don't blink

Keeping a resolution

Just a few fews ago I posted a few of my resolutions I made for 2009. I am happy to say that I have started to make good on one of them-adding more of my "artsy-designy" project pictures to this blog. Last night, I added two photo albums to the left-hand side of the blog: "Fresh Crops Design" and "Design by {K}." "Fresh Crops Design" showcases all of the project kits I created for "Fresh Crops" thus far. My business partner, Patti will be showcasing hers on her blog www.cropgirlchronicles.blogspot.com very soon (isn't that right Patti????). The "Design by {K}" album are some of the most recent projects, layouts that I have done. Believe me, there will be more! As this collection grows, I hope to break this album down even more, into categories such as "invitations", "party favors", "layouts", "how-to's", etc. This is just the beginning! Thanks for checking it out!

{Project 356} Day 22

Ryley is happiest when he has his gadgets in one place. 

{Project 356} Day 21

This is the time of the year when cabin fever starts to set in on the Sill household. Aside from the Super Bowl, the football season is over, there are not a whole lot of sporting events to look forward to watching on the big screen on the weekends. We are not basketball fans and baseball spring training is a few months away. It is cold outside. Chris and I both agree that if it is going to be this cold, there better be a bunch of snow on the ground...which there isn't...it all melted...making things a little dreary. So our minds turn to Spring Break in Florida where we'll be spending days in the sand and surf. To remind us of warmer days ahead, a glowing palm tree has appeared  in our morning room...

{Project 356} Day 20

I made four MAJOR mistakes before 915 am this morning. The first one being I slept until 8am. I am not one to sleep in past 6am. I feel if I do, my whole day is screwed up! The second one is I made Beignets (see below). The third was I ate the Beignets and the fourth was I didn't work out. I am totally out of my element today! I am looking at the clock and it is 1132am. I haven't even showered yet! On any other day I would have had my healthy breakfast of fruit and yogurt by 715, started my workout by 8, dressed and showered by 10 or 1030...I am now sitting here in my fluffy blue robe in front of the TV totally feeding my addiction of blogging and Facebooking....I need a 9 to 5 job!

Anyways, I haven't posted a recipe in awhile so I thought I would share this one with you. I just found it in this month's edition of Southern Living. It is a cheater's recipe for Beignets.

Beignets

1 or more tubes of Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits 

Cooking Oil

Powdered Sugar

Pour 2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven. Heat to 350 degrees

Quarter all biscuits

Drop quartered biscuits into hot oil and cook for 1 to 1.5 minutes or until golden brown

Remove from oil and drain on paper towels

Sprinkle with powdered sugar

Eat them like there is no tomorrow

{Project 356} Day 19

It finally snowed! I was so excited that I started throwing virtual snowballs to friends on my Facebook page! 

"Let me in, Mom!"

{Project 356} Day 18

This has been a topic that I have wanted to touch on for months now. Because it is a HUGE pet peeve of mine. Let's be frank and talk about the period. And no, I do not mean your monthly gift from Mother Nature. I am talking about that little punctuation mark at the end of a sentence that makes you pause before moving onto your next thought. I want you to think about that mark and the typewriter. Many of us learned how to type back in 8th or 9th grade on electric typewriters. I remember the faint whirr of the motor and my teacher, Mr. Diamond, drilling it into our brains that we needed to put two spaces after a period. I am not sure how many of us are still typing on typewriters. I think it is safe to say that we have all stepped into the technology world and upgraded to desktop or laptop computers by now! But have you updated the way you type? How many of you out there are still in the habit of putting 2 spaces after a period while typing on your computer? I am here to tell to STOP IT-STOP IT RIGHT NOW! THE COMPUTER IS NOT A TYPEWRITER!!!!! 

Now I have to be honest and tell you that I did not know until I took my first typography class at school that the practice of two spaces after a period was passe! Why is this not done?  Robin Williams (no, not the comedian) author of The Mac is Not a Typewriter, The PC is Not a Typewriter and The Non-Designer's Type Book explains:

"On a typewriter, all characters are monospaced; that is each letter takes up the same amount of space–the letter i takes up as much space as the letter m, and a period takes up the same amount of space as a capital W. Because all characters are monospaced, the tradition was to type two spaces after periods to separate sentences.

But most of the fonts you'll use on your [computer] are proportional; that is, the characters each take up a proportional amount of space-a typical letter i takes up about one-fifth the space of the letter m. So you no longer need extra spaces to separate the sentences" -(taken from The Mac is Not a Typewriter, page 13).

Make sense??? I am telling you this book is GREAT! It is only 88 pages long but filled with information about typing on your computer that you probably have no clue about! Shows you before and after examples and lots of keyboard shortcuts. It is a very humorous, easy read and will change the way you type! I have several of her books and they were a God-send to me while in school. I also find I turn to them frequently while scrapbooking, too!

{Project 356} Day 17

I had a creative day today! I was so excited to be working on the 2nd kit in the Fresh Crops' "{Love} My Organized.." series. Our kit for February called "{Love} My Organized Coupons," is an AWESOME book that will keep all of your coupons-from cereal to snack food to local businesses-all nice and orderly! When it is complete, I'll be sure to post more photos and when it will be available for purchase!

{Project 356} Day 16

There comes a day in every girl's life when she realizes that the simple act of walking into her closet can become a hazardous situation. It came to point where "Enter at Your Own Risk" signs should have been placed on my closet door and hard hats should be worn upon entering, because I never knew when a sweater or purse could have tumbled off one of the shelves. So today, I cleaned my closet. 5 hours, three bags of clothes for Good Will and 1 garbage bag later, I have a nice clean closet that actually makes me look forward to folding laundry and putting things neatly away. We'll see how long that lasts....

{Project 356} Day 15

Although I am feeling better today than I was yesterday, I still don't think I am 100%. Why? Because I totally forgot my grocery list (the one I posted a pic of a few days ago) when I went to the commissary today. I am lost without my list. If I realized that I forgot it while I was on my way there, I would have turned around and went go back home to get it. But I was through the gates and in the store. There is no turning back. I am doing this shopping trip blind. From the looks of the back of my van, you would think I had a list a mile long. Let's just hope I didn't forget anything. A photographic memory would have been nice!

{Project 356} Day 14

The question of the day: Is it the flu or a hangover? I took this picture while lying on my couch all day long. Wednesday night I had a few glasses of wine while playing LCR with the girls, and woke up not feeling very well. Now I never have a problem with white wine. If it were a hangover, I would have started feeling better by noon. But I am not. I am chilled. I have on heavy winter jammies, a thick robe and two heavy wool blankets. The sun is beating down on me through the family room windows and I am freezing. I think this is the flu. Argh! I was supposed to go grocery shopping today!