Summer Reading!

Happy Sunday y'all! Hard to believe another weekend is coming to a close, but for us that means one day closer to a Bahamian vacation!! We are all so excited! I am looking forward to tropical breezes, crystal clear water, a drink in my hand & hopefully finding some quiet time to read.
I think I have mentioned before that reading is one of my favorite things. I love the pastime & remember that this love affair for me started as a young child. I recall getting so excited when the Scholastic book flyers were distributed in the classroom! I would spend hours pouring over the selections & then beg my mom to buy me a few of my choices. And then the anticipation of waiting for those books to arrive was like waiting for Christmas! To me there is great joy in the feel of a taut new book in my hand. I am probably one of few people who still read paper books;no e-books for me, thanks!
Here are some of the books on my nightstand right now.

1. Ghost Town At Sundown 

This is book #10 in the Magic Tree House series. Ty is reading these books & loving them! We read some to him & I cherish these times that we snuggle up in my bed & read together. 

2. Orphan Train

I just finished this book 3 days ago & I really liked it! It taught me about a small part of this nation's history I had never even heard of. Powerful writing too. 

3. Tell The Wolves I'm Home

Picked this book up at Costco the other day. It has been on my "to read" shelf for a while. Needless to say, I am excited to read it this summer!

4. The Language of Flowers

This book was recommended to me by several friends. I love hearing from people whose input I appreciate. I have heard it is a great read & just started it. I am liking it so far! 

5. Pope Joan

Wow! What an amazing book about a woman whose courage & desire for learning & knowledge led her down an unheard of path. A fabulous book!

6. Lies You Wanted To Hear     

This was an okay read, not too bad for this first-time author. It was a bit far stretched from me & hard to fathom. I don't know that I would recommend it, but won't say I am sorry I read it either. 

7. The White Queen (not pictured)

I enjoyed this book & the fascinating storytelling of life in medieval times between royal families captivated me. However, I thought it was a bit too drawn out & detailed. I thought a lot of the tedium could have been left out & the book would have been awesome!

So there is a look at what's on my "book shelf" right now. If you are an avid reader & what to follow more of my book shelves, you can find me on "Goodreads" at     https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6419154-stephanie-eaken   

SO, what is on your "to read" list this summer?! 

~Stephanie  

Read This!

Happy Wednesday friends!
It's Wednesday which means I am sharing my latest Lovebug Creations' project.
Today I am sharing a gift I made for my daughter's sweet friend. I found this charm on sale and it happened to be her initial, so I bought it, knowing I could come up with something for her. I made her this bookmark (hence my title!):

 I started with 3 colors of rumple ribbon: Purple People Eater from the Fright Night collection, Green Goddess (which is now retired), and Kisses from the Loves Me...Love Me Knot collection, and braided them together. The charm is tied on the end.
I thought this would be awesome to give her for her birthday along with a gift certificate to the bookstore.
The colors of the ribbons are also bright & cheery which suit me fine right now. After snow & cold temps this winter, I am ready to welcome Spring! Today & yesterday are fabulous, with temperatures in the 70's.

We love to read around here & think it's a fabulous hobby for anyone to enjoy! Hope you can appreciate this.
"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them." -Ray Bradbury
Have a wonderful day!
~Stephanie

Today

Leah stayed home from school because she had a sore throat & just felt all around crummy. She got the nasty cold that I had! I had to volunteer at the Angel Tree from 10-12, so she was at home resting & watching t.v. I asked her if she was scared & she looked at me like I had 3 heads! She said "why would I be?" She is so mature & responsible. And nothing like me when I was a kid!  (I guess being the youngest of 4 meant I was a little coddled!!) She really amazes me. And she didn't want to miss school (she loves it this year), but she felt that bad.

So I tried to get a bit of Christmas shopping done today but it wasn't in the cards for me. I went to Target before heading to the Angel Tree at the mall, & God forgive me, I got in line behind that lady! She was trying to pay for her items with a gift card & a debit card. And the cashier was not able to process that request! Lord, I was running late & did not have the patience. I left my things on the counter & walked out. I know it was hasty & probably rude. It has been one of those days. Not much patience for anything today.

So I have gotten the kids ready for bed & I am heading to bed myself! I am going to read this book

          
and hope that my husband doesn't have to t.v. up too loud & annoy me!!!
Good night y'all. (And yes, it is only 8 p.m.)
Tomorrow's another day.....
~Stephanie

Countdown!

Happy Tuesday y'all!
Guess who came to visit us today? Our elf on the Shelf-Countdown!! The kids have been asking for days when he would arrive & he showed up this afternoon before they got home from school!

  They were both so excited to see him & loved the sign he was holding!! Ty said he can't wait to wake up every morning & see where Countdown is! Let's hope he doesn't get into too much mischief during his stay with us!

We are all getting in the Christmas spirit, in spite of  the fact that the weather is warming up! Tomorrow it's supposed to be 72*.
Last night before bed, TY noticed our neighbors outdoor Christmas lights & he yelled for all of us to come see! Then we read Christmas stories at bedtime, & he said to me "I love Christmas!" I do too, Bubby-I do too!!




I did some shopping today for the two Angels that we adopted from the Salvation Army Angel Tree. I also put up our Christmas wreath on the front door & the Christmas garden flag. That's all I have gotten accomplished thus far. I'm taking baby steps, I tell ya'!

Hope you all are getting in the spirit of the holidays & taking time to enjoy all the little things that make your heart happy!!
Hugs,
~Stephanie

Girl Time

  Hey everybody!
I hope you all had a great 4th of July. Ours was pretty uneventful. We went to a neighbor's for a cook-out & some fireworks on the 3rd & took a road trip to shop for furniture on the 4th. Leah & I left town early Friday morning with her best friend & her mom to head north to Hershey, PA for the One Direction concert. We gave her tickets at the end of the school year as a reward for her straight A's this year. She was so excited & began counting down the days til the concert back in March!!
It was a memory I'll cherish forever! The girls were so enamored with the band & the whole experience had them in awe!

And another way we spend "girl time" together is reading. I LOVE to read & always have a book with me. I was hoping Leah would also find that love but it has been a struggle. There have been some series & books she has enjoyed though. The latest is The City of Ember series. We are currently reading The People of Sparks, the second book in the series.
Here is my latest layout, about her required summer reading for school. I played along with the current challenge at Scraptastic Club which is to use journalling strips.

The first few pictures are dark, I apologize! I loved this paper from Recollections & didn't want to cover a lot of it up. I added the white cardstock & a few embellies from Basic Grey (the badge & flag) & some chipboard pieces from Crate Paper. The alphas are AC Thickers.

What do you like to do for your "girl time"?

Thanks for stopping by tonight!

~Stephanie

           

Don't Bug Me....

I'm reading! Ha! Sometimes I wish I could wear this sign around my neck!!

I made a bookmark using Lovebug Creations' rumple ribbons & that is the sentiment I put on it.

I started with a plain piece of scrap cardstock, punched the bottom, punched the scalloped circles from 3 colors of cardstock, punched butterflies & added Liquid Pearls to them, then added a piece of washi  tape at the bottom.

I used Sunset, Green Goddess, and Pink Clouds rumple ribbons & braided them together to make a tassle at the top of the bookmark.

I made this as a gift for my daughter to start off her summer reading. I love the way it turned out & think I will make some more for the kids' teachers & school librarians!

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you enjoy this day!
~Stephanie  

Playing Catch-up

Hi friends!
I am in shock that February is almost over!! Time sure is flying by & extremely quickly, too!!
I know I have been neglecting this blog recently & want to try to remedy that. I am hoping that I can find (or make) more time to dedicate to it. I want to post scrapping projects, but also use this blog as a memory keeper of sorts. To record things that happen in our day-to-day life.

And, in January, my baby boy turned FIVE & I never posted about his birthday (horror)!
He had a fun party at Kangaroo Jack's with a lot of his friends, & our friend Amy made his special birthday cake (his request was simply "Star Wars"). She rocks in the kitchen!

On his birthday (the kids were off of school & Drew was off work for MLK day), we had lunch at Red Robin, one of Ty's favorite restaurants. He was amazed when the waitresses sang "Happy birthday" to him! He asked us how they knew it was his birthday! And he was so very excited to be 5!!!!! (Me, not so much-they are growing up way too fast!)

Ever since November, the kids have been asking when we would get snow. They couldn't wait to go sledding. We had a pretty mild winter here with unseasonably warm days. So imagine everyone's surprise when, the day after a 65 degree Saturday, we got a few inches of snow! The kids had Monday, February 21, off for President's Day & we took advantage of the time and finally went sledding. And I think, after months of anticipation, it was well-enjoyed by us all!     

Just four days after this photo was taken, we had an almost 80 degree day & the kids were running around in shorts!! Crazy!

Before I go, I want to also share my latest layout.

 (Sorry, I still haven't figured out how to rotate my photos!) I used the Studio Calico Memoir papers & punched squares from them, then cut the squares in half to form the strip at the bottom of the page. I layered a burlap scrap, tissue paper, a journaling card & some stickers around my photo. This was really fun to make!

Time to get the kids ready for bed (& myself too. I am looking forward to curling up & reading this book).

I really hope it's not too long before I can post again!
Thanks for stopping by!
Stephanie