What does a new year mean? To me, it means a clean slate and a fresh start; time for a 'do-over'. You have an opportunity every single day to believe in the possibility of achieving your goals and getting what you want...

Wow. 2009 is ending with a bang, so to speak.

My mom was diagnosed with lung cancer the week before Christmas and 7 days later was having surgery to remove 1/3 of her right lung. She's out of the hospital now and recuperating at home, thankfully. The road to recovery for her will be an extended one and we are hoping for the best.

I finished the year still holding down 2 jobs with very little free time in between. I'm going to cut back to just 2 days/week at Hobby Lobby in the hopes of finding a little more 'me time'. My motto for the coming year will be: "Work to live; don't live to work."

I'm spending New Year's Eve at home with a friend; no raucous partying for us... At the rate things are going, we'll be lucky to make it 'til midnight, which is fine by me. I'm ready for a new year and a fresh start!

After a long dry spell, I finally finished a scrapbook page. It's definitely not my best effort, but it felt good to get all ink-y again!

Two weeks since my last post and not much has changed other than the fact that I've been sick this entire time. Nothing horrific like H1N1, just a nagging sinus/head cold thing. Still all work and no play with every free moment spent trying to get better, which translates into early bedtimes.

I worked this morning and cam home early. Now baking some pumpkin bread; gonna have and early dinner and go to bed yet again! 'Night!

Still no time for crafting. Only work. Today, on a day off from both jobs, there would appear to be time for crafting, but there's only rest, relaxation and 'New Moon'! Woot, woot! Oh yeah, and a trip to the grocery store afterwards so I don't starve this week. (Like THAT would actually ever happen!)

'til next time,

Since I started working two jobs it seems like I have no creative time anymore - I'm always too tired; either that, or I've lost the creative mojo. 8( Gonna work on that and I promise I'll post some new stuff very soon! In the meantime, I gotta go to work...

Another heartbreaking loss for my Hawkeyes last night. You'd think I'd be used to it - every time we look to be on the verge of 'the greatest season ever', disappointment prevails...

Still, the Hawkeyes have a 9-2 record, will probably finish the regular season with a win against Minnesota next week, and will no doubt receive a bowl bid. Win or lose, it's a great day to be a Hawkeye!

If you need me, I'll be on the couch for the rest of the day...

Saturday morning. Gameday. Looking for a Hawkeye Big Ten Championship today...

Good morning, dear readers. Well, inventory at Lowe's has come and gone. I rocked it out like a champion (with a lot of outstanding effort from the team, of course). We blew our goal out of the water and, amidst a lot of praise from the district and regional teams, I start to worry about the possible new goal for next year. Will it be within reach? Only time will tell...

Goodbye October, Hello November. Okay, only 7 days late with that one. Seriously, time is just flying. Inventory at Lowe's starts Monday and, although I think we're ready, I'm still nervous as hell. I've always looked at inventory as the report card for what kind of job I'm doing. Self-criticism is always the worst, I guess. So, only one more week, dear readers, and thing should be back to normal. Okay, as normal as they're gonna get with the holidays right around the corner...

Enjoy your weekend!

Regrouping today. Started with a radical hairstyle change. What do you think? Hit the grocery store because the pantry was bare and then rounded out the afternoon with a little shoe shopping - scored 2 pair of Sketchers. Sweet! Tonight starts with honey teriayaki glazed salmon, baked potato and fresh green beans for dinner. (I have been eating on the run way too much lately.) Finally, it's @ home Spa Night > mani, pedi & facial. If there's time, there might be some reshuffling of the closet to tuck away the summer clothes...

Back at it tomorrow.

Wow. Just reading my last post. Boy was I ever in a negative place. No worries; things are better now. Why? Because Coffeemate Peppermint Mocha Creamer is back! Sheer bliss in a cup!

Kind of excited about this weeks' events. Work has been going good - lots of recoveries to boost my ROI. I helped my friend get a job at Hobby Lobby and am hoping that this helps him turn a corner. Day off today, the first in 15 days. What to do? First up is a haircut. I'm going to update my 'do for the holidays; something funky and fun. Then, maybe a little shopping... Finally, I'm planning on an at-home facial tonight. Can't afford the salon version, but I'm hoping to find some products today that will get the job done...

Thanks for stopping by!

Not much going on these days except for work. Getting ready for inventory at Lowe's; three weeks to go and I'll be glad when it's over. Working at home today. Big pot of chili on the stove...

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Life is funny. You think you have it all figured out. You think you know who you can trust to have your back. Then, instead of having your back, they stab you in the back. Kindness, generousity and loyalty are repaid with rudeness, indifference and betrayal. I have come to the conclusion that I need to pick and choose my friends more carefully in the future.

'Til next time...

Wow! Another two weeks of silence. My bad... Continued busy-ness with both jobs.

Finished my 21-straight-day stretch last Saturday morning - with 36 free hours ahead of me it was hard to decide what to do first. Obviously, first on the agenda was to come home and watch the Hawkeye game. A friend was here to hang out and before you know it, we had decided to go up to La Crosse, WI for Octoberfest. It was a really fun night, followed by a long haul back home at 4:00 am. I made up for everything by camping out on the couch for the entire day on Sunday. Monday thru yesterday was pretty much work, work, work...

After work last night Bailey and I went over to my friend Lori's house to watch the Hawkeye game. It was a nail-biter, but the Hawkeyes beat Michigan. Bailey had a great time playing with Lori & Ryan's kids and exploring their house. By the time we came home, we were both ready to drop, which we pretty much did.

Today is a day off from both jobs. Sitting here drinking some coffee and waiting for the laundry to dry. No craftiness on tap for the day - too tired, I guess. I did repaint a picture frame for the bedroom. I've been inspired to update some of my home decor'. (I am loving my job in the framing department at Hobby Lobby and wished that it paid enough for me to just quit Lowe's...)

Well, that's about it. Thanks for stopping by!

Almost two weeks without a word? You poor readers must be in a panic wondering what's going on in my life, right? Well, not much. The whole two-job-thing has really consumed my life. It's not like I'm working so many extra hours at Hobby Lobby (12-15), but when I gave the HL manager my Lowe's schedule and said, "Here, work around this," he really took it to heart, scheduling me 3 hours at night after a Lowe's shift and really honing in on my Lowe's scheduled days off. Needless to say, I haven't had a day off in 2 weeks and am looking at 6 more days before I get one! Thank God Hobby Lobby is closed on Sundays!

Needless to say, there hasn't been much free time and I've been super tired every night. The Hobby Lobby job is a more physical one and I spend the entire shift on my feet - not necessarily a good move for the girl with the reconstructed right foot! I do like the extra paycheck though - it leaves plenty of breathing room after the bills are all paid and I like the fact that I can pay extra on my credit cards; I'd love to get those suckers paid down!

With free time so precious, I've become even more efficient at multi-tasking and running errands on the fly. Slightly irritated with the next-door neighbor this weekend though... I've come home 2 nights in a row with the intention of doing a load of laundry and she's had clothes in both the washer and dryer with her car nowhere in sight. Last night, she was gone for at least 5 hours before she came home and finished. Tonight, it's been 2 hours. Seriously, how rude! My alternative would be taking her stuff out and throwing it on top of the dryer, but I'll let it go 1 more day. She'd better be out of my way tomorrow night though! ;-)

And with that, dear readers, I'm going to go spend some quality time with my little dog who has been quite the trooper in putting up with all of my comings and goings...

A coworker got married a couple of weeks ago and my gift was to start a scrapbook for them. Just finished the pages and put them in the book:

Off to bed!

Crafted like a madwoman today. With two jobs, either my free time is non-existent or I am just too exhausted to be creative. Made up for lost time today though: 2 swap cards, 1 wedding card, 7 Halloween cards and 26 Christmas cards. Most of the Halloween cards were a revival of an old favorite:

But I did this one just so I could bust out the Distress Crackle paint:

And don't be that impressed with the quantity of Christmas cards - I'm doing photo cards this year and it was simply a matter of assembling them. Still, I feel like I got a lot of stuff done and know that I won't be caught off guard with the Holidays sneaking up on us already.

On the craft table now are the beginnings of what will be my Fall/Grateful/Thanksgiving cards. Wish I had another day off - I seem to be on a roll...

Not a lot to blog about. I did start a second job at Hobby Lobby two weeks ago. This might have bad news written all over it, as I can see myself spending more money and taking on more craft projects, LOL. However, I feel like I can exercise some self control and actually take that second paycheck and pay some bills with it!

Work at Lowe's is the same. Busy, as always, with more programs, checklists and daily things 'to do' coming all the time. I'm thinking of telling my boss that I'd like to step away from the Davenport store mentorship, as visiting there only once a month seems futile. We shall see.

Today is my only day off this week and I am totally unmotivated to do anything. I did manage to get the laundry done and straighten up the house, but now I feel the need to log some serious couch time!

Until next time,

Last weekend was my 30th class reunion, a luau-themed night of food, drinks and entertainment. I had such a good time connecting with old friends! Of course, I had to scrap about it!

Jacob & Shelby were in Willie Wonka at the Bell Tower Theater last month. I scrapped the pictures, but forgot to post the page, so here it is:

More to come - soon, I promise...

Why is it that every time you go on vacation you come back to twice the work? The last 2 weeks have been spent playing catch up in between visits from the district staff. Ugh! And why is it that no matter how many great things you do, they always find those little deficiencies to pick at? Maybe their mentality is that no one is perfect and we're gonna make damn sure she knows that she's not perfect... Who knows? Still, it's a job that pays the bills and provides me with health care, which is more than some people can say these days! I'm still holding out hope that PetSmart will call me and say, "Teresa, can you come manage our store and oh, by the way, would you please bring your dog to work everyday as well?" Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Vacation - Day 5. Not much accomplished this week, but I guess sometimes that's the whole point of vacation, right?

The kids are in the summer production of Willie Wonka Jr. this weekend at the Bell Tower Theater, so stay tuned for pics...

Chilly and rainy. Where did summer go? Thinking about going back to bed for the day and can't seem to find a reason not to...

Vacation, Day 1 - Taking it easy, resting and regrouping. Work has been kinda tough lately. They've been asking me to travel more and take on all kinds of new responsibilities. Now, you know I love a good challenge and have never minded additional responsibilities, but the things they are asking me to do fall more under the realm of someone with a much higher salary than I...

I spent the day puttering around the house, watching seasons 1 and 2 of "The Office", cathing up on emails and posting some unused crafting supplies for sale on Craig's List.

The weather is in the 'in between' stage - not quite hot enough for the A/C, but still a little sticky. I've settled on keeping the windows open to enjoy the fresh air and slight breeze, but have dug out the tank tops...

My nephew Trey left for Afghanistan last week - hoping he stays safe and hurries home soon.

Had a great Fourth of July weekend, despite the fact that I had to work both days. My brother John was here and we spent the time hanging out, watching movies and playing games. Saturday night, we skipped the fireworks and resorted to setting off 'illegal fireworks' in the front yard. By 'illegal fireworks' I mean firecrackers, LOL. Only in Dubuque...

And that's it for today!

R.I.P. MICHAEL JACKSON

August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009

Tweeked my resume' a little bit and posted it on monster, careerbuilder, etc. I applied for two jobs online and will apply for at least one job a day until I find something that suits my needs. I'm thinking of contacting a couple of headhunters to get my resume' out there. The biggest challenge is that Dubuque is a small town and the opportunities are limited, but I'll find something!

Keep your fingers crossed for me as I begin 'the big search'!

Horrible week at work and that's all I'm going to say except for the fact that I'm heading over to Monster.com right now!

Have a great weekend!

Guilty pleasure Saturday:

• coffee with 'cinnamon bun' creamer
• watching Paris Hilton's 'My New BFF' on MTV, cheering for Stephen
• stalking people on Facebook, LOL - stalk me back @ http://www.facebook.com/teresapete

Have a great weekend!

I did a little creating today and made this page about the kids' Spring concerts:

I kept it simple, focusing on just a couple of pictures because my last two pages have just been loaded. Going to spend a little time tomorrow working on some new techniques...

Thanks for checking in!

Busy day off today, starting with trip to the salon for a mani/pedi, and haircut & color. Then, lunch at Panera with my friend Judy - love her! Next was gassing up the car and a car wash; then over to Mary's house to have the kids help me wax the car and detail the inside. Now, I'm home and working on laundry and cleaning the house; burning CDs for the car in between... Buffalo chicken salad for dinner - yum!

See ya next time!

Overwhelmed. Work is kicking my butt. I am working on an investigation that keeps me running back to the store after my regular shift is over and in on my days off. I feel like I can think of nothing else besides work. I even forgot that Mom was having a medical procedure this morning and didn't remember until I called Mary and she said that they were in with the doctor... Geez!

Tomorrow I am on the road to Davenport, but there are rumors that our Regional Director might be visiting our store, so plans could change at a moments' notice. Help! I need a vacation! (Luckily, I have one scheduled for the week after the 4th, so I'm counting down the days.) At least tomorrow, I'll be able to stop in at Jim's house and have lunch with the family...

Keep checking in!

Friday morning. Payday. Paying bills and lots of errands to run. Gotta get to PetSmart and the grocery store... This is my life.

However, here's a little something to look forward to:

Damn! That Jacob is lookin' good...

Have a great weekend!

It's a nice little Saturday morning... I'm busy being crafty, making some birthday cards since I realized that I was out. There's a 'The Hills' marathon on MTV, so I'm engrossed in that guilty pleasure. The weather is beautiful - mid 60s. (Too bad I have no desire to go anywhere.) Hey, at least I'm dressed! Bailey keeps eyeballing me, waiting for a sign that we're outta here. Soon, little girl...

Last night I finished editing some home video of the kids' Spring concerts. Here's a clip of Shelby playing her bass guitar with the Jazz Band:

Thanks for stopping by!

Found this little quiz on Jennifer's blog (http://www.jenniferstewarts.blogspot.com/)
She was having a little down time; I am just procrastinating, so here goes:

What is your current obsession? games on Facebook for some reason
What is your weirdest obsession? games on Facebook, LOL
What are you wearing today? gray gym shorts and an old blue t-shirt
What’s for dinner? grilled salmon w/ garlic pesto
What would you eat for your last meal? a huge steak, baked potato & asparagus
What's the last thing you bought? a Venti Mocha Frappucino from Starbuck's
What are you listening to now? Rachel Ray's TV show
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Rocky Road
If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be? Asbury, Iowa
If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go? Phoenix
Which language would you want to learn? Italian
What's your favorite quote (for now)? "Do or do not. There is no try." - Yoda
What is your favorite color? emerald green
What is your favorite time of day? early morning
What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe? my skinny jeans
What is your dream job? probably working with animals...
What's your favorite magazine? Real Simple
If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on? groceries, LOL, the pantry is pretty bare...
Do you admire anyone's style? Jennifer's!
Describe your personal style - casual, flexible, evolving
What are you going to do after this? edit home video from the spring concerts
What are your favourite movies? The Godfather, Boondock Saints, anything w/ Will Ferrell
What's your favourite fruit? any and all berries
What inspires you? a clean and organized workspace (how lame!)
Do you collect something? memories

Thanks for checking in!

Thinking about the reason behind the Memorial Day holiday...

This weekend we pause to remember. To honor and thank those who paid the ultimate price so that we can have our picnics and parades and parties. To recognize the sacrifice of the families whose loved ones gave their lives in order that our freedoms could be preserved. To consider the ongoing challenges of those who voluntarily put themselves in harm’s way to protect our country, our values and our way of life.

Check out Cards for Heroes, a non-profit organization whose mission is to "support our nation's armed forces by sending blank greeting cards to write home on, as well as cards of gratitude to encourage them." I'll be working on a challenge with my card group in the upcoming weeks to support this organization. Let me know if you'd like to help...

Well, don't think because I haven't blogged in over 2 weeks that I haven't been doing anything, LOL. Crazy busy! Jacob and Shelby were in the ERMS production of CATS. I scrapped a lot last week and made pages for the family to frame. Here's a look at the finished product:

Thanks for stopping by...

Another crazy 10 days or so that have kept me away from the computer, blog, etc. Mom continues to recover from her surgery, has gotten her staples out and was cleared by the doctor to drive a couple of days ago. Thank goodness! Let's hope that she doesn't try to do too much too soon...

Work has been busy as we enter the "100 days of hell", a term we use for the spring planting season. The garden center at Lowe's rocks and rolls on a daily basis and we receive truckloads of plants every week. The big challenge is always keeping those plants alive until we can sell them, LOL. At least the weather has finally broken and I don't have to worry about cold temperatures killing plants! I am still mentoring 3 other stores and today I am headed down to Davenport to work.

This coming weekend brings 2 exciting events: 1) Farmer's Market starts, and 2) the big production of 'CATS' at ERMS. Neice Shelby and nephew Jacob both have major roles with lots of solos, so I'm sure they'll be many proud moments to scrap and brag about...

Stay tuned, dear readers!

Well, it's been a long and crazy week. My mom had hernia surgery on Monday and was in the hospital for three days. We brought her home on Wednesday and my sister and I have been alternating staying at her house to help her. She's been in a lot of pain and we were just afraid she'd try to do too much on her own. Fortunately, she's feeling a lot better and can now be left 'unsupervised'. She still has a lot of healing to do, but I think we've turned a corner...

On top of all that, Jeff's (my sister's husband) grandma passed away last weekend, so we had a wake and a funeral in the middle of the week. In and amongst that, I managed to work about 25 hours and took some vacation time to make up the difference.

The family finally had our Easter dinner last night; better late than never.. Today will definitely be a day for resting and regrouping before getting back to work tomorrow.

Thanks for checking in!

May the Easter Beagle be kind to you this year...

Dirty Broccoli

Got this recipe from my friend Adrian. (Her cousin is Food Network chef Ellie Krieger.) It is crazy-delicious!

1 bunch broccoli (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1 T. water
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. fresh bread crumbs made from day old whole wheat bread or 1/4 c. plain (store bought) bread crumbs
1/4 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. salt
pinch of pepper

Cut the broccoli into spears and place in a large microwave safe bowl with the water. Cover tightly and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Drain the broccoli well and set aside.

While the broccoli is cooking, heat the oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring, until the crumbs are toasted and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the broccoli, toss to coat with bread crumbs and serve.

Cold, cloudy and rainy, with snow in the forecast. What's a girl to do? Time to play with some of my new Tim Holtz stuff, of course!

Today's project was an inspiration journal. I am always clipping ideas and examples from magazines, but had no where to keep them, so I made this blank book. I used all kinds of Tim Holtz (my hero) products on this:

The cover is Grungeboard, inked with Distress Inks; heart/wings/crown are again Grungeboard painted with Distress Crackle paints and wired together; the clock stamp is from his new collection @ Michaels and the metal game spinner is his too! I think the flourish stamps are from HOTP and the ribbon is from my stash. The letters are 'Spare Parts' from The Paper Studio.

Lazy weekend for the most part. Friday was payday and my inventory incentive bonus was tacked onto my check, so after paying a bunch of bills I did a huge Sam's Club / grocery store run - so happy to see a full freezer, fridge and pantry, not to mention that Bailey has been keeping a close eye on the new big bag of dog food in the corner. We like being stocked up!

It has been kind of cold this weekend and actually snowed a couple of inches yesterday afternoon/evening, so I have enjoyed playing the hermit. I spent almost the entire day Saturday downloading new music, adding it to my iPod and burning CDs for the car. Today was laundry day and rest; swedish meatballs and noodles in the crockpot made the house smell awesome. I didn't do any crafting this weekend, I'm afraid - I just didn't have the ambition and the couch seemed way more inviting.

Big week at work coming up - I'm working on a couple of big investigations that will hopefully net me an internal case or two. So, with that, I'm heading to bed!

Not much going on, although Spring has finally arrived. Did a little scrapping and a little cardmaking today. I mostly used up some scraps to shore up my card stash; then I stamped a couple of images and colored them with my Copic markers (which are worth every penny, btw). Here's the scrapbook page I completed: