tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1095301020652869152024-03-12T19:34:56.816-07:00Lens on LyndsLyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.comBlogger96125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-28285241419762309442013-06-30T16:42:00.003-07:002013-06-30T16:42:32.001-07:00We took on the challenge... and we conquered it! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83AQ1WtUiZnIylSFVOO458FND_mmS05J8162UfgEpUyU3g-f6i5nv1Vn0AeYTC1PCMr_Q_q4R3n2UJpoREaeK8izz0OorGfXk7ohjWK4QAjAdzlF7cjOarrnY3OS9E2sHq5w_ySr6fZEt/s720/Race1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Pre-race pic of Jessica and me... cool as cucumbers!</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This weekend has been a fun one! My friend, <a href="http://thecrazylifeofjessica.blogspot.com/">Jessica</a>, came up from Little Rock and visited us for a couple of nights. We ran a 10k together (my first). It was the <a href="http://www.cancerchallenge.com/">Cancer Challenge</a> 10k in Bentonville. Although I swore to myself and a few lucky people who got to listen that I'd never train for and run a race in the middle of summer again, the actual race weather turned out as perfect as we could hope and it was a fun event for a good cause. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I don't know Bentonville that well, but the parts I have been in have been relatively flat. That being said, the course for this race hillier than I expected. But I still made it... though at times I did ask myself why I was doing this! (I think I do this at every race.) My fastest pace before this race was 9:50/mile at the Hogeye Marathon Relay, so I was hoping to do that or better. I ended up really surprising myself and going faster than expected. I ran a 9:00/mile which I never thought I'd do! I finished 10th in my age group, which I was pleased with. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But the group of people running in this race were very fast! The overall winner in this race ran a 5:21/mile. Can you imagine?! The person who finished in the middle of the 256 runners (so finisher #128) ran a 9:29/mile. That is FAST people! It was crazy. I think this group of people were the most serious 10kers ever. Regardless, it was fun. After we finished running, they had a nice station set up at the finish line with water, Gatorade, Redbull, cold towels to put around your neck, and every kind of fruit you can imagine. Then, at the pavilion where they had the medals ceremony, they had all kinds of free goodies: cookies, rice krispie treats, slim jims, cheese sticks, crunch n' munch, juice, water, delicious smoothies, etc. Jessica and I hung out a little too long before heading over there, though, so most of that stuff was already gone. But we still got a few things. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It was one of the nicest races I've been to in terms of the goodie bag you get for registering (it had a nice freezer bag you can put stuff in to transport from the grocery store to your home or elsewhere; a t-shirt; a hat; lots of snacks and candies; and miscellaneous samples of antacids, band-aids, neon masking tape, etc.), as well as all the freebies at the race. Although it took us a while to find out how to get there with so many roads blocked off, it was pretty well organized once it got started, with 4 water stations (for a 6.2 mile race) and signs at every mile you go and every turn you have to take. Overall, it was a fun experience and I would recommend this 10k to anyone interested in running one next year. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83AQ1WtUiZnIylSFVOO458FND_mmS05J8162UfgEpUyU3g-f6i5nv1Vn0AeYTC1PCMr_Q_q4R3n2UJpoREaeK8izz0OorGfXk7ohjWK4QAjAdzlF7cjOarrnY3OS9E2sHq5w_ySr6fZEt/s720/Race1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh83AQ1WtUiZnIylSFVOO458FND_mmS05J8162UfgEpUyU3g-f6i5nv1Vn0AeYTC1PCMr_Q_q4R3n2UJpoREaeK8izz0OorGfXk7ohjWK4QAjAdzlF7cjOarrnY3OS9E2sHq5w_ySr6fZEt/s320/Race1.jpg" width="240" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Post-race sweaty pic with Strike, the Naturals' mascot</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-70904257853693063222013-05-17T13:27:00.002-07:002013-05-17T13:28:49.290-07:00How Pinteresting! <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have seen several articles lately about <a href="http://pinterest.com/">Pinterest</a> making women feel bad about themselves... about their lack of craftiness, good cooking, or clean/organized house. I can certainly see how that could happen if you think you should do everything there is on Pinterest (how overwhelming that would be!). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Realistically, I know my house is probably not going to ever be as clean/organized as some of the ones pictured on Pinterest. However, I have personally found Pinterest to be the most valuable in my life for creative gift ideas and (mostly) yummy meal recipes. In this post, I'll share some of the things I've made recently as a result of ideas I got from Pinterest.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For Mother's Day, I made my mom some <a href="http://www.justgetoffyourbuttandbake.com/?p=856">cinnamon sugar pecans</a> (because nuts are one of her favorite snack foods). She really liked them! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwOHWo3lGUFphnWMehC9x8jVjLfd1epSyJfADhwyEpRqoM0ubJ0yr4P-4tonYgFMr4_P5JLrwK5vfb8SwY3QTwUf0bj73hwA9TjAwud6Iaq8tnr11crhC-SlNHvrjJd9EF-ZnPhyphenhyphenSfE6L/s1600/P1070423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMwOHWo3lGUFphnWMehC9x8jVjLfd1epSyJfADhwyEpRqoM0ubJ0yr4P-4tonYgFMr4_P5JLrwK5vfb8SwY3QTwUf0bj73hwA9TjAwud6Iaq8tnr11crhC-SlNHvrjJd9EF-ZnPhyphenhyphenSfE6L/s320/P1070423.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Due to subtle hints, we made Dustin's mom this flower pot for Mother's Day. It has Graham's feet on it as the wings of the butterfly. That was an interesting experience. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBZpjPLNx9tjupKvrfxK7lTntr8dEnXeehytemiEiIjAFRHuWgICb0J4bZiSnEOK7asRZmxPri65_f1wfY8-i_6t-v0nt5__D1CE0JslAC5eSze09fxsgfKx_fihqYOsKF__HxwVCaTxE/s1600/P1070441.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBZpjPLNx9tjupKvrfxK7lTntr8dEnXeehytemiEiIjAFRHuWgICb0J4bZiSnEOK7asRZmxPri65_f1wfY8-i_6t-v0nt5__D1CE0JslAC5eSze09fxsgfKx_fihqYOsKF__HxwVCaTxE/s320/P1070441.JPG" width="180" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Finally, for teacher appreciation gifts, I put together these gifts which included beach towels, little activity books (like Sudoku/puzzles), candy the teachers indicated they like, and mini sunscreens all wrapped up in a bow. I think they liked their gifts too! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ80OO3dxQm5Yb00corN-Av23Y9A-vLBPfceacFWINu2MJPKILyTcYeb_boFx1Qs1ZR4RiSogcxRVufAf7jDS7dITBzGdvgxVBuD-cHX75Zt2vuHH5up5G0lD5eAA9GcI5ysISyJxD_uma/s1600/P1070440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ80OO3dxQm5Yb00corN-Av23Y9A-vLBPfceacFWINu2MJPKILyTcYeb_boFx1Qs1ZR4RiSogcxRVufAf7jDS7dITBzGdvgxVBuD-cHX75Zt2vuHH5up5G0lD5eAA9GcI5ysISyJxD_uma/s320/P1070440.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">While websites like Pinterest and <a href="http://facebook.com/">Facebook</a> have been taking a lot of slack for creating unrealistic images of what our lives should look like, they aren't all bad. They can help creativity-impaired people (like me) brighten others' lives and that's something I'm thankful for! </span></span><br />
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Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-21722040677150049502013-04-23T11:21:00.001-07:002013-04-23T11:21:19.616-07:00Releasing Your Wild Side Hurts! <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you're my Facebook friend, you already know that I participated in and finished <a href="http://www.primalchallengerace.com/">the Primal Challenge </a>Race recently. Sound scary? It should! Having "challenge" in the name of the race is quite fitting. This probably doesn't mean much considering how little experience I have with races now (this was my third), but this was by far the physically most challenging thing I've ever done! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It involved 4 miles of running with 15+ obstacles in between. The obstacles ranged from running through deep muddy ponds, taking a tightrope over another scummy looking pond you do not want to fall into, army crawling under "barb wire," climbing/jumping over tall walls, climbing ropes to hit the bell at the top, monkey bars, and more! It was definitely tiring. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It took me 1:23:10.8 to complete the course. I placed 13 out of 35 individual women (as opposed to teams) in my age range (20-29), which I think is pretty good considering I'm on the older end of that age range! I placed 32 out of 99 individual female participants and 131 out of 261 overall individuals (so I guess the men whooped me). Again, I'm no speed demon but my main goal was to just finish the race so I was pleased with where my time ended up! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was very sore the next day and hurt my shoulder coming down from one of the big walls, but I am slowly recuperating and hoping that my shoulder will heal completely on its own. Some battle wounds a few days later:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZzThG0IalMenYQpO4NHcTCAh6oVI9JcLLlQdCBp_RQtq3RigTUYgxLEfUgkHayUSR6obk2Iy9sRZjzS0xyhJjfWx50N3LYPuQuuRMwPt209gc64uxEsp7J4M5-u2pLM3_SQ0mo3Ko8zF/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfZzThG0IalMenYQpO4NHcTCAh6oVI9JcLLlQdCBp_RQtq3RigTUYgxLEfUgkHayUSR6obk2Iy9sRZjzS0xyhJjfWx50N3LYPuQuuRMwPt209gc64uxEsp7J4M5-u2pLM3_SQ0mo3Ko8zF/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And a special treat for those who spend the time to read my blog. It looks kind of like art, if you ask me. Enjoy:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.gotgamepix.com/Bodies/Primal-Challenge/2013-Primal-Challenge/28928848_DCpMvN#!i=2468954796&k=djbMgBc&lb=1&s=XL">Picture 1</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.gotgamepix.com/Bodies/Primal-Challenge/2013-Primal-Challenge/28928848_DCpMvN#!i=2468955421&k=WdrR3Kx&lb=1&s=XL">Picture 2</a></span></span><br />
<br />Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-52490992387736636102013-04-21T12:56:00.002-07:002013-04-22T05:56:56.100-07:00Hitting Close To Home <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Very recently, I ran the <a href="http://www.hogeyemarathon.com/">Hogeye</a> 4-person relay marathon. This was a much larger and more formal race than my first race, the <a href="http://lensonlynds.blogspot.com/2013/03/running-race.html">Poker Run</a>. That made me nervous, but also very excited. I ran the second leg, which was 6 miles. I ran at a 9:50 pace and was ranked #9 out of the 33 other women relay runners on my leg. My team was ranked #7 out of 33 and we were very happy about that. We weren't running to be competitive and win first place so we thought that was very good! It was only my second race and first relay and I really enjoyed it! Something about having teammates who cheer you on was really motivating to me. I even got my first race medal, which I was so excited about! Here are some pictures from the race:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84MyfOdn0zYqBu5KhxyPO9Wf4nw1DKeMomSAuVUfjxA_iu8Xoq0i8TQ_79AYJ1ZgIxhBUFA7Wt9lOrSMlQSgv4u9zaKUOuuoIo3BVHdAH8MhD0SJd8BuKVQzr3y-GkSonR2vlQ6Xx_666/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84MyfOdn0zYqBu5KhxyPO9Wf4nw1DKeMomSAuVUfjxA_iu8Xoq0i8TQ_79AYJ1ZgIxhBUFA7Wt9lOrSMlQSgv4u9zaKUOuuoIo3BVHdAH8MhD0SJd8BuKVQzr3y-GkSonR2vlQ6Xx_666/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Me and my teammates cool and smiling pre-race. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMJ2Rdk6-whjw_ORBk51ZmaQVZeRPCeEYUFjX8mvEXb-e8hJ1IMn7vIjicdVQht7kixiYEJL9V4-i_WYWLBycUuQu0OSGkdLB7a5hgZK0OMk5hsIqqYE4MYkreB0q5EIwbYX6VT0RhbJG/s1600/IMG_0995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMJ2Rdk6-whjw_ORBk51ZmaQVZeRPCeEYUFjX8mvEXb-e8hJ1IMn7vIjicdVQht7kixiYEJL9V4-i_WYWLBycUuQu0OSGkdLB7a5hgZK0OMk5hsIqqYE4MYkreB0q5EIwbYX6VT0RhbJG/s320/IMG_0995.JPG" width="239" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My medal; pretty cool! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After I ran my leg, I went to cheer on my sister as she was finishing the 3rd leg and then went to the finish <span style="font-size: small;">line </span>to cheer on my teammate, Holly, as she was finishing her leg. That being said, like so many others, I was shocked and saddened to see and hear what happened at the <a href="http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/21/17848814-charges-expected-soon-for-boston-marathon-bombing-suspect?lite">Boston Marathon</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It hit close to home because that's exactly where I was standing at the Hogeye Marathon. I stood at the fun finish line with dance music bumping, people dancing and cheering, and food and drinks flowing, waiting to cheer on my teammate and take pictures of her as she crossed the finish line. It was so much fun and not once was I concerned about danger. I'm sure that's somewhat like the Boston Marathon finish line was. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am so happy that law enforcement tracked down the suspects and hopeful that the second suspect will recover and we will find out more information about their motives and use that information to do what we can to help prevent future events like this. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like others, I was glad to see the good side of humanity come out during this time as well. The first responders and civilians helping the injured, and the nation pulling together to support Boston, were inspiring. I<span style="font-size: small;"> am <span style="font-size: small;">still praying for<span style="font-size: small;"> all those impacted in Boston (as well as West, Texas). </span></span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My friend, <a href="http://mandybramall.blogspot.com/">Mandy</a>, made this statement on <a href="http://facebook.com/">Facebook </a>and I thought it summed up nicely some of what I was thinking during this time as well:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"<span class="userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">I saw
a comment today that said that all people are born good. It's a nice
thought, though not entirely accurate. True all people are born with
the ability to do good, but with the propensity toward evil. Not that
all people will become crazed killers, but even my 17 mo old will
demonstrate an understanding that he is not supposed to do something and
does it anyway. We all intentionally or uni<span class="text_exposed_show">ntentionally
hurt others in a variety of ways, act selfishly more times that we
would probably care to admit, and under the right circumstances can snap
out of fear, anger, frustration, and desperation. This comment, while
it is a nice thought, causes me to reflect on what is good about me and
what are traits or behaviors that are not. Upon this reflection, I
become evermore grateful for the grace and mercy shown to me by God and
forces me to acknowledge that really and truly the only good things
about are because of and from God himself." </span></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next post, I'll catch you up on the <a href="http://www.primalchallengerace.com/">Primal Challenge</a>, which I ran this weekend. "No pain, no gain" should be the motto of this race! </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-38651867463774217982013-03-24T20:10:00.000-07:002013-03-25T05:43:47.367-07:00Running the Race <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"<span class="text Heb-12-1" id="en-NIV-30214">And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us..." - Hebrews 12:1(b)</span></span></span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's been a long time coming, but I finally ran my first 5k... the whole thing! My friend, <a href="http://thecrazylifeofjessica.blogspot.com/">Jessica</a>, came up from Little Rock to run with me and it was so much fun to hang out with her and run together. Here's a picture of us before the race.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJ0VtbDM3qHY5QaDqKac2wwldQhEh6KsGLvE5tc_DXK56S0saAH6VNLvJvmvxRnp3blbtVBIYR2pTDGDN8Q98BKGgpKdu2KLAjGaSnWGa_KEHUZ0jZ0VmVtcReyUBXb6ogS78bVZCBtTO/s1600/Before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJ0VtbDM3qHY5QaDqKac2wwldQhEh6KsGLvE5tc_DXK56S0saAH6VNLvJvmvxRnp3blbtVBIYR2pTDGDN8Q98BKGgpKdu2KLAjGaSnWGa_KEHUZ0jZ0VmVtcReyUBXb6ogS78bVZCBtTO/s320/Before.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The race we ran is called the <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/fayetteville5kpokerrun/">Poker Run</a>. Each kilometer you run, you get a playing card. At the end, the person with the best poker hand wins a grand prize and the person with the worst poker hand also wins a prize. Guess who had the worst poker hand out of all the runners? This girl (they wrote our hands out on a card at the end)! I had 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 of different suits... pretty impressively awful hand if you ask me! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The weather was cold, but once I started running, it was perfect! I was surprised to have a whole cheering section at the finish line! My mom, Graham, my sister Lori, and my nieces Maggie and Marin were all cheering for me and it definitely gave me the energy to finish the last uphill stretch strong! My nieces even made the sweetest signs that said "You are the best!" and "Go Aunt Lyndsey!" I LOVED their signs; here's a picture of me running that last uphill stretch and then holding the signs afterward:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5nAngF2kf8wyF-A5ioAZD0NtpAKHKpzCjUJ6HuXH1tjiuvaQ_75Nqb7RQmLyWuCl9y9m2aTFobvCuXQqykrDrdM5kS-b7_bjJYKuRBPMJq0tSx2RniAI-MPZxggTvSrdQEfbvfWaqQkW/s1600/255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5nAngF2kf8wyF-A5ioAZD0NtpAKHKpzCjUJ6HuXH1tjiuvaQ_75Nqb7RQmLyWuCl9y9m2aTFobvCuXQqykrDrdM5kS-b7_bjJYKuRBPMJq0tSx2RniAI-MPZxggTvSrdQEfbvfWaqQkW/s320/255.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Because the race was more laidback, there wasn't official timing, but I made it across the finish line in around 28-29 minutes. My cheering squad got there right before the race began, so they saw all the finishers and told me I was somewhere around the 3rd female and 6th personal overall to cross the finish line. Not too shabby for my first 5k! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">They also gave out door prizes and Jessica won one of those! Us with our glasses and prizes:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUBn4X8Si7ydtZeK4aoV4OMO529Ea_tJbAz08mfEZwJYVPkCxNXBQnXKKAktB_fJk0cD_YlU1hmRxZCZ4GmFAscVIYovKWj7_msIZT0PHKfsGxit8CMHB967bYF1b5dPsDdRmGrm1VjFU/s1600/Prize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhUBn4X8Si7ydtZeK4aoV4OMO529Ea_tJbAz08mfEZwJYVPkCxNXBQnXKKAktB_fJk0cD_YlU1hmRxZCZ4GmFAscVIYovKWj7_msIZT0PHKfsGxit8CMHB967bYF1b5dPsDdRmGrm1VjFU/s320/Prize.jpg" width="239" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">T<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id=".reactRoot[58].[1][2][1]{comment476088859125286_4176391}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2]"><span class="UFICommentBody" id=".reactRoot[58].[1][2][1]{comment476088859125286_4176391}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0"><span id=".reactRoot[58].[1][2][1]{comment476088859125286_4176391}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[0].[0][2].0.[0]">here were a bunch of prizes you could choose from. Free unlimited
tanning for a month, a gift bag from the natural food store, a shirt and
sunglasses from a boutique, restaurant gift cards. I chose 4
Naturals tickets. I get to choose the game I want to go to!</span></span></span></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSpQf9eB8-Q6j8C9kLEbjHIPdinhziNoCCuXx0f362tJWPg6P8cmdvTirKqN9TcQ4xbyPfc8E9VcQseaJJ8XrGIHC1WzrSOxbhdLzdDJBP6W5UMIj5__mNV6_dOnhnF7UyyCLmYLQmPkm/s1600/Prize2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFSpQf9eB8-Q6j8C9kLEbjHIPdinhziNoCCuXx0f362tJWPg6P8cmdvTirKqN9TcQ4xbyPfc8E9VcQseaJJ8XrGIHC1WzrSOxbhdLzdDJBP6W5UMIj5__mNV6_dOnhnF7UyyCLmYLQmPkm/s320/Prize2.jpg" width="239" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Jessica won her door prize later so there wasn't as much to choose from, but she got a nifty gift bag from the natural food store. It had tons of stuff in it! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Afterward, we celebrated with drinks and pizza. All in all, I had a great time and would even say it was fun! Considering that I've always said I don't like running, the fact that I enjoyed this was a surprise to me! </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-35413445351117845272013-02-20T12:41:00.002-08:002013-02-20T12:41:32.154-08:00Memories... <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think becoming a mom has made me much more sentimental. The time going by so fast and Graham growing up so quickly has just blown my mind. Though I know I'm bound to, I don't want to forget the little things about Graham as a baby. There are many way to remember these things. I have been filling out a baby book for Graham and a Mom's One Line A Day journal (the one my friend, Lydia, gave to me, I mentioned a couple of blogs back). I also write notes to Graham every once in a while for him to read when he's older. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A friend, <a href="http://the-e-family.blogspot.com/2013/02/giveaway-my-memories-ditigal-software.html">Sarah</a>, mentioned a scrapbooking software called My Memories Suite Software. Just like her, I'm not much of a scrapbooker, but you can make labels, cards and probably much more with the software. Now I could definitely use it for those things! Anyway, she is having a <a href="http://the-e-family.blogspot.com/2013/02/giveaway-my-memories-ditigal-software.html">giveaway </a>on her blog where you can win the software. So exciting! If you are interested in scrapbooking or making creative/crafty things, definitely check <a href="http://the-e-family.blogspot.com/2013/02/giveaway-my-memories-ditigal-software.html">her blog</a> out. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know I have a lot of crafty friends that might be interested in this software, so I thought I'd share this opportunity with you all! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until next time, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lynds</span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-61941754552713316452013-02-15T15:15:00.002-08:002013-02-15T15:15:43.247-08:00My Crafty Valentine<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For this Valentine's Day, Graham and I made some gifts. First, we made some "long-distance hugs" to send to the grandparents and great-grandparents. Here is a picture of one of those hugs: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We simply took Graham's handprints and cut around them, measured and cut ribbon out the length of his arm-span, and taped the ribbon to the handprints. Though the painting part was a little messy, that was my own fault. I blame lack of experience; I have since gained valuable tips on how to get a less messy handprint experience in the future. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For Dustin, I made a root beer float kit (because he likes root beer... and ice cream, of course!). It included a homemade card, root beer, ice cream, glasses, an ice cream scoop, some cute Valentines straws, and a cute card that said "Valentine, You float my boat." Here are some pictures: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think he<span style="font-size: small;"> liked it! I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day! </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until next time, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />Lynds</span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-14177472373350438672013-02-14T10:47:00.003-08:002013-02-14T10:47:32.309-08:00The Best Valentine! <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"We sometimes fear to bring our troubles to God, because they must seem so small to Him who sitteth on the circle of the earth. But if they are large enough to vex and endanger our welfare, they are large enough to touch His heart of love. For love does not measure by a merchant's scale, nor with a surveyor's chain. It hat a delicacy which is unknown in any handling of material substances." -- Torrey </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">No matter where you find yourself this Valentine's Day, ... single, looking, dating, engaged, married, there is one thing we can all rejoice in: we have all already been given the best, most complete, most fulfilling love there is (whether we choose to accept it and return it or not): God's love. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Don't get me wrong, human love is an amazing and wonderful thing. As Henry Ward Beecher put it, "Love is the medicine of all moral evil. By it the world is to be cured of sin. Love is the wine of existence... No man can afford to invest his being in anything lower than faith, hope, love - these three, the greatest of which is love." But no matter how much you love someone else or they love you, in the end we are all just human and, by extension, imperfect. We can be kind, we can be selfish, we can comfort one another, we can hurt one another (intentionally or not), we can have great days and not-as-great days. In other words, no matter the goodness of the person or intentions, if you are looking for a perfect love in humans or anything on this earth, you will always be let down in the end. It doesn't take much living life to realize this. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But this love that I spoke of earlier, this love that God offers us, is a pure, a perfect, and a complete love. A verse that many of you have probably heard before describes this love, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a Further, if we wonder how God factors into the love equation, the answer has been made clear: "God is love." - 1 John 4:16</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What has God done to show His love to us? Where is the action behind these words? "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16 </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This statement involves unbelievably huge sacrifice and is, to those who believe in it, literally one that transforms. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17 </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At one point in my life, <u>before</u> I became a "new creation" in Christ, I was certainly in bondage. I was seeking happiness in this life through many different things, including people and relationships. And yet, I still felt there was something missing... a hole that had yet to be filled. When I chose to accept God's love instead of avoiding it and seeking happiness elsewhere, it undoubtedly and forever changed me... in a good way. The Bible says that in that moment, we are no longer "slaves to sin," but instead have been freed from that bondage. (Romans 6:6-7). And what amazing feeling it is to be free! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On this Valentine's Day, I not only hope you've experienced this freedom, but I hope you know this amazing, life-changing love. Happy Valentine's Day, friends! </span></span><br />
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<br />Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-42493266958797949722013-02-11T10:36:00.002-08:002013-02-11T10:36:50.813-08:00On a lighter note... <div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">This week, the <a href="http://woobox.com/cfzu7q/2wu4ld">Kelly Moore Bag website</a> is having 5 days of giveaways on <a href="http://woobox.com/cfzu7q/2wu4ld">their blog</a>. These giveaways include: a Kelly Moore bag of choice ($249 value!), </span><span style="font-size: small;">The Lightroom 4 Preset System: from SLRLounge,<b> </b>Floral Alphabet Garland: from Pressed Cotton, Mercury Votives: from Pressed Cotton<b>, and </b>Nikon Coolpix Camera from Adorama. Can you say wow?! Not only that, but on Friday, they will have their grand giveaway... and includes a $1000 Visa gift card! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Interested in any of these giveaways?? Go <a href="http://woobox.com/cfzu7q/2wu4ld">here</a> to enter. Good luck everyone! </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-70705260919884896072013-02-02T12:40:00.002-08:002013-02-02T14:21:49.587-08:00Friends<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Friendship is a wonderful, and sometimes mysterious, thing to me. It is something to be honored, something to be cherished, something to be cultivated, and something to be invested in. This post is mostly my ramblings about friendship, so excuse my stream-of-consciousness. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've wondered many times why it used to be so easy to make new friends when I was a child as opposed to now. I have a specific friend from junior high that I remember flat out saying, "Hey! We have all our classes together. We should probably be friends, don't you think?" and she ended up being one of the people I've been closest to in my life. It was that easy! Of course, we ended up having a lot in common so that helped, but we just accepted each other the way we were, learned about the other person, supported and had fun with the other person, cheered each other on in our accomplishments and cried together when we were sad. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like it's not that easy now. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"False friendship, like the ivy, decays and ruins the wall it embraces; but true friendship gives new life and animation to the object it supports." - Burton</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As is expected in the process of growing up, I have since been through many things, including some friendships that really hurt me... friendships that caused me to be more cautious about opening up, being vulnerable, and allowing myself to grow close to people. I am a work in progress in that area... so that, surely, is part of the problem, though how much of the problem it is, I am not sure. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Friendship is, strictly speaking, reciprocal benevolence, while inclines each party to be solicitous for the welfare of the other as for his own. This equality of affection is created and preserved by a similarity of disposition and manners." - Plato</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because of my difficulty in making new friends who I am truly close to, I have learned to truly treasure my <a href="http://thecrazylifeofjessica.blogspot.com/">"old" friends</a>. How amazing they are! Unlike some friendships which, as I assume is somewhat normal, have slowly grown apart, these few "old" friends of mine have managed to stay in my life, have been intentional to stay in touch, even in the business of the lives we lead, and have always been there for me as I endeavor to be for them. I am so blessed by them! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">One quick example,... today I received a surprise package in the mail from my good friend, <a href="http://lswhetstone.blogspot.com/">Lydia</a>. She sent me a really cool little book that I can write down daily notes/thoughts about motherhood in. No, it's not my birthday; it's obviously not Christmas; she really had no reason at all to send me such a sweet present... but she did. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxteuPnu2NbPpL4944LJJqBOwDol7TpgsHb3alnaJNh_GASXPTTMvA7q0JRDMmhwhO4QN0RelFyKNmDC0wVQUy-3QkKUIqaohapCqFWxGNh8OotbLlwKU__m_rp9cJIRFvyeHYbpmigxo/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxteuPnu2NbPpL4944LJJqBOwDol7TpgsHb3alnaJNh_GASXPTTMvA7q0JRDMmhwhO4QN0RelFyKNmDC0wVQUy-3QkKUIqaohapCqFWxGNh8OotbLlwKU__m_rp9cJIRFvyeHYbpmigxo/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I cannot tell you how much this small token meant to me. The feeling it gave me made me wonder why I don't do this for my friends more often! Even so, I hope I do and say enough so that they know how much they mean to me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"The only way to have a friend is to be one." - Emerson</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How true is that? It definitely makes me look at my own behavior and ask, "Would I want to be friends with myself?" This is something I want to continually ask myself and be intentional about. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." - Proverbs 17:17 (NIV) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is the type of friend I want to be. One who is always there for my friends, through thick and thin, one who provides honest advice when asked for it, one who listens when that is all that is needed, one who gets the inside jokes when laughter is the best medicine, and a shoulder to cry on during hard times, among other things. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Do you have a hard time making new close friends or do you find it comes natural to you? What valuable lessons have you learned about friendship over the years? In what ways do you think you could be a better friend? </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-33781706301438916092013-01-21T11:50:00.001-08:002013-01-21T11:50:15.777-08:00Catching Up <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Man, how time flies! It's been too long since my last blog post. I have a couple of quick updates. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">First, I wanted to post about one more Christmas present I made. I finally gave them to all the recipients so I can post about it now! I made some jersey knit bracelets for good friends of mine. Here is what they look like:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXi_ZUZMWqlPlSYzYmaclpvqxkk_bUQRlvHyQuTlvpfewQ2dzhu_30ikQImINuLQTAC302xkPzWJq_dfHm7Zdz9Q9nnB3aCAZCtqJ9e3b8tR5h6VeFA8VrkESDXXMGof7-QiKQalFDEpfo/s1600/P1070189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXi_ZUZMWqlPlSYzYmaclpvqxkk_bUQRlvHyQuTlvpfewQ2dzhu_30ikQImINuLQTAC302xkPzWJq_dfHm7Zdz9Q9nnB3aCAZCtqJ9e3b8tR5h6VeFA8VrkESDXXMGof7-QiKQalFDEpfo/s320/P1070189.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7C2yvNEDyGUofIG-RCICT1U_iR0Pljn8702T1HOZ0YZ0cHSz4255xhzJ7SbZSYh1pn6h09BuILUBtLIIMTZZGNPPKYndFemhmMbsTyiOxYrcsGor2FZX9aEZEPuVoOfNcsoWmuXazPr_-/s1600/P1070191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7C2yvNEDyGUofIG-RCICT1U_iR0Pljn8702T1HOZ0YZ0cHSz4255xhzJ7SbZSYh1pn6h09BuILUBtLIIMTZZGNPPKYndFemhmMbsTyiOxYrcsGor2FZX9aEZEPuVoOfNcsoWmuXazPr_-/s320/P1070191.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I got a very exciting package in the mail recently. My fantasy football trophy!!! I won first place in my league in case you were wondering. : ) I wonder if there is a way to engrave my name in the trophy so that all future recipients know who the first winner of the trophy was. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XkboIGeVw9OSrpoilXHil0qmyclR7Fo_6YMUCXq4lwCzghlJC0kx6kcABIVOEJMM6A3V3aa2t17n4FXqZ9j8Ox-UiwewOpruTojqB253Vf_CqTZqjAovpA3U1zGJshszbx9_QjRMRECa/s1600/P1070301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XkboIGeVw9OSrpoilXHil0qmyclR7Fo_6YMUCXq4lwCzghlJC0kx6kcABIVOEJMM6A3V3aa2t17n4FXqZ9j8Ox-UiwewOpruTojqB253Vf_CqTZqjAovpA3U1zGJshszbx9_QjRMRECa/s320/P1070301.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Also, my good friend, Lydia, and her baby girl, Isabelle, came up to visit Graham and me from Fort Smith. We had so much fun! We played with Graham's toys. He was VERY territorial. Normally, he is not that bad, but I guess it's because he's not used to sharing his own toys in his own house. Either way, Isabelle was so sweet and laid back that she didn't seem to mind Graham grabbing her toys at all. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Lydia and I also went to see our house which is under construction. It was looking good! I gave her a short tour since it was pretty chilly out and the kids were hungry and tired. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Then we went to eat lunch together. I had such a good time catching up with her and seeing Isabelle! They are such blessings in my life, even if I don't get to see them as often as I'd like. I'd like to make a point to go visit them next time and make that sooner rather than later. Here are some pictures from our visit together:</span></span><br />
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<br />Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-49455048257717499982012-12-31T11:09:00.002-08:002013-01-03T19:08:45.679-08:00Seeing Santa <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The first time he saw Santa, Graham was so calm that he was asleep! This year, however, that was not the case. I'm not sure if he was actually afraid of Santa or scared we were leaving him with Santa<span style="font-size: small;"> but either way you slice it,</span> he did not enjoy seeing Santa this year. Here's hoping he enjoys next year better! </span></span><br />
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<br />Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-31145632112747040652012-12-27T13:12:00.000-08:002012-12-27T13:12:24.421-08:00Family & One-Year Pictures! <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Christmas cards have been delivered so I can now share with you our family photos/Graham's one-year photos. <a href="http://www.kelseytice.com/">Kelsey Tice Photography</a> was our photographer and she was amazing! She was incredibly patient with our runny-nosed toddler and rambunctious lab and, due to her gracious patience, we ended up with wonderful photos. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I really cannot say enough about <a href="http://www.facebook.com/kelseytice">Kelsey</a>. I plan to use her for all professional photos we take from now on and would recommend her to anyone and everyone. She is not only a great photographer but her services are very reasonably priced when compared to other photographers of her caliber. I've said enough about Kelsey, so now I'll let her work say the rest. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until next time,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyndsey </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-7727913030343052882012-12-26T20:28:00.000-08:002012-12-26T20:29:57.727-08:00Christmas Craftiness <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wow, it has been a whole month since I last wrote a blog post! Well, after reading this one, you may understand why. Since it is after Christmas and most of the gifts I made have been given, I wanted to share them with you. I am the least crafty person you'll meet so, hopefully, this will inspire someone reading that you too can make gifts that people will enjoy. I am omitting one gift and may include it in a future post, because I haven't yet distributed that gift to everyone I made it for. Here it goes! (By the way, all of my ideas came from <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/">Pinterest</a> so they may look familiar to you.... I am in no way taking credit for the original idea.) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">First, I made all my siblings coasters. I bought tile and different designs of scrapbook paper for each of them and mod podged the scrapbook paper onto the tile, glued cork onto the bottom of the tile, and sprayed the tops of the coasters with sealer so that they won't be ruined if they get wet. A couple of pictures from the process: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">They turned out pretty cute if you ask me!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For my parents, I made a customized plant pot. They tend to keep a lot of plants around the house so I thought this would be good. I printed off a bunch of pictures from our recent photo shoot, mod podged them onto the pot (yes, mod podge has become my best friend), used that sealer spray again, and hot glued a ribbon around the top (how cute is that mustard chevron ribbon?!). I think they liked it. It'll be cool to see a plant in there next time we visit! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NZ6BsbIK0q3RmovBxdsKIAFIPzprSp6N2kypHiM8dxNQZmFi2A8eBc-TVDxGIFFOH6pKNzEHL4jqW-j-RYBeLu4s9IxNp58K9mrYuErqgRGS-elnOlo1wtlf_-V3BElt3pKJgs9KVyD8/s1600/P1070195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6NZ6BsbIK0q3RmovBxdsKIAFIPzprSp6N2kypHiM8dxNQZmFi2A8eBc-TVDxGIFFOH6pKNzEHL4jqW-j-RYBeLu4s9IxNp58K9mrYuErqgRGS-elnOlo1wtlf_-V3BElt3pKJgs9KVyD8/s320/P1070195.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next, I made a Movie Night In A Bottle for my niece. I cut a window opening in the back of a cleaned out soda bottle (I drank the soda, because I really sacrifice during my gift giving) and put in tons of candy and several bags of popcorn. I then taped it shut and glued a sign a printed onto it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Not too shabby if you ask me. And, of course, I got her a movie to go along with it. I think that is the most excited I've seen her for ANY present I've given her, so I'd have to say this was a success! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Excuse the messy pictures, but these next gifts were just plain messy to make. They are bird feeders for the grandparents from Graham. I mixed together <a href="http://www.knoxgelatine.com/">Knox gelatine</a>, water and bird seed and put it into cookie cutters to get shapes! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had to peel around the edges to get the shapes perfect, but the end product was not bad!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next, I made 3 bags of Christmas gifts for Graham's teachers at his part-time daycare program. Earlier in the year, they had filled out surveys about their favorite things so this <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/">Pinterest</a> idea was perfect! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For another niece, I made plastic bottle bowling. I used acrylic paints to coat the inside of the bottles and dried them out and bought a ball to play with. It looked like something I would've enjoyed as a kid so I thought it might be a fun gift. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last, but certainly not least, was the homemade salted caramel sauce I made for loved ones. It was a true labor of love. Before anyone is too impressed, let me just say that making caramel sauce is not easy! I messed up quite a few batches before getting some I could actually use. I don't plan on making it again, at least not with the recipe I used. I've had other recipes offered to me that may be easier and, someday, if I get up the desire again, I may try one of those. Until then, this is all you've got: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hope you've enjoyed my homemade Christmas gift post! I definitely plan to make more gifts from now on (though I may not set the lofty goal of making ALL Christmas gifts again). It was fun and I really felt like my gifts meant more than they would have if I had gone out and bought random things for people, not knowing what they really wanted or needed.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until next time,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyndsey </span></span> Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-78020203449323120592012-11-26T10:26:00.001-08:002012-11-26T11:06:19.432-08:00Mind, Body & Soul <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"God is our life and our health. We receive by His grace everything we need to sustain us, renew us, and restore us." -- Roy Lessin </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lately, I have been planning and/or taking intentional steps to better myself: mind, body and soul. For example, I love to read. I want to read more. I know that my first priority of all reading should be that of the Bible. I feel the strong desire to learn more from God's Word and, through that knowledge, grow closer to God in my daily walk an<span style="font-size: small;">d, as a natural extension, better <span style="font-size: small;">be able to show His love to <span style="font-size: small;">others in my life</span></span></span>. So I am intentionally making an effort to read the Bible everyday. <span style="font-size: small;">That's not to say I <span style="font-size: small;">am perfect and<span style="font-size: small;"> I don't miss a day here or there. </span></span></span>I am in a women's bible study where we are supposed to read through the whole Bible by the end of the study and that really has kept me on track with assignments everyday. We are on a break for the holidays now, though, so I have really had to be disciplined to keep up with it on my own. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I got this <a href="http://www.dayspring.com/books_and_journals/christian_journals_and_notebooks/all_of_me_christian_journal/">journal </a>to write notes as I take this journey and to use as a prayer journal so I can look back and see what God has done with those prayers (since I do have a bad memory). It's a pretty cool journal actually because it really does deal with the body, soul, and spirit. Each page has places to check off your daily servings of food and track your exercise, as well as write notes about what you learned and things you prayed. It also provides inspirational scripture and quotes daily. In fact, the quote I posted above is from today's page (funny how it fits in perfectly with what I've been dealing with lately). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">However, I want to read books outside of the Bible as well. This is where it gets tough. I have a limited amount of time in the day in which to do anything on my own, as much as just read. I have many things, including cleaning, blogging, and making Christmas presents lately, that take up that time. So it really is difficult for me to have the time to do all those things and read the Bible (in a non-rushed, prayerful manner where I can actually learn from it) and then read other books. But I have been trying at least. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Normally, I'd read fiction, but recently I've been on a non-fiction kick. I just finished reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Conversations-You-Must-Have-Your/dp/0805449868/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353954331&sr=8-1&keywords=5+conversations+you+must+have+with+your+son">"5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Sons," by Vicki Courtney</a>. The title says it all. It is basically about how to raise your son to be a godly man and the common stumbling blocks and pitfalls this world presents to that goal. It was a little repetitive at times, but overall it gave some good advice (much of which is for kids older than Graham, but some of which I may be able to start implementing in these upcoming toddler years). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Right now, I am reading a book called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Reason-God-Belief-Age-Skepticism/dp/1594483493/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1353954355&sr=1-1&keywords=the+reason+for+god">"The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism," by Timothy Keller</a>. I am not far into it yet for the reasons I gave above, but so far it is pretty good. The beginning of the book delves into the top issues that skeptics have with Christianity and the end of the book is, as the title of the book suggests, supposed to give the top reasons for God/Christianity. I may give a more in depth review of this book in a later post if I can get through it before I have to return it to the library. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I know I mentioned bettering my body above but I won't get into that in detail in this blog post or it'd be way too long. In short, my goal is to continue to strive towards healthier eating habits and regular exercise. This is an area where, if I'm being perfectly honest, I've done more planning than executing in recent months... one where I intend to start turning those plans into action. More to come on that in future posts. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until next time, </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyndsey </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-87253557289077307072012-11-25T11:10:00.000-08:002012-11-25T11:12:22.458-08:00Our Neat November<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Webers have had a fun and eventful November so far and I wanted to catch you in the blogging world up on what we've been up to. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have been working on buying some and making some Christmas gifts. I'll do a post after Christmas (for obvious reasons) about some of the gifts I made and how they turned out. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Graham is doing and saying new things every day. He has taken his first steps, though I wouldn't consider him a walker just yet. We're working on it! Dustin and I were talking last night about one of our favorite things that he does. Most of the time it is when he's getting tired, but we love when Graham lays down on the floor next to us and looks at the ceiling and cuddles. Though is becoming more and more vocal everyday when he is happy and when is not happy, he has a very sweet spirit and we love that about him. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We celebrated Thanksgiving with Dustin's parents in Bella Vista this year. We ate good food and spent fun time with family... and we didn't even have to pack and travel! Though we missed the family <span style="font-size: small;">we didn't get to see, i</span>t was pretty perfect. Here are a couple of pictures from that day: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KX-jwNBHs2_rHuwLts-gaxhHNoVy9MvrKKPtgFvh-jBpWVi1ga08OgbC-LJBq-jOGWShERFQoWmzvkE3-RdTr2GTcxODPGeaEgLe53YTAQGj8jvM0lagTLdZOTxKDr5GlQFyMmmNTpPE/s1600/P1070106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8KX-jwNBHs2_rHuwLts-gaxhHNoVy9MvrKKPtgFvh-jBpWVi1ga08OgbC-LJBq-jOGWShERFQoWmzvkE3-RdTr2GTcxODPGeaEgLe53YTAQGj8jvM0lagTLdZOTxKDr5GlQFyMmmNTpPE/s320/P1070106.JPG" width="180" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28-6rnu9lE6nab7USrJheEJGY0VPdNjMOiT-GmPNnnivNPFstMw2XykZwHbycGneGDDin7nCfVA_LJQqfXW5QPaRYWDFkM1mq2Nag1XAU09oP9Ov0_kSGg9DYr_IUnWOqRWW7OmqWcMU5/s1600/P1070118+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj28-6rnu9lE6nab7USrJheEJGY0VPdNjMOiT-GmPNnnivNPFstMw2XykZwHbycGneGDDin7nCfVA_LJQqfXW5QPaRYWDFkM1mq2Nag1XAU09oP9Ov0_kSGg9DYr_IUnWOqRWW7OmqWcMU5/s320/P1070118+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thanksgiving night, I spent my first night away from Graham...eek! Dustin's parents watched Graham that night and the next day when we went to the Arkansas vs. LSU football game. I had mixed feelings about it; I was very grateful that Dustin's parents watched him for us and it was nice to have quality time alone with Dustin, but I also missed my little man! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dustin and I thoroughly enjoyed the Arkansas-LSU game. Of course we would've enjoyed it more had the Razorbacks won the game, but they really made me proud. Despite the very tough season they've had and having every reason in the world to not play to their best abilities, my Hogs played their hearts out to the very end of the game. It was a close game to the end and we had a blast and were so lucky to be able to watch it. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We also got our pictures back from <a href="http://www.kelseytice.com/">Kelsey Tice Photography</a> today. They are so great; Kelsey is amazing! She was so patient and despite a runny-nosed, somewhat cranky baby and a dog that was running in and out of the photo shoot, she still managed to get great pictures. Now <i>that </i>is talent! I will do a post later and share some of the pictures with you. I also have to choose one or two to put on our Christmas cards and get the ball rolling on that. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until next time, </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyndsey </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-31154037976537197332012-11-12T18:53:00.001-08:002012-11-12T18:53:18.292-08:00A Blonde Moment <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Graham had his first play tonight, ... and I didn't even know it was a play until I had arrived at the church with Graham in tow! I'm not sure whether this is in my defense or not (you tell me), but this is what they sent him home with right before Halloween: </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So yes, hindsight being 20/20, there are a few clues that this is a play (such as drop your child off early and EVERYONE is dressed as pumpkins... I just thought "huh, that's odd but I guess it is fall-themed"). However, for some reason, I just thought this was a Thanksgiving/Fall party where we were asked to dress the kids up! I guess this was a huge blonde moment on my part? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, here is the program; so neat to see Graham's name in his first play program! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just to be clear, I chose this costume thinking it was a costume party. I thought "Gee, since everyone is going to be dressing as pumpkins, this sock monkey pumpkin outfit will stand out a little and be cute!" Little did I know that we didn't want him to stand out necessarily! But it turned out cute and you could tell he was somewhat pumpkin-like. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All in all, it was a success. Graham played a riveting pumpkin, sitting in a wagon just like the pumpkin we picked out at the pumpkin patch did. Well... let's be honest... he played it a little more gangsta than a real pumpkin. </span></span><br />
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<br />Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-26276523060441979462012-11-04T20:12:00.000-08:002012-11-04T20:16:08.703-08:00Monster Utensil Holder Tutorial <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh330bcGCaDZR9TH2qqm5tT9B_U_MqE7vPD8ubsZxxyufNcHYvgHhVFA9AHhGyrz1nFilJvpS7BQWmenudFF7dYs2UGbl7wmchCtaFtO84bIx0C1IeKyuH8EtiQdDxtPO6cKdCeEZCPxEUC/s1600/P1060872.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
got this idea off of Pinterest, so I cannot claim the creativity, but I
will show you how I made it. If you know me, you know I'm not very
crafty so rest assured that this was not difficult to make.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>Supplies</u>:</span></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Tissue box </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Egg carton </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Acrylic craft paints (3) </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Tape </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Scissors </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Foam paint brushes </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Permanent marker </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Glue/hot glue gun</span></span></li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdp-mJ1YqkwZFu2EkgFCSxKyryVgoqKnErcYKH6UPnj5YAmmmikKjV7AN4L66gw6Qz8n1HbVhC2A6hC3vNz1TRLEwWiiEtW2F8m-T0EQjCgfOEzvp1K8R8JL5sdMZexjrSFQlUNbjfcCNM/s1600/P1060853.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdp-mJ1YqkwZFu2EkgFCSxKyryVgoqKnErcYKH6UPnj5YAmmmikKjV7AN4L66gw6Qz8n1HbVhC2A6hC3vNz1TRLEwWiiEtW2F8m-T0EQjCgfOEzvp1K8R8JL5sdMZexjrSFQlUNbjfcCNM/s320/P1060853.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Supplies. Not pictured: the permanent marker and hot glue gun. </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As you can see, I didn't spend much at all on this project. I already had everything except the paint and the brushes. The paint was about $0.50 each at Wal-Mart and the brushes were either $0.97 or $1.97 (approx.). So cheap! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jq7v7fmeYVA991qKG5OUHc2ZlcfwRd9HJJ_4XoEzAHHn177w6hwA3JTXbvaq6bH3FmEZGTS9R45FEVIGEKNpXdL0E8HLVaZSKECBVwm9cif32rFDYF4ZXQSMzabwPNgjikdfIVBC72si/s1600/P1060855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jq7v7fmeYVA991qKG5OUHc2ZlcfwRd9HJJ_4XoEzAHHn177w6hwA3JTXbvaq6bH3FmEZGTS9R45FEVIGEKNpXdL0E8HLVaZSKECBVwm9cif32rFDYF4ZXQSMzabwPNgjikdfIVBC72si/s320/P1060855.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The paint colors I chose.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> You can obviously choose whatever colors you want for this project. These just happened to go well with other decorations that I used.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNv89NkONXQjBMcVFB0gx9rZQ9BEk7XDoLsKCKZjowJSg7jpUuMJNvxgrM5jmRS03VovCjjrfsH4LvCZ7XIjtt3sOBA1nNBUBxTbsgdwEMAylK6rf4QigpGpMD5wJkqY96jxJWMHPwnV_/s1600/P1060856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicNv89NkONXQjBMcVFB0gx9rZQ9BEk7XDoLsKCKZjowJSg7jpUuMJNvxgrM5jmRS03VovCjjrfsH4LvCZ7XIjtt3sOBA1nNBUBxTbsgdwEMAylK6rf4QigpGpMD5wJkqY96jxJWMHPwnV_/s320/P1060856.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After the first coat of paint.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Painting the kleenex box was the most time-intensive part of the project. I chose the lightest color kleenex box I could find, but I still had to paint five or so coats to cover up the decorative flowers on the box. There are probably other ways you can do this that are easier, like cover the box with construction paper and paint over that. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YssALeNWtpd2aPUHyHMTLkqAzrG1jhURPEKVtnIv_pmlJ9LsZqVzQ5V1fsIhfKlPfdDC_IX8gEw-9V5f-6fqeXst0zsQzW7RrhSl4zAw0PlUVTh6lPGesj7eApP6QLGYJXgVnZY9cpfJ/s1600/P1060858.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6YssALeNWtpd2aPUHyHMTLkqAzrG1jhURPEKVtnIv_pmlJ9LsZqVzQ5V1fsIhfKlPfdDC_IX8gEw-9V5f-6fqeXst0zsQzW7RrhSl4zAw0PlUVTh6lPGesj7eApP6QLGYJXgVnZY9cpfJ/s320/P1060858.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cut the egg carton and get two "eyes."</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhqLvpTWI7qzQWbF8cc-JbuczpqXXMqfUl5u0HtDm7r7NHPXW3wZa_8SoXihP4Jm4pEIWZs_OJRGT8XLZSTbp_ZKPss8PzJLOo7QF4WBLSIIBxcv1xJg4FzkbDKbyDgpX8p5Hp5prZOL_/s1600/P1060862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmhqLvpTWI7qzQWbF8cc-JbuczpqXXMqfUl5u0HtDm7r7NHPXW3wZa_8SoXihP4Jm4pEIWZs_OJRGT8XLZSTbp_ZKPss8PzJLOo7QF4WBLSIIBxcv1xJg4FzkbDKbyDgpX8p5Hp5prZOL_/s320/P1060862.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The "eyes" after painting them with the white paint. </span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNy4Kq_-RFFJvvpfj3MHVL_3FWP9kZCpiOpmEOKCOk3UdtOlcXM1j9ptJqtsvlZN-SYvmxRRlnH2Y_ZvDx14TvRy9wnLmcPHVJe6diN9RiPpDf1j-NPV70o70-jmmx9c9o5OjX6_QrkrFb/s1600/P1060864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNy4Kq_-RFFJvvpfj3MHVL_3FWP9kZCpiOpmEOKCOk3UdtOlcXM1j9ptJqtsvlZN-SYvmxRRlnH2Y_ZvDx14TvRy9wnLmcPHVJe6diN9RiPpDf1j-NPV70o70-jmmx9c9o5OjX6_QrkrFb/s320/P1060864.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I used a permanent marker to make the eyes. </span></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNXyMP2US-jfn9ta8PMxUyaa8ASbCr4QiDpm83gcT54Y51FIl9CYFrUBDgoxWazXgayYprQnfuVO2LU7gD_Lh84d6FENGpsZIZ3alEo3ATPMi1kT2R4dEEk0RQz57NEiWojfm8uL8pnHq/s1600/P1060866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHNXyMP2US-jfn9ta8PMxUyaa8ASbCr4QiDpm83gcT54Y51FIl9CYFrUBDgoxWazXgayYprQnfuVO2LU7gD_Lh84d6FENGpsZIZ3alEo3ATPMi1kT2R4dEEk0RQz57NEiWojfm8uL8pnHq/s320/P1060866.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">FINALLY... the box looks orange enough and you can't really see the flowers anymore! </span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3VDoIrqXLRivxeTXgFllVneIqoiD1KnMRubNb4MSTR_26AL1YbNIbKHSp8OuRLG5LtHXA8HBdSAOA5u9M8MPNWBD0O2NCuZ4yv3sLcFh_79Ctl1Qw3aUi3AoG2g_15Cxe70KM6LvnFYn/s1600/P1060867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_3VDoIrqXLRivxeTXgFllVneIqoiD1KnMRubNb4MSTR_26AL1YbNIbKHSp8OuRLG5LtHXA8HBdSAOA5u9M8MPNWBD0O2NCuZ4yv3sLcFh_79Ctl1Qw3aUi3AoG2g_15Cxe70KM6LvnFYn/s320/P1060867.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"LW + <span style="font-size: xx-small;">DW 4<span style="font-size: xx-small;">EVER" </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span>Some of the artwork I did while waiting for the tissue box to dry.<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> I think the paint fumes were getting to me at this point<span style="font-size: xx-small;">. ; )</span></span> </span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF77IyO39zuznMASZ8dOiNWL4ltiuVRnzkMMbYj__kvm6444pVcNZYj3IDDbQPzG856Pqo8cCRhXFqeVR-XCxyHT4iTQ2w60g_noyr7tZPd83VsK9I05ZGpSIPlQSEkkzr8G_72Qb6fb3Z/s1600/P1060869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF77IyO39zuznMASZ8dOiNWL4ltiuVRnzkMMbYj__kvm6444pVcNZYj3IDDbQPzG856Pqo8cCRhXFqeVR-XCxyHT4iTQ2w60g_noyr7tZPd83VsK9I05ZGpSIPlQSEkkzr8G_72Qb6fb3Z/s320/P1060869.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Polka dots! </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After the orange paint dried, I painted the polka dots. This was not SUPER easy to do with those big foam brushes, so you might want to get a smaller brush if you want it to be really defined. The good thing, however, is that monsters don't have to be perfect... they're monsters, after all! </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcrhKJOD9I6qhUHI6tpHadQFhQgwRiZVisofpWZ7GlmceFyH0fkrb0rx3X0cNON5OXPCGbDsuJZs623SVMLIz1H4H48Wgn5CAEdhxxwmJyhD3LIJ4q4KbPM9bMt3M9k2_Axv8-tlhyphenhyphenmVV/s1600/P1060871.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAcrhKJOD9I6qhUHI6tpHadQFhQgwRiZVisofpWZ7GlmceFyH0fkrb0rx3X0cNON5OXPCGbDsuJZs623SVMLIz1H4H48Wgn5CAEdhxxwmJyhD3LIJ4q4KbPM9bMt3M9k2_Axv8-tlhyphenhyphenmVV/s320/P1060871.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After the eyes are attached. </span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I used a hot glue gun to attach the eyes securely. Finally, I cut the teeth out of plain white copy paper and attached it with tape. The final product: </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh330bcGCaDZR9TH2qqm5tT9B_U_MqE7vPD8ubsZxxyufNcHYvgHhVFA9AHhGyrz1nFilJvpS7BQWmenudFF7dYs2UGbl7wmchCtaFtO84bIx0C1IeKyuH8EtiQdDxtPO6cKdCeEZCPxEUC/s1600/P1060872.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh330bcGCaDZR9TH2qqm5tT9B_U_MqE7vPD8ubsZxxyufNcHYvgHhVFA9AHhGyrz1nFilJvpS7BQWmenudFF7dYs2UGbl7wmchCtaFtO84bIx0C1IeKyuH8EtiQdDxtPO6cKdCeEZCPxEUC/s320/P1060872.JPG" width="320" /> </a></span></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></td><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Voila! </span></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-26156554510416807232012-11-01T13:08:00.004-07:002012-11-02T12:14:39.663-07:00Graham's First Birthday Party<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For Graham's first birthday party, I wasn't sure what to do because he isn't old enough to just love certain character or themes. However, I found a lot of cute ideas on Pinterest and it happened to work well with his Halloween birthday, so I chose a monster theme! I decided to try to make almost everything for the party even though I'm not particularly crafty, as I've mentioned in past blog posts. I'm also not that creative, so Pinterest saved the day! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The first thing I did was make the invitations. My sister, Christa, helped me make these. Here are some pictures of the fronts and back of those:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-Zn_jTT9tRRcctf6weiBj3-lxbKhMTtdaLJWLjXa92zD4I7o3D1nSbDTpObXj5WZeHiZlQsLzKEW6x-qMCcDlV06Q9YvZA_qwVzx88CXwCEGEDs7XLAU5GZ8VkN8KjXrlQ-fOPMUJjJv/s1600/P1060505.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-Zn_jTT9tRRcctf6weiBj3-lxbKhMTtdaLJWLjXa92zD4I7o3D1nSbDTpObXj5WZeHiZlQsLzKEW6x-qMCcDlV06Q9YvZA_qwVzx88CXwCEGEDs7XLAU5GZ8VkN8KjXrlQ-fOPMUJjJv/s320/P1060505.JPG" width="320" /></a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCGJaH8GR_4SJ3ah4dRDrNaYTZhNlkgC1Q2Ox3taC3Q0c5Lz22yBfXfhX-QQUID1Wkh_Rw1vsbdWOGdOmTo8pkY4njHp7-l4CHHUc_9mUYBN89BLLvaWWRzRdkLC6lBizfTBGXEODdi1R/s1600/P1060495.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglCGJaH8GR_4SJ3ah4dRDrNaYTZhNlkgC1Q2Ox3taC3Q0c5Lz22yBfXfhX-QQUID1Wkh_Rw1vsbdWOGdOmTo8pkY4njHp7-l4CHHUc_9mUYBN89BLLvaWWRzRdkLC6lBizfTBGXEODdi1R/s320/P1060495.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogr1Tmwe5HwkjL6yZio7P2oTwq__EfKax-Hcsfiz2irXlmWsPx8iMn8UELK9rsuO0Plga2HOrkBJZSrxVLOsmkx9AY-5bG80lptT64EfB9Ogn6y62ec5X9y1eg9Ocmhbp0wFl0eRRusl8/s1600/P1060496.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjogr1Tmwe5HwkjL6yZio7P2oTwq__EfKax-Hcsfiz2irXlmWsPx8iMn8UELK9rsuO0Plga2HOrkBJZSrxVLOsmkx9AY-5bG80lptT64EfB9Ogn6y62ec5X9y1eg9Ocmhbp0wFl0eRRusl8/s320/P1060496.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The day of the party, we decorated some. Here are some pictures of the decorations: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A monster face on the door; I thought it went well with the theme. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We had some decorative hanging balls and a banner I made. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is a close-up of half of the banner I made. It has a picture from each of his monthly pictures (1 month, 2 month, etc.)... as well as monsters on the ends, of course! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WHdwyI_CMcSy-AWvHXvsHVYvhAWLbJ2b5rFSfPIfaNQEa9mOd76vkr3RinIrrTg57q4r3DlPyD5kSQ06-vJneMA1p-TFnVPiMvrHnLIRrf5THTxlGXn88VwTnHCR4j-9EF0lH0dfhtiF/s1600/P1060907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4WHdwyI_CMcSy-AWvHXvsHVYvhAWLbJ2b5rFSfPIfaNQEa9mOd76vkr3RinIrrTg57q4r3DlPyD5kSQ06-vJneMA1p-TFnVPiMvrHnLIRrf5THTxlGXn88VwTnHCR4j-9EF0lH0dfhtiF/s320/P1060907.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I got monster books from the library and decorated with those. I thought they were very cute. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We also worked on making lots of yummy treats for our little monster and his party guests. Here are some of those:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had some more books lined up in the kitchen. Here are the cups. I put our guests' names on each cup, ... as well as some wiggly monster eyes! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga7vpLWcQM3Ykvsfe7pboJ88tjTDQW_RDi_pRUI_eupIg5NgFNk08qSkvM2sBlxcGAKnx1pDHZIhwBPWY5IOTz69Stf1CHLkRTfWggjdiQsStdyuxzp3md0cwmnV3dW6FAA0RSKaDRNWZ6/s1600/P1060939.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga7vpLWcQM3Ykvsfe7pboJ88tjTDQW_RDi_pRUI_eupIg5NgFNk08qSkvM2sBlxcGAKnx1pDHZIhwBPWY5IOTz69Stf1CHLkRTfWggjdiQsStdyuxzp3md0cwmnV3dW6FAA0RSKaDRNWZ6/s320/P1060939.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Ingredients to make monster pizzas.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Our plates, napkins and monster utensil holder (previously a tissue box). I'll do a blog post later on with a tutorial of how I made this monster utensil holder. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monster munch, made by Dustin's mom. It was SO good! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monster toes (a.k.a. pigs in a blanket). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Peeking monster cupcakes. My mom helped me make these.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monster eyeballs (a.k.a. oreo balls). </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Monster sandwiches and monster bones. The monster bones were made using pretzel sticks, mini marshmallows on both ends and that was dipped in melted white chocolate chips. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Dustin brought these late so they stayed in the bucket, but they are monster fingers (a.k.a. chicken fingers). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Finally, the monster drool, or punch. I liked the green coloring and it was pretty tasty if you ask me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We tried to have activities the guests, Graham's cousins, would enjoy. First, we did a monster egg hunt. Here's a picture of the monster eggs before we hid them: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> They had candy, and some of them money, in them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Here are the girls on their hunt for eggs! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We also did a monster making station. Here is one monster that was made.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Graham's cousin Maggie was proud of her monster... and I don't blame her! It was pretty cool. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Here is Emmy's monster. I loved it! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We also had a coloring station. Here are the results of that.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Of course, we had a smash cake for Graham... monster style! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He was cautious at first but by the end, he was really enjoying the cake and making a mess. I thought he looked like a gnome or something with the cake frosting beard. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We had favor bags for Graham's cousins and they included monster stickers, monster tattoos, their favorite candy, monster candy bars, jack-o-lantern fruit cups, and Mold A Monster Kits (Play-Doh and wiggly eyes to make their own monsters with). Thank you, <a href="http://www.everydaymomideas.com/2012/03/little-monster-bash-birthday-party.html">Everyday Mom Ideas</a>, for the Mold A Monster Kit printables! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I decorated the favor bags with monsters on the front. I could have sworn I took a picture of the front of the favor bags because they were super cute but I couldn't locate it! So sad. But you can sort of see 2 of the 3 them in these pictures. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Planning a monster themed party was very fun, but it wouldn't have been a success without the presence of all the loved ones who truly made it so special: Graham's grandparents, his Aunt Lori and cousins, Maggie, Marin and Emmy, and his Aunt Christa and her boyfriend, Charles. Dustin, Graham and I are so blessed to have these wonderful people in our lives. Thank you all for making Graham's first birthday one to remember! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's the electronic thank-you note we sent out via the Red Stamp app:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YfMbcSHalIE/UJLWpLZa8EI/AAAAAAAABBQ/btkuynjZsGM/s1600/12+-+1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YfMbcSHalIE/UJLWpLZa8EI/AAAAAAAABBQ/btkuynjZsGM/s320/12+-+1" width="223" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Oh, and here is Graham's Halloween costume: he was a little monster, of course!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's to many more fun birthdays for my sweet little monster! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until next time,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyndsey </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-44814446411131866612012-10-31T11:47:00.002-07:002012-10-31T11:47:25.716-07:00My Baby is One! <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That's right, today... Halloween... is Graham's first birthday! Wow, this is unbelievable to me. I felt like time went fast before I had him; now, it goes by at light-speed. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because Halloween fell mid-week this year, we decided to celebrate his birthday this past Saturday. It was a small party with just family in attendance, but it was certainly a memorable, fun experience. I'll devote a blog post to the party soon, but for this one I just wanted to write about my baby. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDVENygAAGTB5YqQzhKWuqCTNY0xMVQdyZjBOVhsUlb65Ige3eHTS3vyjdiL96yWNjTT8UUwgrXsPvHRkIpT9XFWLKI2E-cHLOKjKffTveQwM3xJbYGontrMOFDEAOQe2e2Ex_q5S3xU5/s1600/P1070074+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What a crazy thing it is to think about that at 3:18PM today, it will be 1 year since Graham made his grand entrance into this world, screaming bloody murder. The most beautiful sound I've ever heard in my life. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He's grown and changed a lot and I've learned a lot about his personality this year. He is very opinionated and will certainly voice his opinion. He is quite vocal; he babbles nonstop and truly sounds like he's speaking in his own little language many times. He's very curious ... he loves to get into anything and everything! His favorite thing to do is take things out of containers and put them back in... over and over... and over again. He has a laid back and very sweet personality; he gives kisses and snuggles freely. I cannot wait to see how his precious personality grows and changes over time. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For fun, I wanted to put a newborn picture of Graham above a recent one. And boy, what a difference a year makes! He almost looks like a different baby to me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDVENygAAGTB5YqQzhKWuqCTNY0xMVQdyZjBOVhsUlb65Ige3eHTS3vyjdiL96yWNjTT8UUwgrXsPvHRkIpT9XFWLKI2E-cHLOKjKffTveQwM3xJbYGontrMOFDEAOQe2e2Ex_q5S3xU5/s1600/P1070074+-+Copy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDVENygAAGTB5YqQzhKWuqCTNY0xMVQdyZjBOVhsUlb65Ige3eHTS3vyjdiL96yWNjTT8UUwgrXsPvHRkIpT9XFWLKI2E-cHLOKjKffTveQwM3xJbYGontrMOFDEAOQe2e2Ex_q5S3xU5/s320/P1070074+-+Copy.JPG" width="317" /> </a></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until next time, </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyndsey</span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-7681616673048042702012-10-29T11:28:00.003-07:002012-10-29T11:28:52.501-07:00Pumpkin Patch <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We finally made it to a pumpkin patch this past weekend. We asked for recommendations and got many, but decided to go to Dickey Farms in Springdale this year. We may try a new one every year and see which is our favorite! But we really enjoyed our time at Dickey Farms. It was free admission, which was nice, and the people who worked there were very friendly. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We found two nice pumpkins, a big one and a small, Graham-sized one. We got to take Graham in a wagon to find the pumpkins and he LOVES wagon rides, so this was perfect fun for him. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We saw lots of animals, including chickens, roosters, and a dog. Graham loved watching the birds.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Graham also got to sit on the tractor and pretend to drive it. He thought that was interesting.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My mom, also known as Grandma Page, got to come with us, which was so fun!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few other pictures from our fun time at the pumpkin patch:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We all had fun out on the farm. I definitely think this would be a nice fall family tradition! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until next time,</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyndsey</span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-35417105103629493962012-10-25T13:39:00.003-07:002012-10-25T13:42:20.429-07:00My Little Boy Blue! <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Today was Mother Goose Day at Kids Day Out! It was the first dress up day Graham has had in child care so I was very excited. Luckily, Grandma Calufetti helped out with his costume. She got the cutest part, ... the overalls! I LOVE them! I know he'll wear them a bunch, not just for <span style="font-size: small;">costume times</span>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As the name of the day suggests, we were supposed to dress our kids up in a costume of a Mother Goose character and bring the rhyme that goes with their character. Graham was Little Boy Blue. Here's a picture of Little Boy Blue I found on the internet to go off of and then a picture of Graham's outfit. Not shabby, huh? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As you can see, I even made him a little horn out of a toilet paper roll, construction paper and a permanent marker. It's not the best trumpet ever, but it worked just fine for these purposes. Here are a few more pictures: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The rhyme that goes with his costume. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A close up of my masterpiece. As you can tell, I'm very crafty. ; ) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Graham "playing" (a.k.a. chewing on) his horn. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Maybe it's because we were inside, but he sure didn't want to keep the hat on. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">All in all, I think it was a successful day. They had a fall party today and we brought the apple juice. <span style="font-size: small;">He made a special friend<span style="font-size: small;">, another little boy who l<span style="font-size: small;">oo<span style="font-size: small;">ks <span style="font-size: small;">like him (skinny and bald). They apparently would take turns talking <span style="font-size: small;">and listening to each other<span style="font-size: small;">,<span style="font-size: small;"> as<span style="font-size: small;"> if they were really have a conversation <span style="font-size: small;">of their own. <span style="font-size: small;">Oh, I wish I could have seen that cuteness! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>All the kids' and teachers' outfits were super cute and it was fun to be a part of it! I look forward to all <span style="font-size: small;">future <span style="font-size: small;">fun events I can help Graham <span style="font-size: small;">out with! </span></span></span> </div>
Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-37132152335562300642012-10-19T11:20:00.002-07:002012-10-19T11:21:08.791-07:00The Savory and the Sweet - Favorite Fall Recipes<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I've mentioned in previous posts, I love food! I love fall time because of the awesome drinks and foods that have become fall traditions in my family. I've never done a recipe post before, though I don't know why because I love to cook and try out new recipes. I should probably start doing recipe posts more often. If I do recipe posts in the future, I think I would try to include pictures of the steps in the meal-making process, but since this is part of a blogging challenge, I didn't have time to buy and make the recipes I'm going to talk about below so I don't have those pictures. I will, however, post pictures from elsewhere on the web to give you an idea of what the finished dishes look like.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The first two dishes I'll discuss are pretty common dishes and they are ones my family has at almost every family holiday meal. The first holiday staple is... drum roll please... green bean casserole, of course! There's just something about the mixture of green beans, the creamy soup mixture and the crunchy onions on top that makes it so scrumptious. Not to mention it has to be one of the easiest dishes to make! You have to be talented to mess it up... and I am just so talented! One time, many many years ago, I caught a green bean casserole on fire, because it was too close to the top oven coils. It came out with flames which I promptly blew out. You know how some people like their marshmallows blackened when making s'mores... or like their hot dogs burnt? These people might have also enjoyed my green bean casserole that day. Enough talk. Down to the nitty gritty. I use the French's recipe for green bean casserole and <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/classic-green-bean-casserole-70179">here</a> it is (with a couple of small notes from me): </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Green Bean Casserole </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. 1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2. 3/4 cup milk
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3. 1/8 teaspoon pepper
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">4. 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans french-style green beans or 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans cut green beans, drained (I use the Del Monte cut green beans but it's all a matter of preference) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5. 1 (2 7/8 ounce) can French-fried onions
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Directions</u>:
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2. Combine soup, milk, and pepper in a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish; mix well.
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup of French fried onions.
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until hot.
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5. Stir.
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">6. Sprinkle with remaining 2/3 cup of onions (or more if your stomach so moves you).
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">7. Bake 5 minutes or until onions are golden. Serves 6. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Outcome</u>: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEs-NpOYT-ip7kwj5Igu0dxu4zjJDT2vb07UYbj8PClij_odoq0Ep4UfQFxLfTGZkBkvQIHV4wkZikyxboD44t93oL3vZ8wNFfrptNEasBXoSzTH9tcb8tn_mhGn8pQv3AzB_u7vLUrCm7/s1600/gbc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEs-NpOYT-ip7kwj5Igu0dxu4zjJDT2vb07UYbj8PClij_odoq0Ep4UfQFxLfTGZkBkvQIHV4wkZikyxboD44t93oL3vZ8wNFfrptNEasBXoSzTH9tcb8tn_mhGn8pQv3AzB_u7vLUrCm7/s1600/gbc.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Who wouldn't like to see this on their Thanksgiving table next month?!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Another recipe I love is hash brown potato casserole. Just like the green bean casserole, there are many variations to this recipe, but I love and use the one straight out of my grandma's family cookbook (I'm not sure where she got it so I'm not sure who to attribute it to). Here it is (again with a few of my own comments thrown in):</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Hash Brown Potato Casserole </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. 1 32-ounce package shredded frozen potatoes, thawed </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2. 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3. 1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">4. 12-ounce grated American cheese (or cheddar)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5. 1 8-ounce carton sour cream (you could use light sour cream, but who are we kidding? This is <i>not</i> a diet dish)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">6. 1 tsp. salt</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">7. 1/4 tsp. pepper (if desired)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">8. 1/2 small onion, chopped</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">9. 2 cups crushed Corn Flakes (don't forget to crush them! I've made this mistake before... wow, I sound like a horrible cook) </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">10. 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Directions</u>:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2. Placed thawed potatoes in 9x13 baking dish. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3. Mix together ingredients 2-8 and pour over potatoes.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">4. Top with crushed Corn Flakes and drizzle melted butter over all.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serves 12. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Outcome</u>:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9CuKJa23bIJbU7T1Cz2n3c9daSqCzYriHnaSJp0qmPI-rHIZla8GeKmaG1Nz-8js8s3IROb3_B2zNpCwZiSNM599XOdLGtlXDoX_8YIflWXntpfb2FK6c9026dANL__CjISt-EVtLnVU/s1600/hbc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH9CuKJa23bIJbU7T1Cz2n3c9daSqCzYriHnaSJp0qmPI-rHIZla8GeKmaG1Nz-8js8s3IROb3_B2zNpCwZiSNM599XOdLGtlXDoX_8YIflWXntpfb2FK6c9026dANL__CjISt-EVtLnVU/s1600/hbc.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When I look at a picture of this dish, a low Barry White-type voice comes in my head saying, "Ooooh yeahhh." That's how good this dish is! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Last but not least, dessert! I have yet to make a pumpkin dish on my own, but after all the pumpkin-y dishes I've been pinning on Pinterest, I plan to do it this year sometime, either when it's my turn to bring snack for bible study night or at Thanksgiving. So.... I'm hard-pressed to give what I would consider a fall dessert recipe. However, I made caramel apple cheesecake bars not too long ago and maybe they could be considered fall-like? Either way, I decided I'd share <a href="http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/09/caramel-apple-cheesecake-bars.html">this recipe</a> with you all too [I got it from The Girl Who Ate Everything's blog]: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Ingredients</u>:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Crust:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2 cups all-purpose flour </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Cheesecake Filling:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3 large eggs </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Apples:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Streusel Topping:</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1 cup firmly packed brown sugar </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1 cup all-purpose flour </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1/2 cup quick cooking oats </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1/2 cup caramel topping</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Instructions</u>:</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">2. In a
medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry
blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13
baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until
lightly browned. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4
cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add
eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">4. In
a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons
sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">5. For the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Using your hands can make it easier to thoroughly mix the ingredients. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">6. Sprinkle Streusel topping over apples. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until
filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold
and enjoy! Make 16 servings.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My BIGGEST tip for making this dish: Make it the day before and refrigerate so it's nice and cold. I made the mistake of not letting it cool long enough and, though it was still very tasty, it was 100 times better the next day after it had been chilled. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Get ready to drool, folks.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><u>Outcome</u>:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vZi_TSiq_eKogV_ZCzzX-yd377TIqJN8hM5j1Y2MSkUUvtgjz89_KH0hJi0p52b31CRUeb2XLqorZFyrqVgzSdtAzKl4Zc1bqhBYR5E27Gx2WLpFssJiGP3mYK1ojTPkxKzQrWBGB_Mn/s1600/cac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vZi_TSiq_eKogV_ZCzzX-yd377TIqJN8hM5j1Y2MSkUUvtgjz89_KH0hJi0p52b31CRUeb2XLqorZFyrqVgzSdtAzKl4Zc1bqhBYR5E27Gx2WLpFssJiGP3mYK1ojTPkxKzQrWBGB_Mn/s320/cac.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Well, that's all for my fall recipes post. I hope you all enjoyed it and that you have a fall full of tasty creations. Happy cooking!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Until next time,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lyndsey </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-58682498337896128652012-10-18T13:46:00.002-07:002012-10-18T13:47:20.305-07:00Flashback <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today's blogging challenge is not too challenging at all. I am just supposed to promote a post from the past. My blog isn't too old<span style="font-size: small;"> so </span>I wasn't sure what to promote, but I decided to promote a couple of posts with the most page views and/or comments. Those are kind of random. The one with the most page views by far is this <a href="http://lensonlynds.blogspot.com/2011/07/day-22-my-favorite-food.html">post</a> about a couple of my favorite foods. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">An old post with a lot of page views and comments (at least a lot of comments for my blog) is one of my favorite blog posts of all: <a href="http://lensonlynds.blogspot.com/2011/05/day-7-my-most-treasured-item.html">this one</a>. It's the blog post where I announced my pregnancy with baby Graham, including sonogram pictures and all. : ) Very happy times! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sorry for the short but sweet post... just wait, though! Tomorrow's post will be about one of my favorite topics: food! More specifically, favorite fall recipes. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Until then, </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lyndsey </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-109530102065286915.post-17158766394679093432012-10-17T12:17:00.004-07:002012-10-17T12:21:36.313-07:00Fall: Golden Leaves to the Golden Boot<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6zCbvGWNI1lf6Z_NBKxLaFwJ8LWr4R3vGj3osokp8OP4y7oWQ3SmGI1QnlYEjUHTAHCKrEIf7iKv_OorjCaQee47pAi13Y6pUll893H0wmp5kvwQCuW_57R4u5inQqQOOZJZngFXiUq_/s1600/golden+boot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih6zCbvGWNI1lf6Z_NBKxLaFwJ8LWr4R3vGj3osokp8OP4y7oWQ3SmGI1QnlYEjUHTAHCKrEIf7iKv_OorjCaQee47pAi13Y6pUll893H0wmp5kvwQCuW_57R4u5inQqQOOZJZngFXiUq_/s320/golden+boot.jpg" width="320" /></a> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When I think of fall, the traditions that stick out the most to me are those surrounding Halloween and Thanksgiving. I discussed some of my favorite Halloween memories in my last past, so on to Thanksgiving!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I know many people don't like being with a lot of family for an extended period of time during holidays. Like most people, my family has our share of dysfunction, but it is so rare for us to all get together, so I truly enjoy and cherish every time we get to. For that reason, and the food of course, I love Thanksgiving!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love eating too much, helping my mom in the kitchen, and watching the Arkansas vs. LSU game (otherwise known as the Battle for the Golden Boot) every year. [Pictured above is what the golden boot looks like in the proper hands] This year, we even get to go to that game; I am so excited! <span style="font-size: small;">If you don't know me, one thing you must know is that I am a huge Arkansas Razorbacks fan! </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'd be remiss if I didn't mention shop<span style="font-size: small;">ping. </span>Some years, I'm up to hitting the Black Friday sales; other years, I'm not. All in all,</span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love the fall traditions my family has created so far, but now that I have a child of my own, I look forward to creating new traditions. I've seen many ideas on Pinterest, a website I love, such as putting what you're thankful for on a slip of paper and baking it into a roll or cookie so you can go around the table and read them out loud; going to a pumpkin patch and taking cute fall pictures; and more. What creative or unique traditions does your family have in the fall? What traditions do you think are cool and want to try? </span></span>Lyndseyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09423055929732195502noreply@blogger.com4