the final version

Thanks for sharing your opinions. We went for the best of both. : )

which one?

Hello there.

My friend Brooke (who, by the way, happens to be the one who does my hair) had a baby a couple weeks ago. Time to send out an announcement to friends & family. So I snapped some pictures & made a couple of options for her ... and she can't decide which one to print to send out.





So if you happen to be in an opinion-sharing mood today, will you drop a quick comment & let us know your vote? Green or blue.

PS - Don't you love this age of digital convenience? This announcement is literally an image with text. That's it. That's all. I remember when I used to spend hours & hours on mass-producing cards, announcements, thank-you notes. No regrets. Fond memories, actually. But I love how Photoshop has helped me to SIMPLIFY.

spring break

This is our Spring Break week, so we headed over to Disneyland for a couple days. A bit crowded, so we just came back to our own little "happiest place on earth" (a.k.a. HOME). More fun planned, just closer to home base. But it was a good trip. Nothing like wiping the kids out with non-stop fun.



I love how Porter gets right in Crew's face to talk to him sometimes.

We even ran into a fellow "Project 365-er". I want to say her name was Jennifer? And I think her husband's name was Roger? Anyway, if you're reading my blog, HELLO! Fun to see you at Disney. Thanks for saying hi! Her husband snapped a picture of the 2 of us together and she said that would be her "picture of the day" for Project 365. I'm quite certain she got better pictures that day. Anyway, I told her that I was ONLY choosing one picture a day for my own Project 365 ... even being on a trip ... and letting go of any pressure to scrapbook full layouts.

Boy, that feels good. Still loving Project 365. Totally keeping up with it and seriously loving it. Did I mention how much I love it? Seriously. This is my kind of scrapbooking right now. Still doing layouts for the kids' albums and that's all good, but it's just so nice doing one picture a day for the family album.

Now ... if you'll excuse me ... I'm still on holiday and getting off my computer. Plus, I have a handful of days to catch up on for my 365.

starting off a new week

Answering a few of your questions:

1. Razmataz (where we have purchased some things you see around our house) is a physical store, not a catalog. At least not that I'm aware of. It's a home furnishings chain around Arizona.

2. Several of you are asking about toy organization. Here's how we do it around here. (Keep in mind that what works for one person/family/house doesn't necessarily work for another.) We have an open (i.e. no door) play room off of the main family room. Games are in cupboards somewhere else, because it really bugs me when game pieces get all loose & mixed in with the toys. Books are all kept in this bookcase.



Here's a look at both sides of the play room.



See all those drawers? That's where the toys are. My kids love going through drawers to find random treasures and I soooo don't worry about what goes in what drawer. One less thing to stress about. And when the room is picked up (it's easy for the kids to just throw everything in drawers) ... it looks nice and not quite so toy-infested.

Both the bookcase and the other piece (where we store all the toys) happen to be from Razmataz.

3. I'm still getting questions about my paint color. The neutral paint in our home is called Oak Harbor from Dunn-Edwards and it is the color carried throughout all the main areas in our home. Hallways, kitchen, family room, play room, guest room, master bedroom, dining room. All Oak Harbor, eggshell finish. Just not the powder bath or the kids' bedrooms.

4. The cute homemade purse that you saw in my Feb. 20th post is made by Karlee Fuchs. She makes the most darling bags & purses and is one of the sweetest and most talented people I know. Go browse around her shop.

5. The tool caddy, as seen in my March CK cover story (organizational article) is from Pottery Barn Kids.

6. Where do I do my printing? I'm certain there are a lot of really great online printing services. I just happen to use Costco.com because I usually need my prints fast. So I upload and can pick them up at my local Costco in an hour. As for my black & white prints ... also Costco. The way I get them so "sharp" and "clean" is that I do my own photo editing (with Adobe Photoshop) before I turn the images over to be printed.

back-ordered kits & a hair cut

Still dragging in every way, and behind on too much, but wanted to drop in to say hello real quick. I know many of you have asked questions and I'm just not able to get to those yet. Soon, I hope.

But I have some really, really, really great news for those of you who have been on back-order status with your Project 365 KOTM. They have finally made it! They're IN. And they're shipping to you now. Woo hoo!! Click here for the formal announcement on the KOTM blog.

Remember, I'm not Customer Service, and can not help you with your individual questions regarding your order. Be sure to contact the Customer Service folks for that kind of help.

Creating Keepsakes Product Customer Service
800-453-1173
720-374-3628 (International)
Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. MST (GMT-7)
Email | creatingkeepsakescs@holdenmss.com

I leave you today with a really fun anecdote. This is Shelley Rae from Wisconsin. She hasn't cut her hair in 3 years. She wrote to CK recently, to comment on how much she enjoyed the March issue of CK, with all the organizational ideas. And she added that it was my haircut that finally inspired her to cut her hair. She did it! She cut off 16 inches (1/2 pound) and is enjoying her new, stylish, lighter hair now! Go Shelley Rae. You go with that new, cute do.

short & sweet

I've decided that moms should not get sick. Not for long periods of time anyway. I've been in bed for a solid week. I think I caught a couple of different things. It's not nice, and I'm ready to be a fun, functioning human being again. But I'm not there yet. So I need to keep this short & sweet. I have sooo much else to be catching up with right now.

On a happy note, I did receive a little package of happiness in the mail during my "down & out" time last week.



Got these Gloveables at organize.com and I am loving them. Many who know me, know that I have a thing for kitchen gloves. I think part of why I love these is that they're like a little celebration of being a homemaker. I love my divine role as a woman and everything that comes with it.

Now ... if I can just get better, then I can get right back to that life.