know.)

I made this page just the other day after reading on ScrapScene about a contest that Serendipity Scrapbooks is running. The challenge was to use scrapbooking products by Jenni Bowlin to create a "shabbylicious" layout. Well, who knows if I will win or not, but this is like getting an honorable mention. At least to me it is!

Can I tell you how much I love ScrapScene? I left a comment to enter a contest and won 4 cool Daisy-D's Rub-on tape runners from Jill at Memorable Seasons.

Free stuff. From nice people. Thanks!

Happy Easter!

We've filled the eggs, made the food, and baked some Hot Cross Buns. We're ready for Easter.

Or maybe not.

Like most of the holidays we celebrate, Easter, of course, began as a religious observance.

I decided to check out the Easter lesson in the Family Home Evening Manual, and there is an Easter Program already outlined, which I adapted to use for our family.

Another great resource is a new website by the LDS church about our Saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

And as much as I LOVE them, it really isn't about the chocolate bunnies.

Easter is about the atoning sacrifice of our Savior, who died that I might live.

Etsy Shop Update!

There are new kits, paper, and embellishments listed in my Etsy shop.

Check it out!

They're also listed on the sidebar to the right,

just in case you were wondering what that was.

And free shipping, too!

Just a little bit of crazy {cake}

I've been a real slacker with my blogging. There always seems to be something more pressing to do, or I have to fight for time on the computer. Right now I'm holding off Monkey, who thinks he should be able to play Monster Trucks when he feels the slightest bit of need to, no matter who else might be on the computer.

So, to compensate for all of the craziness around me, I've been baking. Double chocolate cookies, biscuits, and crazy cake.

Mom made Crazy Cake a lot when we were growing up, and I love it because mixing it is like a chemistry experiment, but one that won't blow up the classroom. The baking soda and vinegar react to each other. This is the perfect cake to make if you're out of eggs and need to take a dessert somewhere, or need a treat for a Family Home Evening treat or dinner you've been invited to. I'd add a picture, but I just finished off the last piece last night. It doesn't last long around here!

Crazy Cake

Combine the following dry ingredients in a large bowl:

3 c. flour

2 c. sugar

1/2 c. cocoa

1 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. soda

Add:

2 c. water

3/4 c. vegetable oil

2 tsp. vanilla

1 T. vinegar

Pour into greased and floured cookie sheet or 9x13. Bake at 350 degrees until center springs back. 20-30 min. for sheet cake, 30-40 min. for 9x13.

OH, YEAH, ONLY 9 DAYS TIL MONKEY'S CAST IS OFF!!!! Sorry for shouting! hee hee

Patience

Patience is a virtue. How many times have I heard that? But patience is a virtue that, unfortunately, I lack. I come by it honestly: My sisters and dad are some of the most impatient people I know. {My mom is also impatient, but she blames it on A.D.D. Ha.} Now, to most people, I think I come off as having an even temperament, but they don't see the thunderstorm of impatience behind my eyes. The storm usually shows itself in little burst of thunder and lightening aimed towards myself, my kids, Andy, the dog, or anyone else who happens to be putting a wrench in my routine.

My patriarchal blessing actually specifically mentions patience. And how I will be blessed with an added measure of it. Kind of like extra chocolate chips in the cookie dough. I could use that added measure right about now. But I digress.

For the last couple of years, scrapbook designer Ali Edwards has incorporated one word as a theme for the year, here is a website dedicated to that idea.

I started this post on January 5th, since I had chosen my word at the first of the year. As you can see, I have also been blessed with an added measure of procrastination, since that was almost exactly two months ago.

I decided to add 4 more words to my one little word, because another family saying is "If a little is good, then a lot is better."

This is kind of a reminder board of those other 4 words: Faith, Love, Pray, Hope. It is made out of a 24" square piece of oak plywood, with some of my favorite colors and things. Sorry, it's not very legible, but includes quotes {cuz I love them} for each word.

Now, I'm challenging you to write down something that you want to keep uppermost in your thoughts. It can be on a post-it note on your fridge, painted, embroidered, collaged, anything. Do this as a family! Vote on what will be your word for a month, a year, whatever. I promise, you won't regret that few minutes of time spent.

Visit Michelle for more Winter Bazaar!

Quotable

I love quotes. I also love sayings, scriptures, song lyrics, poems, etc. I have 4 different documents on the computer with pages and pages of those that I've collected. They have to be written down because I can never remember anything word-for-word.

Just like I can't tell a joke. I'm like Marlin. You know, Nemo's dad in "Finding Nemo". "There's a mollusk, see, and he walks up - well, actually, he swims up..." You get the idea.

{I'm not really sure why I keep using that movie for my analogies, but I have limited viewing options as far as movies go.}

So, I decided to use some of my "home" time with Monkey to make a couple of shadow boxes that highlight one of my favorite quotes. I'm not sure where this quote came from, but it's inspiring.

"How does one become a butterfly?

You must want to fly so much

that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar."

Here's a closer look: